Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The clinical relevance of low IGF-I levels, caused by cranial radiotherapy, in adult childhood cancer survivors has not been studied extensively. We evaluated whether IGF-I is a useful marker for altered body composition and growth hormone deficiency in this group.Methods: We analyzed retrospective data from 610 adult childhood cancer survivors, retrieved from the late effects clinic. Median age at diagnosis was 6 years (interquartile range...

Introduction: Obesity, represented by high body mass index (BMI), is a major complication after treatment for childhood cancer. High amount of total and visceral fat and low lean body mass are described as more reliable determinants, predicting the development of cardiovascular disease. In this study longitudinal changes of BMI and body composition in adult childhood cancer survivors were evaluated.Methods: Data of 417 adult childhood cancer survivors, w...

Introduction: Adrenal insufficiency, or relative insufficiency, might partly explain increased mortality rates in nephroblastoma and neuroblastoma survivors after unilateral adrenalectomy. Aim of this study was to assess adrenal function and its metabolic effects after unilateral adrenalectomy.Patients and Methods: Cross-sectional study with a socio-demographically similar control group, conducted between October 2009-March 2011 at the Erasmus University...

Aim: To assess the effects of a continuous overnight infusion of two doses of UAG (3&10 μg UAG/kg.hr-1) versus placebo in a double blind cross-over study on AG levels, as well on glucose and insulin response to a standard breakfast meal (SBM) in 8 overweight patients with type 2 diabetes (HbA1c 6.5-7.5%).Methods: During these 3 admissions, in randomized order, all subjects received either placebo, or UAG 3 μg/kg.hr-1 or UAG 10 μg/kg.hr...

Introduction: Daily administration of Pegvisomant normalizes IGF1 levels >71% of acromegalics (1). Few studies have assessed the efficacy of weekly administration. We assessed the efficacy of weekly pegvisomant for 12 months, after withdrawal of long-acting somatostatin analogs (SSA) in acromegalics previously controlled on combination therapy.Design: Fifteen subjects (8 males), age 58 (35–80) (median (range)) years on combination therapy of hig...

Objective: The objective of this study was to asses the quality of self-management in patients with primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency and to find patient-related factors that influence quality of self-management.Methods: The quantitative research was assessed by a questionnaire. Mainly focused topics were i) demographic data ii) daily medication intake iii) en route precautions and iv) dose adaptation during medical emergencies. One hundred and...

Purpose: Hypopituitarism is frequently associated with lifelong replacement therapy. However, it has been suggested that recovery from hypopituitarism after transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) for pituitary adenomas may occur during follow up. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis recovery after TSS in patients with non-functioning pituitary adenomas and acromegaly.Methods: Over the 3-year observational ...

Background: Of the currently available treatment regimes for acromegaly, pegvisomant (PEG-V) has the highest efficacy. During PEG-V treatment, GH serum levels increase. The exact mechanism behind this is remains unclear. It could be explained by an ultra-short feedback loop via GH receptors in the anterior pituitary gland.Objective: To assess the level of GH receptor (GHR) mRNA expression in somatotroph adenomas and to evaluate whether GHR blockade by PE...