Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Acromegaly is a rare, serious disease caused by the presence of a pituitary adenoma secreting an excessive amount of growth hormone (GH), which leads to a consequent increase in circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) levels, and excessive skeletal growth and soft tissue enlargement. It is usually managed by surgery and/or treatment with somatostatin analogs (SSA). The ACRONIS study (CSOM230CIC05) will provide real-world evidence on the efficacy and safe...

Introduction: Chemotherapy may be an important cause of primary infertility, especially in girls submitted to this therapy at very young ages.Clinical case: A 20-year-old female was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia at the age of 1. She was submitted to chemotherapy: intrathecal methotrexate and cyclophosphamide and i.v. doxorubicin, vincristine, mercaptopurine, asparaginase and bone marrow transplantation at the age of 2. She was ref...

Introduction: Patients with aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP) gene mutations are predisposed to large, invasive, GH- or PRL-secreting pituitary tumours, occurring at a younger age and poorly responsive to treatment. The zebrafish (ZF) model provides anatomical and functional similarities to human neuroendocrine system.Methods: AIP knock down (KD) ZF embryos were generated using antisense morpholino oligonucleotides injected at one-cell ...

Introduction: Endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is a rare disease associated with severe morbidity and increased mortality if untreated. Glucose metabolism is significantly altered in hypercortisolism.Objective: To retrospectively analyse the clinical presentation of a cohort of patients with endogenous CS and study the frequency of glucose metabolism abnormalities as opposed to other clinical signs and symptoms.Material and ...

Background: Mitotane is a strong inducer of hepatic CYP3A4 activity (cortisol metabolism) and increases cortisol-binding globulin (CBG). High hydrocortisone dosages are necessary in patients with adrenocortical cancer (ACC) on mitotane treatment. The newly modified release hydrocortisone has not been used in mitotane-treated ACC patients yet.Aim: To compare cortisol (serum and saliva), calculated free serum cortisol and ACTH levels in ACC patients on mit...

Kisspeptin is found in the ovary of different species including human and rat. We have recently described, through in vitro studies, that kisspeptin is under the control of sympathetic innervation of the ovary. Considering that ovarian activity of sympathetic nerves increases with ageing, it is possible that the ovarian kisspeptin also increases during this period. As a role of kisspeptin in folliculogenesis has been postulated, this increase in kisspeptin could parti...

Obesity and its consequent metabolic disorders are severe health problems. The mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) pathway is an important hypothalamic integrator of the actions of nutrients and hormones on food intake (FI). Nutrient availability also affects the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the hypothalamus and regulates neuronal activity. In the present study, we hypothesise that modulation of mTORC1 activity mediates ROS effects on FI. To thi...

Frequently seen in connection with thyroid disease, exophtalmic syndrome has a much large spectrum of differential diagnosis including numerous local and general aetiologies. Conditions such as mucoceles of paranasal sinuses don’t have always nasal or sinus symptoms but may present with ophthalmological manifestations.A 50-year-old woman presented for a 2-months history of right eye proptosis with upper eyelid swelling, periorbital pain, occasionall...

Background: Treatment outcome with hydrocortisone for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) in neonates and children is highly variable. As there is no licensed formulation for children <6 years hydrocortisone capsules individually have to be compounded by local pharmacies (dose strength: 0.5–9.5 mg). The aim of this study was to characterise mass and content of these capsules in order to assess medication safety for effective and nontoxic dosing in terms of precision ...

Background: Postpartum hypopituitarism, known as Sheehan’s syndrome, occurs during a complicated childbirth, due to severe hemorrhage and hpovolemic shock that lead to ischemic necrosis of the pituitary gland.The aim of the study is to point out the clinical features in postpartum pituitary necrosis, so that the disease could be recognize rapidly, to present a laboratory work-up for a postive diagnosis, and also to describe the com...