Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Patients with large non-functioning pituitary macroadenomas often have symptoms due to varying degree of hypopituitarism and/or mass effect on visual structures, while presentation with hydrocephalus is extremely uncommon.Case report: We describe an 82-year-old man who was referred to the Neurology department of our hospital because of rapidly progressive memory loss. The patient was in good health until ten weeks earlier, when he insidious...

Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics and post-surgical outcome of our primary hyperparathyroidism case series.Methods: A retrospective cohort study of primary hyperparathyroidism patients who underwent surgery in the last 10 years in our centre. The medical records were reviewed to extract data. A statistical descriptive analysis was performed using mean and S.D. for continuous variables and percentages for qualitative varia...

Introduction: Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) is a complication of hyperthyroidism characterized by muscle paralysis and hypokalemia. It mainly affects male patients of Asian descent. Many patients do not have obvious symptoms and signs of hyperthyroidism, which makes its diagnosis difficult.Case report: A 47-year-old Asian man presented with all four limbs rapidly progressive muscular weakness that caused him inability to walk. He referred a previou...

Background: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) frequently suffer from metabolic disturbances, in particular from pre-diabetes and diabetes. Conflicting results currently exists on the relationship between vitamin D and glucose metabolism. Hence, the aim of our study was to investigate the association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels and glucose tolerance in PCOS women.Methods: Cross-sectional study including 23 PCOS patients (mean age 27 ...

Background: Germ cell tumors (germinoma, teratoma, embryonal carcinoma, yolk sac tumor and choriocarcinoma) constitute 0.3–3.4% of all primary intracraneal tumors. Germinoma is the most common and of better prognosis.Aim: Describing the behaviour of germ cell tumors of the pituitary–hypothalamic region: location, clinical characteristics, diagnosis and follow-up.Material and methods: Review of medical records of patients ...

Introduction: Pheochromocytomas are the most common tumours of adrenal medullary origin. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical manifestations, biochemical profile, preoperative pharmacological approach and hemodinamic outcomes in a series of patients with histologically proven pheochromocytoma treated in our center over 12 years.Methods/design: Descriptive analysis including patients diagnosed with pheochromocytoma after histological examinat...

Introduction: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is a promising alternative to open surgery although concerns exist in regard to laparoscopic treatment of pheocromocytoma. This report aims to describe the outcomes of laparoscopic resection for pheocromocytoma focusing particularly on intraoperative hemodynamic stability and postoperative outcomes.Methods/design: Descriptive analysis including patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery for unilateral pheochromoc...

Objectives: Diabetic retinopathy, is the most frequent cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 20–74 years in developed countries. In 15 of the 23 studies in developing countries and in ethnic minority groups within developed countries, the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was over 35%. In developed countries, only 2 of 16 studies reported a prevalence of 35% or over. Variation in neither population demographics nor method of retinopathy assessment appeared to...

Background: Patients with hypoparathyroidism require frequent calcium measurements and currently there is no point of care device allowing this to be done at home by patients themselves. The aim of our study was to evaluate whether ionized calcium(iCa) can be accurately measured in venous and capillary blood and saliva by a repurposed device LAQUA.(R&D Ref 18/0058– IRAS 236079)Methods: Patients undergoing thyroid and parathyroid surgery underwen...

Maturation of the definitive adrenal cortex occurs between 3 and 6 weeks post-partum and involves onset of CYP11B2 expression and establishment of the laminin-encased 3D structure of glomeruli that contain rosettes of 10 to 15 zona glomerulosa (zG) cells that work in coordination to produce optimal amounts of aldosterone. Although this process is dependent on canonical WNT/b-catenin signaling, cellular sources of WNT ligands remain elusive and the mechanisms involved in the ex...