Endocrine Abstracts

Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone with low molecular weight (362 Da) synthesized from cholesterol in the adrenal gland. The release is regulated by the hypothalamic–pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Approximately 95% of the circulating amount is bound to proteins (CBG and albumin), but only the remaining free fraction is biologically active. Serum cortisol level is routinely analysed in laboratory medicine, though the widespread immunoassays (RIA and ECLIA) have the disadv...

Objective: According to recent studies, impaired secretion of GH is a frequent finding after ischaemic stroke. The aim of our study was to compare various available GH stimulation tests in post-stroke patients.Design: Seventeen patients were included in the study (12 males; mean age: 60.5 years; mean BMI, 27.7 kg/m2) with a mean 19.6 (±7.3) months after stroke. For screening, glucagon and small dose (0.15 μg/kg) GHRH-arginine (sdGHRH...

Introduction: Both cortisol and vasopressin are stress hormones. Earlier, our group demonstrated that serum concentrations of free cortisol at admissions to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) were independent predictors of survival in critically ill patients. Other investigators have demonstrated that serum copeptin, a surrogate marker of vasopressin may also be a predictive factor in this patient population. The aim of our present study was to compare the prognostic roles of serum...