Endocrine Abstracts

GH and IGF-I exert an important role in the control of bone formation. Osteopenia and osteoporosis are a frequent recurrence in patients with thalassemia. Due to the high prevalence of GH deficiency (GHD) in adult thalassemic patients (Scacchi et al., Clin Endocrinol 2007), we investigated the possible role of GH - IGF-I abnormalities in the pathogenesis of the osteopenia/osteoporosis of this disease.Study: Sixty-four adult thalassemic pati...

GH deficiency (GHD) can be recognized in a not negligible proportion of thalassemic children, while data on the prevalence of this disorder in adult patients are lacking. Therefore, we elected to study the GH – IGF-I axis in a large group of adult thalassemic subjects.Study design: Ninety-four patients (69 with thalassemia major and 25 with thalassemia intermedia on stable transfusional regimen, 39 men and 55 women, aged 31.5±6.8 years, receivi...

Hypothyroidism has been traditionally described as a frequent endocrine complication of thalassemic children: in these patients hypothyroidism is mainly of primary origin and not linked to autoimmunity (Mariotti et al., Pediatr Endocrinol Rev 2011). Fewer data are available on the prevalence and nature of this complication in adult age thalassemia. Therefore, we elected to evaluate thyroid function and autoimmunity in a large series of adult patients.<p class="abs...