Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The general population trend shows an increase in the elderly. The most affected systems in the aging process are the endocrine and cardiovascular systems. The cardiovascular conditions are very important among the diseases of the elderly, the mortality due to cardiovascular diseases holding the first place in geriatrics.The aim of the study is to determine the peculiar aspect of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate secretion dynamics in the elderl...

Introduction: Cushing’s syndrome denotes pathologic hypercortisolism as a result of excessive adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) production or autonomous adrenal production of cortisol according to the ACTH levels. However, 30% of the patients with CS have ACTH levels in the ‘grey zone’ (5–20 pg/ml), thereby posing a challenge in establishing the aetiological diagnosis.Case presentation: A 20-year-old woman presented to our depart...

PURPOSE: To report a case of Cushing’s syndome caused by ectopic ACTH secretion related to a thymic carcinoid presented with trombositopenia.CASE: years old male presented with fatigue, skin rash. At presentation, physical findings showed Cushingoid appearance, with moon face, hyperpigmentation, easy bruising and buffalo hump. His laboratory findings showed platelet: 90.000 (150.000–450.000), ACTH: 609 pg/ml (0–46 pg/ml), baseline cortisol...

A 68-year-old woman presented with hypertension, oedema, weight gain and moon face. She had signs of proximal muscle weakness, thinning of scalp hair and bruising on her legs. Initial tests showed 24 hour urine free cortisol elevated at 946 nmol (0–300 nmol).Serum cortisol showed no circadian fluctuation (0900: 1094 nmol/l, 2400 hrs: 886 nmol/l) and no suppression by dexamethasone (2 mg/24 h for 48 h: 1067 nmol/l). ACTH levels were slightly raised (...

Introduction: Pheochromocytoma is a functional catecholamine producing tumor that originates from adrenal chromaffin cells and is an extremely rare cause of ectopic Cushing syndrome. We report clinical case of adrenal incidentaloma with the evidence of both pheochromocytoma and sub-clinical Cushing’s syndrome.Observation: A fifty-two year-old female patient was referred to our institution because of an incidentally discovered right adrenal mass. Al...

Overt hypercortisolism causes reduction in bone mass and density. The effects of subclinical Cushing’s syndrome (SCS) on bone markers and structure are still debated. We therefore studied 56 patients with adrenal incidentaloma: group A=35 (20 F 15 M, age 43–79, mean 64.6±1.5; BMI 29.9±0.9 kg/m2) without evidence of hypercortisolism, and group B=21 (10 F 11 M, age 51–76, mean 63.4±1.9, BMI 28.0±1.2 kg/m2) with SCS (i.e. w...

Introduction: Cushing’s disease (CD) is a potentially fatal disease caused by corticotrophic adenoma of the pituitary gland. Crooke Cell Adenomas (CCA) are a rare variant characterized by cytoplasmic ring deposits of cytokeratin filaments. They are usually aggressive macroadenomas with a higher rate of recurrence and malignancy.Clinical case: A 36 year old man, with 34 kg weight gain and uncontrolled hypertension for 4 years presented at the Emerge...

Background: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is considered the most common autoimmune disease and the predominant cause of hypothyroidism in iodine sufficient countries. HT may appear clinically in approximately 0.1–2% of the population.Aim: The study in hand aimed at assessing the role of thyroid ultrasonography in the diagnosis of HT patients discriminating them from other causes of hypothyroidism. A scoring system of sonographic findings was a...

Introduction: Graves’ thyrotoxicosis and Addison’s disease are disorders with a strong auto-immune basis. Primary hypothyroidism and Addison’s disease are recognised components of polyglandular autoimmune syndrome type II (PGA-II). Despite its autoimmune etiology, Graves disease is not commonly associated with PGA-II. We present a case of a patient with newly diagnosed Graves’ disease presenting in incipient adrenal crisis due to unrecognized Addison’s...

The establishment of pregnancy requires dynamic remodelling of the endometrium. Decidualization, a key part of this process, is characterised by differentiation of endometrial stromal fibroblasts (ESF) which secrete factors that regulate implantation and placental development. We recently discovered that ESF synthesise androgens which modulate the expression of endometrial receptivity and decidualization markers. Utilisation of the circulating androgen precursor DHEA within ta...