Endocrine Abstracts

Pregnant women may require treatment of hypo- or hyperthyroidism, L-thyroxine (LT4), propylthiouralcil (PTU) and methimazole (MMI) being the most frequently used drugs. Aim of this study was to verify the consequences on both the mother and the fetus of pharmacological treatment during pregnancy. We retrospectively evaluated 292 pregnancies: 63 patients under MMI treatment, 8 of whom (7 Graves’ (GD) and 1 toxic nodular goiter) still hyperthyroid in spite of treatment (H-M...

In pregnant women with thyroid diseases an increased amount of LT4 may be required for the correction of hypothyroidism or treatment of nodular goiter. Aim of this study was to assess the amount of the variations of LT4 requirement in pregnant women with thyroid diseases. To address this issue, we retrospectively evaluated a cohort of 107 women treated with LT4 divided in two groups: 42 euthyroid (E) (affected by nodular goiter (NG) treated with LT4 suppressive therapy) and 65...

Background: Nonautoimmune subclinical hypothyroidism is characterized by elevated serum levels of TSH in the presence of normal thyroid hormone levels and absence of anti-thyroid antibodies. As a result of a genomic-wide study, a strong association between three polymorphic variants in exon 1 of human phosphodiesterase 8B (PDE8B) gene (rs4704397, rs6885099 e rs2046045) and serum levels of TSH has been recently reported. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the frequenc...

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) with a normal located thyroid gland may be transient or permanent and environmental, iatrogenic, immunologic or genetic factors can be involved. PAX-8, TSH receptor and THOX2 gene mutations have been identified in cases of CH with a gland of normal size.In this study we performed genetic analysis of PAX8, TSH receptor and THOX2 genes in 14 children with CH and a normal sized eutopic gland. Genomic DNA was extracted from lym...

Toxic multinodular goiter is a heterogeneous disease producing hyperthyroidism frequently found in iodine-deficient areas. The aim of this study was to evaluate the gene expression profile of functioning and non-functioning thyroid nodules present in the same thyroid gland from two patients affected by autonomous multinodular goiter by using the Affymetrix technology.Total RNA was extracted from nodular and non nodular tissues, retrotranscribed, and the ...

Autoimmune hypothyroidism due to thyroid stimulation blocking antibodies (TSB-Ab) is uncommon. When occurring in pregnancy, this condition may be responsible for feto-neonatal complications as a result of both maternal hypothyroidism and trans-placental TSB-Ab transfer to the fetus.Clinical case: September 2010: a 27 year-old woman was diagnosed with autoimmune severe hypothyroidism (TSH 325 mIU/l (n.v 0.4–4.0), FT4 1.54 pmol/l (n.v. 11.5...

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous non-coding RNAs that pair with target messengers regulating gene expression. They are involved in biological processes including development, organogenesis, tissue differentiation, cell cycle and metabolism. Changes in miRNA levels occur in human cancers, including thyroid cancer. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) with cytologic evaluation is the most reliable tool for malignancy prediction in thyroid nodules, but cytologic diagnos...

Thyroid hormone (TH) plays a major role in nervous system development. Its deficiency causes severe brain malfunction, which in the human results in cretinism. With the recent availability of new imaging techniques, as small animal PET, it is now possible to study cerebral metabolism in vivo. The aim of this work was to study the in vivo effect of TH on the brain of hypothyroid rats in terms of metabolic function, using PET scanning. For the experiment we used th...

Thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by an increased volume of the adipose/connective tissue in the human orbit. Fibroblasts from the connective orbital tissue are able to differentiate into mature adipocytes if grown in particular culture conditions. Aim of the present study was to determine the gene expression profile of orbital fibroblasts after adipocytic differentiation. Fibroblasts in primary culture were obtained from or...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine diseases in women, affecting up to 10% of women in reproductive age. The evidence of polycystic ovaries at ultrasonography has been recently considered as a further criteria to diagnose PCOS. In order to determine whether FSH receptor gene affects hormonal and/or metabolic parameters of PCOS women the presence of FSH receptor gene mutations was investigated. Forthy women aged between 18 and 40 years with poly...