Endocrine Abstracts

The concentrating function of the kidney is important to maintain the water homeostasis of the body. It is regulated by the arginine-vasopressin system through the type 2 vasopressin receptor (V2R). Loss-of-function mutations of V2R in kidney can lead to nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI) which results several symptoms such as polyuria, polydipsia, and hyposthenuria. In this study, we functionally characterized and investigated the potential rescue of a missense mutation (S1...

Introduction: Hypothalamic gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH) regulates mammalian reproductive system. It binds receptors (GnRHRs) expressed in gonadotrope cells of anterior pituitary, regulating the synthesis and secretion of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). GnRHR is a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) coupled to Gαq/11 protein and, to a lesser extent, to Gαi/Gαs proteins, simultaneously activating Ca2+, β-cate...

BackgroundHyponatremia is associated with increased risk of bone fragility and fractures. In vitro studies suggest a role of hyponatremia in stimulating osteoclast activation, whereas other studies rather revealed a possible role of acute hyponatremia in impairing osteoblast function. We aimed to assess whether and how correction of hyponatremia in hospitalized patients with the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuresis (SIAD) has an impact on bone...

BackgroundCardiac autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a serious complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) that is strongly associated with increased risk of cardiovascular mortality. The significance of CAN has not been fully appreciated. Treatment of CAN includes physical activity.AimTo detect CAN status and measure the influence of physical activity on the autonomic nervous system using cardiovascular autonomic refl...

IntroductionNeurological complications related to COVID-19 are described. The pituitary expresses ACE which is known as the entrance for Sarscov2 through binding to viral S-protein. Pituitary apoplexy (PA) is due to the sudden hemorrhagic infarction of pre-existing pituitary tumors or the gland itself and its symptoms and radiological findings can be similar to acute hypophysitis (AH) caused by viral infections.Subjects and methods...

A 54-year-old female presented with one week of weakness, fatigue, headache, worsening constipation, and general malaise. Background history included long-standing type 1 diabetes (glutamic acid decarboxylase positive), on continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, end-stage diabetic nephropathy on haemodialysis and subclinical hypothyroidism. Tertiary hyperparathyroidism was diagnosed (adjusted calcium 2.82 mmol/l, phosphate 1.42 mmol/l, par...

BackgroundUnilateral forms of primary aldosteronism (PA) are usually surgically treated to remove the source of aldosterone excess. After adrenalectomy, aldosteronism persists in a subset of patients indicating abnormal aldosterone production from the unresected gland.ObjectiveTo retrospectively analyze histopathology and post-surgical outcomes in a 3-year prospective cohort of patients diagnosed with unilate...

Bariatric surgery is increasingly deployed world-wide in patients with significant weight excess in order to mitigate the deleterious effects of associated metabolic and cardiovascular comorbidities. Pre-operative evaluation systematically investigates for possible causes of secondary obesity due to endocrine pathologies. In our hospital a standard blood test panel comprising the anterior hypophysis, the adrenal and the thyroid is requested as well as an endocrinological evalu...

TERT is the protein component of the telomerase enzyme and is overexpressed in many cancer types. The most well-known role for TERT is the regeneration of telomeres allowing the avoidance of senescence and the continued proliferation of stem and cancer cells. Recent studies have identified other roles for TERT in compartments outside the nucleus, in particular in mitochondria, with a protective role against endogenous and therapy-induced oxidative stress (OS). A small subset o...

Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most common Endocrine malignancy. Nowadays Undifferentiated Thyroid Cancers (UTCs) are still a lethal disease, mostly because of the lack of effective therapeutic options. The insurgence of therapy resistance and disease relapse is believed to be caused by a subpopulation of cancer cells with a stem-like phenotype and specific tumor-initiating abilities, the so called Tumor-Initiating Cells (TICs). Several markers have been identified and described o...