Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Cushing’s Syndrome (CS) requires an accurate diagnosis, patient-tailored treatments and long-term management. To define the unmet needs of patients with CS, a consensus among a panel of Italian endocrinologists was promoted. The panel involved 57 specialists with expertise in CS management.Methods: The endocrinologists were identified by convenience sampling. The survey was built around a set of statements formulated after literature r...

Background and Aim: Bilateral Macronodular Adrenal Hyperplasia (BMAH) is a rare form of adrenal Cushing’s syndrome (CS). The treatment of choice in patients with BMAH and overt CS is bilateral adrenalectomy (B-Adx), which however implies lifelong glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid replacement therapy. Unilateral adrenalectomy (U-Adx) has been proposed as an alternative to B-Adx, especially in case of clearly asymmetric adrenal size. Our aim was to determine predictive f...

Context: Fludrocortisone (FC) is the mineralocorticoid (MC) replacement treatment for patients with primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI). Objective: To explore the dose of FC treatment and its relationship with glucocorticoid therapy, sodium, potassium, renin and clinical parameters. Design: Longitudinal study.Setting: Monocentric cohort.Patients: Data of 193 patients with PAI (130 autoi...

Introduction: Transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) is the first-choice treatment in Cushing’s disease (CD) with an immediate success rate of 70-80%. Unfortunately, due to the high rate of post-operative recurrences, CD patients require life-long surveillance. However, there is no consensus on how to follow these patients after TSS to early diagnose relapses. The aim of the study was to find reliable predictors of recurrence after neurosurgery in CD.Materia...

Context: Cushing’s disease (CD) is rare condition burdened by several systemic complications that in turn increase mortality. The main goal of CD treatment is to promptly reduce cortisol excess, but whether remission can revert cortisol-related complications and guarantee a normal life expectancy remains debated. Aim: To assess the prevalence of cortisol-related complications and mortality in a large monocentric cohort of CD patients followed at our...

Introduction: Pasireotide (PAS) is an effective treatment for Cushing’s disease (CD) but its use is burdened by the high incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM). We aimed to evaluate the effect of a single subcutaneous injection of PAS on glucose metabolism in CD patients, to identify factors predicting rapid deterioration of glycaemic control.Methods: 14 patients [(f/m=12/2, mean age 43±11.3 years, follow-up 17 months (2-63)] with CD treated with ...

Background and aim: Aldosterone-to-Renin Ratio (ARR) is recommended as initial test to screen for Primary Aldosteronism (PA), especially in high-risk hypertensive population. Endocrine Society (ES) Guidelines recommend that patients with an increased ARR should undergo one or more confirmatory tests in order to confirm or exclude PA diagnosis. Captopril Challenge Test (CCT) and Saline Infusion Test (SIT) are commonly used in routine clinical practice. The aim of our study was ...

Introduction: Since DI was reported to be associated to increase mortality, the aim of this study is to evaluate the presence of autonomic dysfunction (AD) in patients with DI.Methods: We enrolled 12 patients (six females) with central idiopathic DI and 12 controls, matched for age, sex and common cardiovascular risk factors, who were evaluated using the tilt, lying-to-standing, hand grip, deep breath, Valsalva maneuver and Stroop tests.<p class="abs...

Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) plays a pivotal role in maturation and stabilization of proteins in conditions of stress. Many HSP90 client proteins are involved in oncogenic signaling and cancer progression, therefore HSP90 inhibitors have a potential as pharmaceutical agents. We reported a strong HSP90 overexpression in corticotroph adenomas and the treatment with C-terminal HSP90 inhibitors has potent anti-tumorigenic and anti-secretory effects in these tumors in vitro</e...

Introduction: The diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome (CS) might be challenging especially in ACTH-dependent CS when it comes to detect the origin of ACTH secretion.Materials and methods: We retrospectively recorded data about 170 patients with ACTH-dependent CS (149 CD, 21 EAS) referring to two Endocrinology Units. We focused especially on the performance of 3 dynamic tests: the dexamethasone 8 mg overnight challenging (HDDST), the CRH and the desmopre...