Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: Treatment with ergot-derived dopamine agonists, pergolide and cabergoline, has been associated with an increased frequency of valvular heart disease in Parkinson’s disease. The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence of valvular heart disease in patients treated with dopamine agonists for prolactinomas.Design: Cross-sectional study.Patients: We performed conventional two-dimensional and Doppler echocar...

Background: Hypopituitarism after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is considered to be a prevalent condition, and may affect quality of life (QoL) and cognitive function. However, the prevalence of hypopituitarism differs considerably among reported studies due to differences in definitions, endocrine assessments of hypopituitarism, and confounding factors, like timing of evaluation and the severity of the trauma.Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of hypopituit...

Background: Accumulating evidence indicates the presence of bidirectional cross-talks between the endocrine and the immune system. However, no data are available on the influence of either the thyroid hormones or TSH within the normal range on the immune cell function in healthy humans.Aim: To comprehensively investigate the effects of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis on the variation of immune responses in a cohort of healthy volunteers.<p cl...