Endocrine Abstracts

Dopamine agonists (DA) are very effective and the first-line treatment for hyperprolactinemia. In prolactinoma, DA therapy is the treatment of choice. DA decrease prolactin levels, restore gonadal function, improve visual field defects and reduce tumor size. In some patients drug therapy can lead to a complete remission, including eradication of the tumor, and thereby allow discontinuation of treatment. The majority of the patients, however, have to be treated for many years. ...

The treatment of craniopharyngiomas is associated with long-term morbidity. Although histological benign, intrinsic aggressive biological properties of craniopharyngioma, such as invasion of surrounding tissues, apparently preclude an indolent course. Cardio- and cerebrovascular mortality risk in craniopharyngioma patients is approximately three fold increased. This risk seems to be even greater in estrogen-deficient premenopausal women. In addition, there is a high prevalence...

The mission of the European Reference Network on Rare Endocrine Conditions (Endo-ERN) is to reduce and ultimately abolish inaequalities in care for patients with rare endocrine conditions across Europe. Endo-ERN provides equality between paediatric and adult patients, and is supported by the European Society of Endocrinology and the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology. In order to achieve Endo-ERN’s mission and accomplish the concrete objectives the first year wa...

My research focuses on the long-term consequences of pituitary diseases, and on the effects of stress hormones on the central nervous system (CNS) in specific. This has elucidated long-term effects of hormone excess on the CNS, as well as on other organs that affect stress-resilience, and consequently, general well-being and quality of life. This profoundly affects our understanding of the biological effects of stress hormone excess on the CNS, and on the care for patients wit...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is generally caused by an adenoma or adrenal hyperplasia. To discern between these two, selective adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is necessary. Adequate interpretation requires that RAAS-interfering medication be withdrawn. We report a patient with severe PA, where it was not possible to safely withdraw RAAS-interfering medication.Case: A 37-year-old male was referred for AVS. He had documented PA and bilateral adrenal adenomas on ...

Context: Lipodystrophy is characterized by subcutaneous fat loss, fat maldistribution, and metabolic syndrome. We present a novel phenotype of partial acquired lipodystrophy, possibly associated with childhood chemotherapy.Case reports: Two adult female patients that had been exposed to intensive cytostatic treatment in childhood for leukemia and aplastic anemia, respectively, were referred for therapy resistant diabetes. Both patients had distinct parti...

Background: Hydrocortisone replacement for primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) is targeted to mimic circadian endogenous cortisol secretion. Nevertheless, patients on stable treatment report impairments in quality of life. The brain is a major target area for cortisol considering it high density of glucocorticoid receptors and previous studies in patients treated for Cushing’s disease (CD) suggest that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation is related to cognit...

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) and hypercortisolism associated with Cushing’s syndrome (CS) share clinical characteristics such as hypertension, dyslipidaemia, hyperglycaemia, and obesity. Several studies have recorded a relatively high prevalence of hypercortisolism in T2D, which may have therapeutic implications. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the prevalence of hypercortisolism in T2D patients.Methods: Origina...

Background: Sex differences in clinical picture of ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome are controversial, except for the known higher prevalence in females. We compared a broad range of potential differences to enable a more accurate understanding of the clinical picture of sex-specific ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome.Design: Cohort study.Methods: We included consecutive patients with ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrom...

Background: Adrenal crisis, the most feared complication of adrenal insufficiency, is a potentially life-threatening situation of acute glucocorticoid deficiency. After successful surgery, many patients with Cushing’s syndrome develop (transient) adrenal insufficiency. The incidence of adrenal crisis in patients treated for hypercortisolism is unknown.Methods: Cohort study including consecutive patients with Cushing’s syndrome with adrenal insu...