Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Leukopenia is a manifestation of autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Leukopenia may be an early sign of autoimmunity and may be a comorbidity in patients with autoimmune Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Aim: The aim was to present a cohort of 12 patients with autoimmune Hashimoto’s thyroiditis who presented with leukopenia.Methods: A cohort of 12 patients, aged 19-72 y, female, with autoi...

Background: Children who were born small for gestational age (SGA) and who do not have adequate catch-up growth until 4 years old have indication for treatment with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH). The metabolic consequences of this treatment are relatively unknown. Objective: To evaluate the effect of rhGH treatment on insulin sensitivity and lipid profile.Materials and methods: A retrospective observational study of child...

Objective: Clinical trials aiming at strict glycemic control in high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) failed to show reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular events. The exact mechanisms remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the effect of intensive antidiabetic therapy on vascular indices of T2DM patients.Methods: We studied 62 T2DM patients [mean age 64 years, 52% males, mean T2DM duration 14 years) with poor glycemic control (HbA1c &#880...

Background: DNA methylation has been recognized as a putative regulatory mechanism for CYP11B2 in primary hyperaldosteronism. We aimed to investigate the DNA methylation and the expression of a panel of genes encoding several enzymes involved in steroidogenesis in adrenocortical benign tumors.Methods: We collected a total of 60 adrenocortical tissues, including 9 non-functioning adrenal adenomas, 9 adenomas associated with autonomous cortisol se...

Introduction: Estimated prevalence of hypertension (HT) in Portugal is 42%. It is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, the leading mortality cause in Portugal. Primary aldosteronism (PA) was once recognized as rare cause of secondary hypertension and hypokalemia a condition present in all cases. Nowadays, prevalence of this condition is about 10% in HT patients, being the commonest form of secondary HT. Secondary forms of HT should be exc...

Introduction: Primary acinic cell carcinoma (ACC) is an uncommon salivary gland (SG) tumor, making up 1–3% of all SG neoplasms, more frequent in women, at 40–60 year old. The cause is still unknown and the only well-established risk factor is ionizing radiation. ACC metastasize in 10–15% of the cases, 35% tends to recur and the rate of disease-associated death is about 16%. Surgical resection is the mainstay treatment, but radiation therapy may be used in some c...

Introduction: Pheochromocytomas and extra-adrenal paragangliomas are rare neuroendocrine tumors, with a peak incidence between the 3rd–5th decades of life and about 10% are malignant. Although they have the same radiographic and histologic characteristics of their benign counterpart, malignant pheochromocytomas are diagnosed by the presence of local invasion or metastatic tumor in the non-chromaffin tissues, and offer a poorer prognosis. Treatment is typically extirpative...

Berardinelli-Seip syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by generalized lipoatrophy, extreme insulin resistance with dyslipidaemia in childhood and development of diabetes and hepatic steatosis in adolescence. The metabolic derangements can be severe and lead to substantial comorbidities, including acute pancreatitis, hepatic cirrhosis, and premature cardiovascular disease. Other manifestations can include polycystic ovarian syndrome, acanthosis nigricans, a...

Meningioma is a common, usually benign, tumor of the brain and the spinal cord that originates from any dura surface. Such lesion accounts for 10 to 15% of nonadenomatous sellar masses. Purely intrasellar meningiomas are relatively rare and can mimic a nonfunctioning adenoma. A 33-year-old man with a history of 1.5 year fatigue, anemia and erectile dysfunction referred to our department. The laboratory data revealed low levels of ACTH, Cortisol, FSH, LH and Testosterone, while...

Objective: 17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone caproate therapy during pregnancy has been associated with insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to highlight any possible association of 17OHP with insulin resistance in women with PCOS.Design: Forty-five women with PCOS underwent 75 g OGTT test and short Synachten test with sampling of stimulated 17OHP. Women were divided into two subgroups according to basal 17OHP cut-off level of 0.8 ng/ml.<p class=...