Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the first cause of death in patients with cirrhosis, with an incidence of 3–5% per year and a survival of 0–10% 5 years after the diagnosis. Major risk factors for HCC are HCV, HBV infection and alcohol, while a specific cause is not identifiable in 5–30% of cases. Several studies have shown a strong association between metabolic syndrome (MS), characterized by insulin-resistance (IR) and central obesity, and HCC; ...

Hypothyroidism is a risk factor for obesity, central adiposity and ectopic fat accumulation. To assess whether this risk could be detected also in stable patients taking regularly the LT4 replacement therapy we assessed retrospectively the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (ATP III definition) and calculated the fatty liver index (FLI) and the visceral adiposity index (VAI) in patients attending our Outpatient Endocrinology Clinic because of known primary acquired hy...

Background: Combined pituitary hormone deficiency (CPHD) is characterized by multiple pituitary hormone deficiencies, due to mutations of pituitary transcription factors involved in pituitary ontogenesis. The genetic basis for CPHD is complex, involving a variety of syndromic and non-syndromic presentations with variable degrees of phenotype-genotype correlations. In male infants with CPHD, gonadotropin deficiency is suggested by the presence of a microphallus and undescended ...

McCune-Albright Syndrome (MAS) is a rare congenital sporadic disorder due to an embryonic post-zygotic somatic mutation in the GNAS1 gene, defined by the triad of peripheral precocious puberty (PPP), unilateral café-au-lait spots and fibrous dysplasia (FD) of bone. PPP or precocious pseudopuberty is the most common endocrinopathy seen in MAS. Other hyperfunctioning endocrinopathies include hyperthyroidism, acromegaly, FGF23-mediated hypophosphatemia and neonatal hypercort...

Glucocorticoids (GC) act at different target tissues by binding two different intracellular receptors, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the mineralcorticoid receptor (MR), but the their effects vary considerably between subjects, due to a different sensitivity, which is at least partially, genetically determined. GCs are so named based on their actions on carbohydrate metabolism, namely on insulin-dependent processes. In particular, the effect of GC includes increased hepa...

Context: The desmopressin (DDAVP) test has been proposed to discriminate Cushing’s disease (CD) from Pseudo-Cushing states (PC); however, current information on its value is scarce and contradictory.Objective: To assess the ability of the DDAVP test in distinguishing between these conditions, with emphasis on subjects with mild hypercortisolism.Design: Retrospective/prospective study.Setting: Division of...

Context: Glucocorticoids are known to decrease protein synthesis and impair membrane excitability of muscle fibres. However, their short-term effects on muscle structure and function of healthy subjects remain poorly understood.Objective: To investigate whether steroid administration could decrease the circulating levels of muscle proteins and modify myoelectric indexes of sarcolemmal excitability and fatigability.Design: Single-bl...

HPA is negatively regulated by glucocorticoid feed-back at hypothalamic, pituitary and hippocampal level by glucocorticoid (GR) and mineralcorticoid (MR) receptors. MR antagonists impair HPA rhythm after acute administration. The aim of this study was to verify HPA activity and glico-insulinemic profile both basally and after acute administration of potassium canrenoate (CAN), before and after chronic treatment. We evaluated ACTH, cortisol (F) and dehydroepiandosterone (DHEA) ...

Objective: The corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) test does not reliably distinguish between Cushing’s disease (CD) and normality or pseudo-Cushing state (PC). In this study we assessed whether the application of novel criteria could enhance its diagnostic performance.Design: Retrospective study.Patients: Fifty-one subjects with CD, 26 with PC and 31 control subjects (CT).Measurements: All subjects un...

Clinically silent adrenal masses discovered by abdominal imaging procedures performed for non-adrenal disorders, i.e. adrenal incidentalomas, have become a common finding in clinical practice and they represent a clinical concern because of the risk not only of malignancy but also of subclinical hormonal hypersecretion (SCS) that represents a new risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and/or osteoporosis. We studied 73 patients (39F, 34M; mean±S.E.M.: 61.6...