Endocrine Abstracts

The GH/IGF-I axis function are reported to ameliorate after weight-loss. Bariatric surgery leads to a significant weight loss in morbidly obese patients. We investigated the relationships between GH/IGF-I axis and body composition in 20 morbidly obese females (BMI: 44.8±4.7; waist circumference (W) 119.5±7.2 cm, age 33.7±11.7 yrs) with a normal glucose tolerance, before and after laparoscopic silicone adjustable-gastric banding (LASGB). The GH axis was evaluated...

Cabergoline has been recently demonstrated to normalize cortisol secretion in more than one third of patients with Cushing’s disease (CD). The aim of this study was to evaluate short-term (3-months) and long-term (12-24 months) effects of cabergoline treatment on the main systemic complications of CD, including hypertension, glucose intolerance and dyslipidemia. Twenty patients with CD unsuccessfully treated by neurosurgery entered the study. Cabergoline was admistered at...

Introduction and aim: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with an adverse metabolic and cardiovascular risk (CVR) profile, including: diabetes, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia and hypertension. Heart rate recovery (HRR) is a measure of autonomic dysfunction and an abnormal HRR is also associated with increased mortality. To date, no evaluation of autonomic function in young PCOS women has been performed, therefore the aim of the present study was to evaluate the HR...

Acromegaly is a morbid condition mainly caused by overproduction of growth-hormone (GH) from a pituitary adenoma leading to excessive growth. Normalisation of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF1) is an important goal for the treatment of acromegaly. The second-generation somatostatin analog (SSA) long acting pasireotide (la-PAS) has recently been introduced for the management of patients uncontrolled by first-generation SSA. The ACRONIS study (CSOM230CIC05) will provide real-wo...

Adrenal insufficiency is a rare endocrine disorder characterized by low levels of cortisol associated with increased mortality, also due to inadequate replacement therapy. The replacement with the thrice-daily immediate release hydrocortisone (IRH), in contrast to the once-daily modified-release hydrocortisone (MRH), more appropriately mimicking the physiological circadian rhythm of cortisol (PCRC), is associated with metabolic disorders, mainly due to the non-physiological pe...

Insulin resistance (IR), characterized by an impairment of target tissues to insulin responsiveness, is the core defect preceding diabetes. Preclinical and clinical data have suggested a role for the dopaminergic system in glucose homeostasis control. The aim of the current study was to investigate the role of the dopamine agonist cabergoline (CAB), displaying high affinity for dopamine type 2 (DR2) receptor and low affinity for serotonin receptors (5-HTRs), in the regulation ...

Fertility represents a major concern in patients with acromegaly and the peculiar PCOS-like condition is commonly found in acromegalic women. The current retrospective study aimed at investigating gonadal function and fertility rate in acromegalic women with disease onset (DO) within the reproductive age. In 50 women hormonal parameters and gynecological ultrasound were evaluated at diagnosis (DD) and after disease control (DC). Data about menstrual disturbances (MD), pregnanc...

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including bisphenol A (BPA) may promote obesity. The role of 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VitD) in counteracting adipogenesis is still a matter of question. Thus, the current study aims to investigate whether and how VitD exposure during adipogenesis could prevent the BPA pro-adipogenic effect in adipocyte models: the mouse pre-adipocytes 3T3-L1 and the human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hAMSC). 3T3-L1 and hAMSC were treated with VitD (1...

Context: Although diabetes mellitus is a major complication in patients with acromegaly, prevalence and determinants of microvascular and macrovascular complications of diabetes remains unexplored in this population.Aim: To investigate prevalence and determinants of microvascular and macrovascular complications in acromegaly patients with diabetes and to compare them with a group of diabetic patients without acromegaly.Methods: Pro...

The transcriptional activator Bmal1, reaching acrophase in the morning and bathyphase in the evening, is the main regulator of circadian clock. A mutual interaction between circadian clock and glucocorticoids (GCs) has been described as well as their implication in muscle metabolism. The current in vitro study aims at investigating Bmal1 involvement in muscle catabolism induced by GCs circadian exposure. To this aim, mouse myocytes C2C12 were serum-shocked to synchron...