Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the performance of simple and clinical/imaging-corrected unconventional indices in predicting the selectivity of adrenal vein sampling (AVS) and the lateralization of aldosterone hypersecretion in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA).Methods: Data of all consecutive patients with a proven diagnosis of PA who underwent AVS for subtype differentiation in two Italian referral centers were analyzed retrospectively....

Background: In vitro and animal experiments have clearly demonstrated that excessive cortisol, GH and prolactin secretion, as well as dopamine agonists (D2As) and somatostatin analogs (SSAs), often prescribed for their treatment, affect the immune response and the onset/evolution of autoimmune diseases (AIDs) through direct and indirect complex mechanisms. Data from clinical studies are very scanty.Study aim: To assess the 1) distribution of AIDs accordi...

Background: Differential diagnosis of ACTH-dependent hypercortisolism is crucial to indicate a proper treatment and is based on CRH-, high-dose dexamethasone suppression-test (HDDST) and pituitary MRI. However, up to 50% of cases of Cushing’s disease (CD) present a negative MRI or a visible lesion < 6 mm. In these patients, guidelines suggest to perform bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling (BIPSS) in order to establish a correct diagnosis. Aim of this study was ...

: Patients with Cushing’s disease (CD) have increased cardiovascular risk due to metabolic alterations caused by glucocorticoids excess. Pasireotide, a multireceptor-targeted somatostatin analogue, is a therapeutic option in CD patients in whom surgery is not curative or not feasible. Pasireotide has been shown to be effective in controlling hypercortisolism and to improve metabolic features. Recently, the visceral adiposity index (VAI) has been proposed as a marker of vi...

Background: Adrenocortical tumors (ACT) include benign and malignant forms. Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACC) are highly malignant neoplasms with poor prognosis and strong metastatic potential. Aurora kinase family members (AK) are serine/threonine kinase involved in the regulation of mitosis. Aurora kinase A (AKA) promotes centrosome maturation and spindle assembly, while aurora kinase B (AKB) is necessary for spindle assembly checkpoint and cytokinesis.A...

The association between acromegaly and increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is widely recognised. The aim of this retrospective multicentric study is to evaluate the impact of different therapeutic approaches on the progression of cardiovascular risk (CVR) in acromegalic patients. At diagnosis and last follow up (follow up time of 13 ± 8 years),we assessed BMI, blood pressure, glycaemic and lipid profile, GH and IGF1 levels in 199 patients with acromegaly (116...

Ectopic Cushing syndrome (EAS) is a rare condition characterized by ACTH-dependent hypercortisolism resistant to normal physiologic suppression by glucocorticoids. EAS is due to an extra-pituitary tumor producing bioactive molecules generated by post-translational cleavage of the proopiomelanocortin gene (POMC). EAS is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and although surgical resection of the primary ACTH-producing tumor remains the mainstay of therapy, not all...

Background: Familial isolated pituitary adenomas (FIPA) is a rare inherited disorder accounting for about 2% of pituitary adenomas. Mutations in the Aryl hydrocarbon receptor Interacting Protein (AIP) gene have been described in about 15% of FIPA families and rarely in early onset sporadic pituitary adenomas. Among the AIP mutations reported so far, the R304X represents, after the Finnish founder mutation Q14X, the second most common one.Me...

Background and objectives: Metyrapone has been approved for the treatment of patients with Cushing’s syndrome from all causes, but only few retrospective clinical studies are available. The aim of our study was the prospective assessment of metyrapone as pre-operative treatment.Methods: Before adrenalectomy, 7 patients with ACTH-independent Cushing’s syndrome due to adrenal adenoma were prospectively treated with metyrapone for 3 months, with e...

Introduction and aim: The purpose of replacement therapy in Adrenal Insufficiency (AI) is mimicking endogenous cortisol levels as closely as possible: dual release hydrocortisone (DR-HC) has been introduced to replicate the circadian cortisol rhythm. Multiple daily saliva collections could be used to assess the cortisol concentration during real-life: our aim was to study the salivary cortisol rhythm in AI.Materials and methods: We prospectively evaluate...