Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis is critical for adaptation to stress and serious illness. The imbalance between anti-inflammatory activity of cortisol and proinflammatory activity of the androgens, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and dihydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) can be an important predictor factor of mortality in sepsis.Material and methods: Patients diagnosed of severe sepsis or septic shock admitte...

Introduction: Smoking affects thyroid function, the magnitude and direction of the effect varies greatly with different studies. Less is known about the effect of smoking in thyroid function during pregnancy.Materials and methods: Healthy pregnant women with not known thyroid dysfunction were questioned about smoking habit in the first trimester of pregnancy. Blood samples for TSH, free T4 (fT4) and free T3 (fT3) were obtained in each trimester and for t...