Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Cladodes of the nopal opuntia streptacantha (prickly-pear cactus) have been traditionally used for the treatment of diabetes in Mexico. Limited data from studies in experimental animals and humans with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes (DM2), have shown promising antihyperglycemic effects using plant extracts of the streptacantha and ficus-indica opuntia species. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of opuntia ficus-indica<...

Introduction: Viral infections have been implicated as a possible predisposing factor in the pathogenesis of subacute thyroiditis (ST). The seasonal distribution and the common clinical presentation of ST following upper respiratory track infections suggest a possible causative association. Direct serological or thyroid tissue evidence of viral infection during ST is however limited to a few case reports.Case presentation: We present the case of a 59-yea...

Hepatocyte nuclear factor 1B (HNF1B) defects (mutations or deletion) are associated with amultisystem disorder, including urinary tract abnormalities and diabetes (MODY 5, maturity-onset diabetes of the young type 5). We present the case of a patient with congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract in the context of 17q12 deletion syndrome who several years later, presented with MODY 5. A 20-year-old male presented at the outpatient Endocrine Clinic with new-...

Background: Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy triggered by gluten ingestion in genetically susceptible individuals. Its prevalence is ~7 times higher in type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients compared to the general population; in addition to adherence to a gluten free (GF) diet, these patients use carbohydrate counting to estimate their pre-meal insulin dosages. We aimed to (a) compare the nutritional composition between some GF and non GF carbohydrate-rich products av...

Introduction: Vitamin D is essential for calcium metabolism and is involved in bone turnover. The purpose of this study was to examine vitamin D status and its relation with bone metabolism in adult patients with T1DM.Methods/Design: We studied 118 patients with T1DM (Group-D) (mean age: 35.4+10.3 years) and 94 healthy controls (Group-C) matched for age, sex and body mass index (BMI). In both groups HbA1c, 25(OH)Vitamin D (Vit-D), serum calcium (Ca), pho...

Background: Obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation that contributes to the development of metabolic syndrome (MS). Resistin, produced by neutrophils and monocytes, displays potent proinflammatory properties and has been associated with cardiometabolic disease. The aim of this study was to (a) determine serum resistin levels among obese patients with or without MS and (b) explore the role of the subsets of circulating white blood cells as potential determinan...

Introduction: Thyrotoxicosis may be associated with anemia (10–34% of thyrotoxic patients), leucopenia (15–30%) and thrombocytopenia (2–5%). We present the case of a 13-year-old girl with Graves’ disease associated with severe pancytopenia.Case presentation: The patient presented with menorrahgia and symptoms suggestive of an upper respiratory tract infection. On examination she was afebrile with a pulse rate of 100/min at rest. She h...

Introduction: Obesity is a strong risk factor for incident chronic kidney disease (CKD). Furthermore, high body mass index (BMI) is consistently associated with low serum vitamin D in the general population. The aims of the present study were to i) compare vitamin D metabolite levels in overweight/obese versus normal weight individuals with normal to severely impaired renal function and ii) to assess the impact of 25(OH)D on the development of secondary hyperparathyroidism (SH...

Background: Anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) are widely used to improve performance and/or enhance appearance. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of AAS on the reproductive system of athletes.Methods: An electronic literature search was conducted, using the databases MEDLINE, CENTRAL, Scopus and Google Scholar. Studies including AAS use in any type, dose, form or duration of intake were included in the review. Main outcomes were AAS effects...

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease with a strong genetic component. The androgen receptor (AR) is encoded by the AR gene and mediates the action of androgens, which play an important role in bone metabolism. Polymorphisms in the AR gene may be implicated in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis.Objectives: The present study aimed to explore the influence of the (CAG)n repeat polymorphism of AR</em...