Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: Chronic smoking alters the circulating levels of sex hormones and possibly also the neuroactive steroids, however, the data available is limited.Patients and methods: Therefore, a broad spectrum of free and conjugated steroids and related substances was quantified by GC–MS and RIA in premenopausal smokers and in age-matched (38.9±7.3 years of age) non-smokers in the follicular (FP) and luteal phases (LP) of menstrual cycle (10 non-sm...

ACTH test is widely accepted as diagnostic tool in suspicion on peripheral as well as on central hypocorticism. The optimal dose of tetracosactide for determination of hypocorticism is still matter of debate. The 250 μg as a standard dose of tetracosactide has been approved for diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) many years ago. Moreover, current limited availability of tetracosactide and its increased financial cost on the market raised the question whether...

The aim of the study was a detailed analysis and a comparison of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis tests and cortisol metabolites analysis during these tests. This procedure might enable to design new diagnosis algorithms of hypocorticalism and normal levels for salivary cortisol estimation for early diagnostic of patients with hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis disorder as well as to give us a possibility to reveal adrenal disorder in patients on estrog...

Introduction: Obesity epidemic has a considerable effect on the health of the population. Obesity is connected with infertility and hypogonadism. It is known that obese men have a low testosterone and higher estradiol level. The assumed mechanism would be increased testosterone aromatization in adipose tissue and a lower SHBG level, which means a decrease of overall testosterone. The aim of this study was to describe the changes of steroidogenesis with obese men.<p class="...

Introduction: Obese men and women still show their sex-specific fat accumulation. Not only does fat distribution differ between the sexes after puberty, but the dynamics of fat cell size and fat metabolism differ as well. While there is reliable evidence that pubertal sex steroids induce a sex-specific fat distribution with preferential abdominal/visceral fat accumulation in males and preferential gluteofemoral fat accumulation in females, later in life a number of paradoxes o...

In recent years, there has been increasing evidence for the hypothesis of bones as endocrine organs. Osteocalcin, long considered just a marker of new bone formation, is now seen as the first hormone produced by bones, and seems to be associated with regulating glucose metabolism and reproduction. The aim of this work was to monitor changes of osteocalcin in reaction to hypoglycaemia, and determine if there are differences in such reactions between the sexes. The study include...

Background: Secretion of insulin by beta-cells of the islets of Langerhans is a very complex dynamic process that includes basal and stimulated insulin secretion. Two phases, one early and one late, can be distinguished in insulin secretion. The early phase is characterised by the secretion of preformed insulin granules, lasts about 15 min and is formed by cephalic and gastrointestinal components. The cephalic phase of insulin secretion starts by stimulating visual, olfactory ...

Introduction: The influence of steroid hormones on food intake is well described. However, there are only a few studies on the effect of food intake on steroid levels.Methods: The study involved eight non-smoker women (average age 29.48±2.99 years; average BMI 21.3±1.3 kg/m2); they did not use any kind of medication affecting steroidogenesis. We analysed the influence of four various stimuli on the levels of steroid hormones and mela...

Introduction: Obesity increases the incidence of hypogonadism in men, and hypogonadism in turn plays a role in obesity. One of the first mechanisms proposed to explain this was a hypothesis based on the principle that obese men have higher estrogen levels, and that increased estrogens provide feedback to the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis, reducing the secretion of gonadotropins and leading to a decrease of overall testosterone levels. This concept has since been quest...

Introduction: Tobacco dependence is considered to be a serious psycho-social problem. Chronic smoking can cause fertility disorders with both sexes. The literature brings up contradictory results in relation to the effects of the smoking on the steroid hormones levels. Only a few papers discuss the effect of the nicotine addiction treatment.Methods: We observed 26 smokers who decided to quit smoking and abstained from smoking for one year. With everyone ...