Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Everolimus is an oral mTOR inhibitor that exerts antineoplastic effects inhibiting cell proliferation, survival and angiogenesis. Its activity in advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) has been demonstrated in controlled trials and everolimus was approved by the FDA for the treatment of progressive, advanced pNETs in May 2011.Materials and methods: We treated with everolimus, at the dosage of 10 mg once daily, 14 patients with advanced, prog...

Liver and visceral ectopic fatty tissue disposition is a major metabolic derangement leading to type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, recapitulated in the metabolic syndrome (MetS). We have demonstrated that the selective FXR agonist obeticholic acid (OCA, INT-747) ameliorates the metabolic profile and reduces visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced rabbit model of MetS. We now report the effects of OCA treatment in HFD (0.5% cholesterol and 4% p...

Introduction: Pituitary incidentalomas are lesions discovered on an imaging study performed for an unrelated reason. Their frequency varies among 0.2–38% and it is continuously increasing due to the development of neuroimaging techniques. The aim of the study is to investigate clinical and biochemical characteristics of 205 consecutive patients (70% female, mean age 53.6±18.2 years) with incidental pituitary adenoma (IPA) followed at our center from 1990 to present.<...

Introduction: The main goal in the treatment of acromegaly is achieving biochemical and tumor mass control. Therapeutic options include surgery, medical treatment and, in selected cases, radiotherapy. A GH receptor (GHR) variant that differs for the genomic retention or exclusion (d3GHR) of exon 3 is present in about 50% of general population and its presence is related to a greater sensitivity to GH.Materials and methods: We describe a series of 118 pat...

Aim: To describe characteristics and outcomes of Italian patients with hypopituitarism participating in HypoCCS.Methods: Study population was stratified by max GH peak (mGHp) and BMI. Baseline variables included demographic characteristics, type of deficit, smoking habits; variables analyzed over time included weight, Framingham cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, lipids, GH dose.Results: Italian subpopulation included 342 patients ...

GH deficiency (GHD) and excess of glucocorticoids are associated with increased risk of fragility fractures. Most adult GHD patients have other pituitary deficiencies, but it is unclear whether these deficiencies or their overreplacement therapies may influence the bone disease occurring in GHD. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the prevalence of vertebral fractures may be influenced by glucocorticoid replacement therapy in hypopituitary males with GHD. We studied ...

Introduction: Erectile dysfunction (ED) and, in particular, arteriogenic ED have been proposed as new markers of risk for incident major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). Reduced penile blood flow is more common in obese people than in leaner ED subjects. The aim of this study is to explore the interaction of overweight/obesity and penile blood flow in the prediction of incident MACE.Methods: This is an observational prospective cohort study evaluati...

Introduction: No study has ever assessed the possible association of penile blood flow (PBF) and the relational component of sexual function with incident major cardiovascular events (MACE). The aim of this study is to investigate whether severity of erectile dysfunction (ED), PBF and other factors related to a couple’s relationship predict incident (MACE).Methods: A subset of 1687 patients was longitudinal studied. Different clinical, biochemical a...

Introduction: Concern about a testosterone-induced PSA increase is often perceived as one of the main limitations in treating hypogonadism even when it is symptomatic, such as in subjects with sexual dysfunction (SD). The aim of the present study is to evaluate the relationship between testosterone (T) and PSA levels in subjects with SD.Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the relationship between T and PSA in 2291 subjects seeking medical care at our O...

Somatotroph adenoma represent 20% of pituitary adenoma. Although often considered as benign, they can induce serious neurological and metabolic complications. GH hypersecretion can be inhibited by somatostatin agonists such as octreotide or lanreotide. However, some GH levels reach normal values in only 50% of treated patiens. The decreased sensitivity to the somatostatin agonists was shown to be related to a lower expression of the sst2 gene.To reverse ...