Endocrine Abstracts

Leptin is an adipocyte-derived hormone that acts directly in the brain reducing food intake, increasing glucose uptake and modulating the metabolism in adipose tissue. Nevertheless, the central mechanisms related to improve glucose uptake, induced by leptin intracerebroventricular (icv), and the proteins activated in the skeletal muscle are incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which ICV leptin increase glucose uptake and improve gl...

Cushing’s Disease (CD) is severe clinical condition due to an ACTH-secreting pituitary tumor. Here we present the case of a 25-years old male who came to our attention for hypertension, moon face, acanthosis nigricans, abdominal purple striae and central obesity. The diagnosis of CD was based on the presence of high plasma cortisol after dexamethasone suppression test and elevated urinary free cortisol levels (UFC, 6-fold higher the upper limit of normality (ULN)). The pi...

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...

Background: The concept of testosterone (T) supplementation (TS) as a new anti-obesity medication in men with testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS) is emerging.Aim: To systematically review and meta-analyze available observational and register studies reporting data on body composition in studies on TS in TDS.Methods: An extensive Medline Embase and Cochrane search was performed including the following words: ‘testosterone&#1...

Background: The role of testosterone (T) in regulating body composition is conflicting.Aim: To meta-analyze the effects of T supplementation (TS) on body composition and metabolic outcomes.Methods: All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effect of TS on different endpoints were considered.Results: Overall, 59 trials were included in the study enrolling 3029 and 2049 patients in TS and control gr...

Introduction: Conventional cardiovascular (CV) risk factors identify only half of subjects with incident major adverse CV events (MACE). Hence new markers are needed in high CV risk subjects, as those with erectile dysfunction (ED). A role for dynamic peak systolic velocity (D-PSV) at penile color Doppler ultrasound (PCDU) has been suggested, but it is operator-dependent and time-consuming. Flaccid penile acceleration (FPA) is a PCDU parameter that reflects PSV, the systolic r...

Introduction: Digito-rectal examination (DRE) of the prostate is provides useful information on the state of prostate growth and on the presence of suspected peripheral nodules. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical and biochemical correlates of finding an enlarged prostate size at DRE in subjects with sexual dysfunction (SD).Methods: A consecutive series of 2379 patients was retrospectively studied. The analysis was focused on a subset of su...

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a diagnostic category which identifies subjects at high risk for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, erectile dysfunction (ED) and male hypogonadism. However, MetS impact on male infertility has been poorly studied. We systematically evaluated possible associations between MetS and clinical characteristics in men with couple infertility.Methods: Out of 367 consecutive subjects, 351 men (36.0±8.0 years) wi...

Introduction: Smoking habit has always been considered to exert a detrimental effect on male reproductive health. However, several studies do not clearly demonstrate a negative effect of smoke on semen parameters. In addition, the effect of smoke on male genital tract has been poorly studied by ultrasound (US). We evaluated the correlations of smoking with seminal and US characteristics in males of infertile couples. Methods. A consecutive series of 426 men was systematically ...

Introduction: Measurement of testis volume (TV) is a reliable clinical procedure that predicts reproductive fitness. However, the role of TV in overall and cardiovascular (CV) fitness has never been studied.Aim: The study aims to analyze the clinical correlates of TV in patients with sexual dysfunction (SD) and to verify the value of this parameter and its determinants (i.e., luteinizing hormone (LH) levels) in predicting major adverse CV events (MACE).<...