Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) is a rare endocrine disease which is characterized by hypocalcaemia and undetectable or inappropriately low serum parathyroid hormone (PTH). Post-surgical HypoPT (PS-HypoPT) is the most common cause, caused by accidental parathyroid removal/injury during neck surgery. From a neuropsychological standpoint, patients with PS-HypoPT present cognitive and neuropsychological symptoms: the more plausible pathophysiological mechanism resides i...

Obesity is a multifactorial disease in which environmental conditions and genetic factors play an important pathogenic role [1]. Interestingly, some of these obesogenic environmental and genetic conditions are shared with neurodegenerative diseases (NDD). The common biological mechanisms involved in obesity and NDD are insulin resistance, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and oxidative damage, in turn leading to cognitive dysfunction or cell death. In this aspect, a poly-pharmacolog...

We report the case of a 35 yrs- old man, who was referred to our Department in 2012, for symptomatic nephrolithiasis and low bone mass. Biochemical evaluation showed moderate hypercalcemia [albumin-corrected calcium 13.1 mg/dl (8.6–10.2) and markedly elevated PTH levels [1391 pg/ml (13–65)] consistent with the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). Neck ultrasound revealed three enlarged parathyroid glands. The patient underwent right superior and inferior ...

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is mostly due to a benign parathyroid tumor (99%). Some have parathyroid ‘atypical adenomas’, rare tumors with histological features of parathyroid cancer (PC) (fibrous trabeculae, thick fibrous bands, mitotic figures in parenchymal cells), without local invasion or metastasis. We evaluated 20 patients with histological diagnosis of atypical adenomas. Patients were 13 women and seven males (mean age: 55±13 yrs). Nineteen patien...

Introduction and aims: Heart failure (HF) is a health problem with poor prognosis, despite many treatments available. Vitamin D is the pre-hormone of the active calcitriol (1,25(OH)2D3). It is involved in bone homeostasis, but recent studies suggest extraskeletal functions, including pleiotropic effects on cardiovascular system and a relationship between low levels of 25OHvitamin D and worse HF prognosis. The aims of the study were: 1) to define 25OH-D levels in the HF populat...

This is a multicentre retrospective observational study, with the aim to characterize the presentation, management and cure rate of Primary Hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) in Italy. Sixty-one Italian Centres of Endocrinology participated in the study. Clinical, biochemical and instrumental records of 2173 patients with diagnosis of PHPT were collected on a specific online platform (Hyperparanet). Patients were 1808 females (83.2%) and 365 males (16.8%). Diagnosis of PHPT was made a...

3-iodothyronamine (T1AM) is rapidly catabolized to iodothyroacetic acid after few hours by serum proteins. To avoid a rapid metabolism during any treatment, DMEM devoid of FBS has been used, inducing changes in the cell culture environmental. We evaluated the uptake and the metabolism of different concentrations of T1AM, in presence of supplemented medium, and the presence of 3-iodothyroacetic aldehyde (Ald), a putative intermediate of T1AM catabolism to TA1.<p ...

The G protein-coupled calcium sensing receptor (CaSR), widely expressed on the surface of parathyroid chief cells and in the kidney, plays a central role in calcium homeostasis. Activating mutations of CaSR gene are responsible for autosomal dominant hypocalcemia (ADH), a rare disorder caused by hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, hypercalciuria and inadequately low concentration of parathyroid hormone (PTH). In this study, we report a family affected by ADH. The proband...

Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) is group of heterogeneous disorders characterized by hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia and elevated paratormone (PTH) levels as a result of end-organ resistance to PTH. Basal ganglia calcification (BGC) in states of hypoparathyroidism is not uncommon. In PHP, BGC can occur up to 50%; the pathogenesis is poorly defined. The aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of BGC at baseline observation in a series of patients with PHP followed at a t...

Microglial dysfunction is one of the hallmarks and leading causes of common neurodegenerative diseases (NDD), including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (AD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). All these pathologies are characterized by aberrant aggregation of disease-causing proteins in the brain, which can directly activate microglia, trigger microglia-mediated neuroinflammation, and increase oxidative stress. The availability of cell-permeable i...