Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Fahr syndrome is a rare entity characterized by symmetrical bilateral brain calcifications, involving basal ganglia (mainly), thalami, dentate nuclei and the cerebral and cerebellar white matter. Progressive neurologic dysfunction and other neuropsychiatric disorders are characteristic. Endocrine disorders which may present with Fahr syndrome include parathyroid dysfunction (hypoparathyroidism especially, but also pseudohypoparathyroidism, pseudopseudohypoparathyro...

Introduction: Paragangliomas are neuroendocrine tumors that are derived from the embryonic neural crest cells. Because the paraganglia are widespread through the body, paragangliomas can be found in unusual anatomic locations and the diagnosis can be hard to establish. Case presentationWe present the case of an 72 year-old, hypertensive woman who arrived at the hospital for pain in the right hypochondrium. General examination revealed an abdomen without signs of peritoneal irr...

Background: Hypokalemia can be caused by decreased intake of potassium or by excessive loss of potassium in the urine or through the gastrointestinal tract. Severe and life-threatening hypokalemia is defined by levels below 2.5 mEq/l and can be associated with muscle weakness, cramping, headaches, palpitations, polydipsia and polyuria. Periodic paralysis is a very rare presentation in Caucasians.Case presentation: A 50-year-old Caucasian man, without pre...

Background: Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumors characterized by a high degree of variability and unpredictability. Coexistence of PPGLs and adrenocortical adenomas is an uncommon occurrence that can further complicate the clinical course. Objective: We describe the diagnostic and management challenges of a patient with a history of surgically removed pheochromocytoma, presenting with symptoms of catecholamine exce...

Introduction: Myxedema coma is the end stage of untreated or inadequately treated hypothyroidism. It has an estimated incidence of 0.22 per million per year. The clinical picture is often that of an elderly obese female, presenting in midwinter with increased lethargy, somnolence and confusion. The presentation is one of severe hypothyroidism, with or without coma.Such cases are predominantly based on a primary thyroid disorder such as Hashimoto′s ...

Background: A large body of evidences have demonstrated that metabolic surgery is associated with significant and durable weight loss as well as a significant improvement of obesity-related comorbidities. The aim of our study was to evaluate the long term impact of gastric sleeve on metabolic parameters in morbidly obese patients.Materials and methods: We evaluated 95 (67 women) severely obese patients (mean age 43.4±10.69 years) before and approxim...

Introduction: Vitamin D is a hormone essential for calcium absorption and bone mineralization, which is positively associated with bone mineral density. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between 25-OH vitamin D values and parameters of bone mineralization (bone mineral density - BMD) and bone quality (trabecular bone score - TBS) in patients from day to day clinical practice.Materials and methods: We evaluated 433 postmenopausal women...

Introduction: Cells of the neuroendocrine system are spread throughout the body, and they can give rise to various neuroendocrine tumors with unpredictable evolution. It has been observed that they are often associated with the development of fibrosis, both local and distant.Case presentation: We present the case of an 81 year-old, normal-weight woman, who firstly presented in our clinic in 2014 for multinodular goiter (normal calcitonin). Fine needle as...

Background: Iatrogeny is the most common cause of Cushing syndrome (CS), with most reported cases due to prolonged use of oral, parenteral or, rarely, topical corticosteroid preparations. Few cases of CS (and consecutive adrenal insufficiency (AI)) due to intranasal corticoids have been reported and the vast majority were documented in pediatric patients.Case reports: We present two cases of iatrogenic CS due to chronic intranasal administration of over-...

Background: Renal dysfunction is known to be more prevalent amongst patients with obesity. Metabolic and bariatric surgery is associated with positive renal effects through intricate pathways. We aimed to determine the short-term impact of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on renal function and to identify parameters associated with its variation.Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective study on 268 patients (115 males and 153 females) eva...