Endocrine Abstracts

Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) have been proposed as a modality in the treatment of short stature in boys. Improvement in final height and predicted final height has been observed in children with constitutional delay of growth and puberty and idiopathic short stature. AIs block the conversion of androgens to estrogens and thus may delay epiphyseal fusion and thereby prolong linear growth. We report our experience with the use of letrozole, a third generation AI, in a boy with gen...

The most effective means of treating macroprolactinomas, including those associated with significant visual loss at presentation, is with dopamine agonist (DA) therapy. Improvement in visual function often occurs within days of commencing DA therapy, and usually precedes significant reductions in prolactin (PRL) concentrations and may predate significant evidence of tumour volume reduction by months or years. The temporal association between PRL concentration reductions and tu...

IntroductionMaturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) is an autosomal dominant disease, diagnosed mainly in young individuals with a strong family history of diabetes, that results from mutations impairing pancreatic β cell function. The MODY 3 subtype, caused by a HNF1α mutation, with consequent deficit in insulin secretion, is the most frequent and responds more effectively to sulfonylureas, compared to metformin. Acromegaly is a rare condi...

The SMP30 (Senescence Marker Protein 30) is involved in the maintenance of intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis and in the regulation of various Ca2+- dependent proteins. A suppressive effect on cell proliferation, DNA synthesis and on the expression of oncogenes in rat hepatoma cells overexpressing SMP30 has been reported recently suggesting it may have a role in cancer progression. High levels of SMP30 expression have been found in liver and kidney of rats bu...

Protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) such as PTPN22, that encodes lymphoid tyrosine phosphatase (LYP), are important regulators of cell signalling. LYP, through interaction with various accessory molecules including Grb2 and Csk kinase, has been shown to be particularly important in regulating signal transduction from the T cell receptor. The identification of PTPN22 as a susceptibility locus for Graves’ disease (GD) led us to hypothesise that other PTPs may...

Long acting somatostatin analogs (SSTa) induce both GH/IGF-I reduction and pituitary tumor volume shrinkage in the majority of acromegalic patients. It is not known if SSTa might also definitively cure the acromegalic disease in at least some patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate this possibility in acromegalic patients very well responsive to chronic treatment. Thirteen acromegalic patients (4M&9F), 5 newly diagnosed and 8 previously operated but none irradia...

We previously demonstrated that acromegalic patients with normal IGF-I levels after surgery also met the current criteria for cure (i.e. postglucose GH nadir <1 μg/l) after long term monitoring. Since some Authors recently proposed to even lower the present GH nadir cut off value, the aim of this study was to confirm its adequacy to define long lasting disease remission. A group of 24 acromegalic patients (9 M&15 F, age 54.2±9.6 yrs) normal IGF-I levels and p...

IntroductionMaturity Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) affects 1–2% of diabetic patients. Subtype 5 (HNF1β mutation) is rare (~1% of all MODY subtypes) and extra-pancreatic manifestations are often present (chronic kidney disease (CKD), liver disease and/or genitourinary malformations).AimTo report and review confirmed MODY 5 cases in an Endocrinology Department.Meth...

IntroductionGlycemic control during hospitalization has an impact on the length of hospital stay (LOS) and infection rates. This knowledge has led to a growing concern with hyperglycemia and its repercussions.ObjectivesThis study aims to evaluate the glycemic profile and diabetes mellitus (DM) treatment paradigm of hospitalized patients in a central hospital by main diagnosis and LOS.Me...

IntroductionThe toxic solitary thyroid nodule is a major cause of hyperthyroidism, especially in iodine-deprived regions. The most widely used therapy is iodine-131, which is effective in achieving normal thyroid function and reducing nodule dimensions, however, it may induce hypothyroidism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of radioiodine therapy in patients with toxic solitary nodules and to determine predictive factors for the develop...