Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: DNA methylation is one of the epigenetic mechanisms existing to regulate gene expression. It is believed that methylation of DNA is susceptible of change by environmental and nutritional factors. Thus, epigenetics provides a mechanism which may explain the etiology of some metabolic disorders and obesity.Aim: The aim of this study is to analyze the DNA methylation level of several lipoprotein lipase (LPL)-promoter-CpG island in human viscer...

Introduction: Although recognized as a risk factor in most staging systems, including the UICC TNM classification, the significance of microscopic extrathyroid extension (ETE) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remains controversial. Despite this fact, its diagnosis by a pathologist following surgery for tumours ≤ 4 cm without metastases means an upstaging to pT3 and stage III in patients over 45 years, implying a poorer survival. Our study aimed to evaluate the impact...

Objectives: To study for the first time the differences in monocyte/macrophage infiltration, inflammation and adipogenesis in the subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues of normal-weight subjects who differed in their degree of metabolic syndrome.Methods: The study included 92 normal-weight subjects who differed in their degree of metabolic syndrome. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were measured. RNA from subcutaneous and visceral adipose tis...

Objectives: To study blood pressure circadian pattern in patients with impaired fasting glucose (IFG) evaluated with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM).Methods: Cross-sectional study evaluating patients taken from the Spanish ABPM Registry. Normoglycemia was defined as glucose <100 mg/dl and IFG as glucose 100–125 mg/dl. All patients underwent 24-h ABPM with a Spacelabs ambulatory blood pressure system. ABPM was performed according to s...

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of BIPSS with desmopressin stimulation in the differential diagnosis of ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome.Patients and methods: Retrospective study of patients studied to our hospital for diagnosis of ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome (2000–2015). The histopathological results in patients who underwent a surgical procedure was considered the reference for statistical st...

Introduction: Obesity is characterized by a low-grade inflammatory state which has been directly related to the development of insulin resistance and diabetes. Circulating lipopolysaccharides (LPS) have been proposed as a triggering factor for this inflammation. Likewise, adipose tissue (AT) capacity for lipid handling and storage is also a key factor for the development of obesity-related metabolic disorders. Animal studies have shown that LPS are able to modify the expressio...

Background: There is a clear relationship between obesity and carbohydrate metabolism alterations (CMA), such as impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and T2D. OGTT is used for the diagnosis of those alterations, but is not performed in case of normal fasting glucose values (NFG). Moreover, BMI underestimates the diagnosis of obesity and body composition alteration can be crucial to the development of abnormal carbohydrate metabolism. This study aimed to examine the discriminating ...

Introduction: Fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of the thyroid gland is an accurate diagnostic test used routinely in the initial evaluation of nodular thyroid disease. A sizeable subset of patients are found to be taking antithrombotic and/or anticoagulant (AT/AC) medications. This creates a dilemma for the endocrinologist, who must weigh the risk of withholding these medications (and the associated potential benefit of diagnosis) against the perceived increased risk of ia...

Thyroid storm (TS) is one extreme of a continuum beginning with thyrotoxicosis. It’s rarely caused by exogenous thyroid hormone intake (ETHI). Aggressive medical therapy is the cornerstone of treatment; nevertheless, it might not be sufficient. Plasmapheresis is an extracorporeal technique that can rapidly lower thyroid hormone levels. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of plasmapheresis in TS secondary to ETHI. We evaluated retrospectively all TS cases (Bur...

Introduction: The fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of thyroid nodules is the procedure of choice in the diagnostic approach of nodular thyroid disease. Despite showing a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 92%, many of the results are non-diagnostic. One of the factors that can contribute to this number is the proper procedure of the smear.Objective: To compare the FNAC’s results in our team with and without the contribution of an expert C...