Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: An insulin therapy protocol (ITP) was created during 2007 in our hospital by endocrinologists, internal physicians and nurses. The aim was to establish the basal-bolus therapy as the treatment for the non-critical diabetic in-patients in order to ease the management and lead a better glycemic control of these patients. A poster was presented to all the hospital departments in several meetings during 2008. This poster showed the way to calculate the initial insuli...

Objectives: To valuate the insulin treatment intensification efficacy (from three premixed insulin doses to basal-bolus therapy) in type 1 and 2 diabetic patients wrongly controlled.Material and methods: The 61 patients were included. 29 (47.5%) type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) and 32 (52.5%) type 2 DM, attended in the Day Diabetes Hospital (DDH) during 2008. 50.8% were females and 49.2% were males. Mean age was 34.2±14.4 in type1 DM and 63.6±8.6 ...

The Nelson’s syndrome (NS) is characterized by hyperpigmentation, sellar growing mass, and increased plasma ACTH concentrations The management of NS remains difficult: neurosurgery represent the first choice therapy. Many drugs have been used with variable results: cyproeptadine, GABA-agonists, somatostatin analogues, chemiotherapy, PPAR-γ-agonists, and dopamin-agonists.Aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cabergoline administratio...

Cushing’s syndrome during pregnancy is a rare disorder. A 32-year-old pregnant woman presented with Cushing’s syndrome. She had had a medical abortion complicated with bleeding for anencephaly by 15 weeks of her first pregnancy. At the beginning of her second pregnancy, typical clinical signs of Cushing syndrome developed: extensive red stretch marks on the abdomen and thighs, excessive weight gain (24 kg over 17 weeks) and high blood pressure (150/90 mmHg). By week ...

The importance of cell cycle regulation in pituitary biology has been suggested from the fact that many gene-targeted mouse models of cell cycle mutations develop diverse pituitary pathologies. The retinoblastoma protein (pRb)/cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (Cdk4) pathway, one of the major mitogen-sensor routes in the cell, seems to be critical in the control of pituitary cell proliferation. Both inactivation of pRb or hyperactivation of Cdk4 result in pituitary hyperplasias or tum...

The RET/GFRa/GDNF system displays a wide distribution in tissues such as nervous system, kidneys, intestine or testis. RET has been implicated in human pathologies. RET is a tyrosine-kinase receptor activated by four ligands GDNF, NTN, ART and PSPN through four co-receptors GFRa1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Activation of the receptor leads to cell differentiation or proliferation. Our group has shown that RET is expressed specifically in the somatotrope (GH) adult cell populatio...

Pituitary GH secretion is regulated by the interplay of at least two hypothalamic hormones, GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) and somatostatin, through their interaction with specific cell surface receptors on the anterior pituitary somatotrophs. A third type of receptor, the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, called GHS receptor type 1a (GHSR1a), was identified in the pituitary and the hypothalamus. Ghrelin is an acylated peptide produced predominantly by stomach and a natural l...

Introduction: A primate-specific luteinizing hormone (LH) receptor (LHCGR)-variant was suspected to discriminate between maternal choriogonadotropin (hCG)- and fetal LH-functioning. It is the so-called “LHCGRex6A”, truncated, intracellular receptor isoform produced by alternative cryptic exon stop-codons located between the 6th-7th out of 11 exons. Its function is unknown, although pseudohermaphroditism and 46-XY female-like phenotype were associated with LHCGRex...

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) and multiple sclerosis (MS) are autoimmune diseases with common immunological mechanisms. Type 1 diabetics have an increased risk of MS. The aim of this work is to report a clinical observation of a partial preservation of β-cell function in a type 1 diabetic patient treated early by Fingolimod for MS.Observation: A polyuro-polydipsic syndrome and a weight loss of 10 kg led to the diagnosis of T1D (typing HLA DR4/...

Introduction: oxLDL are produced from the oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) by macrophages and endothelial cells, becoming cytotoxic and immunogenic. They are also a potent inhibitor of the macrophages mobility, contributing to the vascular wall progressive inflammatory infiltration and atherosclerosis formation. Weight loss can prevent atherosclerotic plaque progression of and acute coronary events in obese subjects, so that oxLDL could be used a biomarker of cardiov...