Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: Graves’ hyperthyroidism is a frequent complication of alemtuzumab treatment in MS. We present the case of an MS patient who developed clinically and biochemically overt alemtuzumab-induced Graves’ disease, remitting 6 months after treatment with ocrelizumab and methylprednisolone pulse-therapy.Methods: A 49-year-old man diagnosed with active multiple sclerosis who had undergone alemtuzumab treatment, and developed Graves’ hyper...

Cardiac paraganglioma is one of the most infrequent primary cardiac tumours, with <50 cases reported in the literature. Left atrium is the most common location. This is a case of a 57-year-old gentleman who presented with 7 year history of gradually increasing cranial perspiration, irritability, anxiety, unexplained feelings of fear, facial erythema, hypertension and atrial fibrillation. Following investigations of atrial fibrillation, a cardiac MRI scan revealed a mass be...

ContextSevere hypothyroidism and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus can both be causes for the development of pericarditis with concomitant pericardial effusion.Case illustrationWe report the case of a 23 year-old woman admitted in the ER for progressive dyspnoea, increasing fatigue and peripheral edema, associated with hepatosplenomegaly and polyadenopathy. Transthoracic echocardiogram confirmed sever...

Background: The general population trend shows an increase in the elderly. The most affected systems in the aging process are the endocrine and cardiovascular systems. The cardiovascular conditions are very important among the diseases of the elderly, the mortality due to cardiovascular diseases holding the first place in geriatrics.The aim of the study is to determine the peculiar aspect of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate secretion dynamics in the elderl...

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), currently considered a major problem of public health, includes fatty liver alone, steatohepatitis, fibrosis, cirrhosis. Obesity increases the risk of NAFLD in the patients having BMI >30 kg/m2, where the liver involvement is a common aspect.Aim: To find non-invasive methods fro the selection of patients with risk of progression of liver disease.Materials and methods: We sel...

Obesity and the metabolic syndrome show increased morbidity and mortality, by inducing morphological and functional alterations of several organs, the liver included (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease – NAFLD). They start with minimal alterations ranging to terminal liver disease (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis – NASH – and cirrhosis).We intended to identify the histological aspects in NAFLD and to examine the correlations between the histo...

Background: Osteoporosis has been an excruciating disease for many years now. Although various treatments are available, there is an unmet need for disease prognosis, early disease diagnosis and prediction of treatment efficacy. New biomarkers are crucial for the diagnosis or prognosis of a disease as well as for monitoring treatment efficacy and improve decision making. Cathepsin K is a cysteine protease that cleaves collagen type I, the major type of collagen found in bone, ...

Background: X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) is a peroxisomal disorder of beta-oxidation that results in accumulation of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) in various tissues. The clinical phenotype of X-ALD in adults is variable and involves adrenal, gonadal and nervous system dysfunction (adrenomyeloneuropathy, AMN). Patients with AMN typically develop spastic paraparesis due to progressive degeneration of the cerebral white matter.Objective: To r...

Background: Intravenous bisphosphonates treatment brings real benefits to patients with bone metastases. Unfortunately, this treatment sometimes has a difficult to treat complication, often disabling for the patients – the osteonecrosis of the jaws. A new approach in the management of this complication is the use of platelet rich plasma (PRP).Patients and methods: Five patients aged between 62 and 72 years old (three men and two women) were included...

Bone densitometry (DEXA) is the best method available today for diagnosing low bone density. However, DEXA is not able to differentiate osteoporosis from osteomalacia. The definitive diagnosis of osteomalacia is made by bone biopsy – rarely used in medical practice – which shows excess unmineralized bone. Tests of blood and urine may also be helpful: concentration of serum and urinary calcium and phosphorus, 25-hydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone b...