Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Mitotane is regularly used in patients with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) adjuvantly, in patients with high risk of recurrence, and in advanced disease. Multiple effects of mitotane result in adrenal insufficiency in virtually all patients. However, it is unclear how frequently the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is recovering after treatment discontinuation. Here, we aim to investigate the HPA axis after treatment with mitotane.Me...

Background: Vaccination is a widely adopted measure against the severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing Covid-19 pandemic. Both SARS-CoV-2 infection and Covid-19 vaccines have been associated with several thyroid disorders. We studied the risk of Graves’ orbitopathy (GO) following Covid-19 vaccination.Methods: The study included 98 consecutive patients (71 females and 27 males, mean-age 50 years) attending our tertiary r...

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a multifactorial disease characterized by reduced bone mass and increased risk of fragility fractures. Menopause predisposes women to osteoporosis due to declining estrogen levels. Iron is known to play a relevant role in the development of osteoporosis since iron suppresses osteoblast formation and may also stimulate osteoclast resorption of bone. Also, homocysteine is a known risk factor for osteoporotic fractures and is related to DNA methylati...

Introduction: It is known that very-low-calorie-ketogenic-diet (VLCKD) has beneficial effects on body weight in overweight diabetic patients. Adopting this diet with artificial meals or natural foods in type 2 diabetes (T2DM) has been largely studied, and conflicting results have been reported regarding its effects on glycemic profiles, dyslipidemia, and liver function. In fact, the high level of fat content in natural foods could have a negative impact on hepatic steatosis, a...

Introduction: Calcitonin (CT) is the most specific marker for medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), thus, even low detectable values can conceal persistent disease. Current guidelines suggest performing an early CT evaluation three months after surgery. However, this timing may be too premature to evaluate the CT nadir, since different isoforms or aggregates from tumour deposits may persist in the bloodstream and require additional time to be cleared. The present study aimed to e...

Introduction: type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypogonadism are common conditions afflicting the aging male, often present together. The specific role of testosterone (T) replacement therapy (TRT) on glycometabolic profile and body composition, particularly in patients with T2DM, is still the object of an intense debate. The aim of the present study is to meta-analyze the role of TRT in T2DM considering all placebo and non-placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials (RCTs...

False elevation of estradiol(E2) due to immunoassay interference is a rare but important phenomenon reported in the literature. It is most commonly related to cross-reactivity(CR) from drugs sharing structural similarity with E2, namely fulvestrant and exemestane. These laboratory interferences(LI) can lead to unnecessary investigation/inappropriate treatments. Therefore, in such instances, a more selective and sensitive method is required. We present the case of a young femal...

Introduction: Indeterminate cytology still puzzles clinicians, due to its wide range of oncological risks. The new Italian cytological classification introduced in 2014 by SIAPEC-IAP split this category into TIR3A and TIR3B, according to a different cancer risk of <10% and <30%, respectively. Consequently, TIR3B nodules still have a surgical indication, even if more than half of cases will not result in thyroid cancer. The present study aims to analyse a consecutive se...

Background and aim: Aldosterone-to-Renin Ratio (ARR) is recommended as initial test to screen for Primary Aldosteronism (PA), especially in high-risk hypertensive population. Endocrine Society (ES) Guidelines recommend that patients with an increased ARR should undergo one or more confirmatory tests in order to confirm or exclude PA diagnosis. Captopril Challenge Test (CCT) and Saline Infusion Test (SIT) are commonly used in routine clinical practice. The aim of our study was ...

The European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP2) defined in 2018 ‘sarcopenia as muscle disease (muscle failure), with low muscle strength overtaking the role of low muscle mass as a principal determinant’; sarcopenia increases risk of falls and fractures, impairs ability to perform activities of daily living, leads to mobility disorders and low quality of life and death. The diagnosis is confirmed by low muscle quantity or quality. The muscle quanti...