Endocrine Abstracts

Graves’ disease (GD) and gestational transient thyrotoxicosis (GTT) are the main causes of hyperthyroidism in pregnancy, their prevalence ranging between 0.1–0.4% and 0.3–11%, respectively.Aim of the study: To evaluate both prevalence and outcome of gestational hyperthyroidism in mild to moderate ID areas.Subjects and methods: 482 consecutive pregnant women who had never undergone thyroid function evaluation before a...

The prevalence of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) in lingual thyroid (LT) and thyroglossal duct cysts (TDC) is around 1%. Nowadays, almost 200 cases of DTC were reported in TDC and <60 cases in LT. Here we report four cases of neoplasia in LT (1/4) and TDC (3/4) in a consecutive series of 950 DTC patients (0.4%).Case 1: D.F. 63 year-old woman with thyroid follicular carcinoma in ectopic gland located at her tongue’s basis. March 2009: the...

Background: Insulin resistance (IR) is the common denominator of three multigenic disorders: type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, and PCOS. IR can result from genetic abnormalities involving proteins of the insulin signalling pathway, including PC-1 and IRS-1. The IRS-1 G972R variant had the highest world frequency and correlated with IR in PCOS Sicilian women (Horm Metab Res, 2010).Objective and methods: To determine: i) the rates of the G972R IRS-...

Background: PPI are known to diminish the intestinal absorption of L-T4, which is commonly ingested as tablets of L-T4 sodium salt. However, a liquid formulation is available (Tirosint, oral solution, IBSA Farmaceutici Italia s.r.l., Italy), in which the hormone is solubilized in 28.8% ethyl alcohol. One ml of this formulation (=28 drops) contains 100 mcg L-T4 sodium salt in 243 mg ethanol. Because this formulation contains L...

Introduction: Cytokines have been suggested to be involved in modulating anti-tumor responses and promoting tumor growth. Some studies have indicated that cytokines could also be involved in the pathogenesis of pituitary tumors. Th17 cells, characterized by expression of several cytokines as interleukin 22 (IL 22), might have a role in tumor immune-surveillance. IL-22 is a cytokine involved in the modulation of tissue responses during inflammation and, through activation of St...

Sleep related breathing disorders (SRBD), due to bone mass and soft tissue swelling of the upper airways, are frequently reported by acromegalic patients, but sleep disorders other than SRBD were rarely studied in acromegaly. We evaluated 38 acromegalics (14 M, 24 F, age 52.8±2.3 yrs) by a structured interview for insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), SRBD, sleep related movement disorders (SRMD), circadian sleep disorders and parasomnias. Epworth sleepness scale ...

Introduction: Pituitary adenomas are benign neoplasms which grow slowly, but that can recur even after apparent radical resection. Until now, markers predicting regrowth and invasiveness have not been completely characterized.Design: We investigated cell proliferation and apoptosis parameters in 20 radically resected pituitary macroadenomas (six GH, two PRL, two ACTH, one FSH and nine non-secreting), in order to predict recurrence risk. Tumour regrowth w...

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...

Introduction: Acromegalic patients have an increased risk of developing colorectal neoplasms (CN). A common polymorphism (C677T) in gene coding for methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), a key enzyme in folate metabolism and in DNA synthesis, reparation and methylation, has been associated with CN risk in general population, but its role in acromegalic patients has never been explored yet.Aim: To investigate the contribution of MTHFR C677T polymorp...