Endocrine Abstracts

Increased body weight and adipose tissue accumulation amplifies the risk of developing various age-related diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, musculoskeletal disorders. Adipose tissue-derived secreted pro-inflammatory adipokines generate a chronic low-grade inflammation which contributes to the pathogenesis of obesity-linked complications. Recent advancements in tissue-resident adult stem/progenitor cell research have revealed that inflammation...

Introduction: Acromegaly is characterized by high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality possibly due to increased prevalence of main traditional cardiovascular risk factors. It is not clear though whether the incidence of atherosclerosis is truly enhanced. Moreover recent in vitro studies show a protective role of (GH) and IGF1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) on the endothelium. As expression of endothelial regenerative reserve, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) could...

Background: Exendin-4 (Ex-4) is a GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM). Aim of this study was to characterize the effects of Ex-4 expressed continuously from salivary glands (SG), following adeno-associated virus-mediated (AAV) gene therapy in two different model of obesity and T2DM. Several trials support an AAV good safety and little toxicity profile. Serotype 5 (AAV5) presented enhanced gene transfer activity in SG and an efficient pro...

Introduction: EURO-WABB is a European research project within the field of rare diabetes diseases. The general objective is to support efficient diagnosis, treatment and research for the overlapping rare genetic diseases Wolfram, Alstrom and Bardet-Biedl (WABB) syndromes.Methods: The project is supported by the EU DG-SANCO by the collaboration of 8 Associated Partners (AP) and 15 Collaborating Partners. University of Birmingham work as the Project Leader...