Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Liquorice in moderate doses increases blood pressure (BP) in healthy individuals (NT) as well as patients with hypertension (HT) due to increased cortisol effect. Glycyrrhetinic acid, the active substance in liquorice, inhibits 11beta-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase type 2 (11betaHSD2) which converts the active hormone cortisol to the inactive hormone cortisone. Recently it has been reported that treatment with glucocorticoids decreases serum levels of cobalamin (B12)...

Introduction: Primary aldosteronism is an important cause of hypertension. Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is the gold-standard investigation to determine whether one or both adrenal glands are affected. AVS is a complicated procedure with success rate varying greatly from one hospital to another.Aims: To investigate the success rate of AVS at Landspitali over a 10-year period and compare it to published results from other hospitals....

Introduction: The posture test (PT), developed to distinguish idiopathic adrenal hyperplasia (IAH) from aldosterone producing adenoma (APA), has been postulated as inaccurate. In 2007, standardized diagnostic methods, including PT for subclassification, were introduced in Landspitali University Hospital (LUH), housing the only endocrine department in Iceland. The aim of this study is to review the results of PT performed in LUH in 2007–2016.Methods:...

Introduction: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is an important, potentially curable cause of hypertension (HT) with higher risk of cardiovascular events than essential HT. In 2007, a standardized PA work-up protocol was introduced in Landspitali University Hospital (LUH), housing the only endocrine department in Iceland. The aim of this study is to review characteristics, test results and histopathology for patients diagnosed with PA in 2012-2016 in LUH.Method...

Introduction: Antiepileptic drugs may cause altered thyroid function in adults according to previous studies. The cllinical impact of this is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate thyroid function in patients taking antiepileptic drugs to evaluate a possible clinical impact.Methods: Adult epileptic patients (older than 18 years old) who attended the neurology outpatient clinic at Landspitali University Hospital in Iceland (the only University Ho...

Introduction: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is a potentially curable cause of hypertension. In 2007, a standardized PA work-up protocol was introduced in Landspitali University Hospital (LUH), a tertiary care center for Iceland. The aim of this study is to review treatment response for patients diagnosed with unilateral and bilateral PA in LUH 2007–2016.Methods: All charts for PA-patients aged ≥18, diagnosed 2007–2016 in LUH, were retrospe...

Introduction: There is ongoing debate about how to diagnose and treat unilateral primary hyperaldosteronism (PA). The use of CT scans and adrenal venous sampling (AVS) for the diagnosis of unilateral PA leading to unilateral adrenalectomy is still a matter of discussion. Moreover, some have suggested subtotal adrenalectomy when a detectable nodule is found on imaging studies while others prefer total adrenalectomy. We gathered information on imaging, diagnosis and treatment in...

Background: The prevalence of primary hyperaldosteronism (PA) has recently been reported as high as 7.5% in patients with hypertension from unselected populations (USP) and up to 22% in selected populations (SP). Whether increased screening and diagnosis of PA will lead to more findings of curable PA (aldosterone producing adenoma, APA) is unclear.Methods: Three-hundred fifty-three consecutive patients with hypertension, age 20 to 88 years were included ...

Introduction: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is an important cause of hypertension. Adrenal hyperplasia (AH) and aldosterone-producing adrenocortical adenoma (APA) are considered the most frequent causes of PA. Histopathological analysis of unilateral PA has been difficult since no clear morphological criteria existed for defining aldosterone-producing cells. Recently, the distribution of adrenal cells forming aldosterone and cortisol has been studied by using specific monoclonal ...

Background: Acromegaly is associated with increased morbidity and mortality if left untreated. The therapeutic options include surgery, medical treatment, and radiotherapy. Guidelines regarding treatment algorithms and follow-up vary considerably.Aim: To evaluate consensus on the treatment and follow-up of acromegaly in the Scandinavian countries.Methods: To map the landscape of acromegaly management in the Scandinavian countries, ...