Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Acromegalic cardiomyopathy is characterized by myocardial hypertrophy and interstitial myocardial fibrosis at biopsy. We studied left ventricular hypertrophy -LVH- through echocardiography (-ECHO- 2-D standard echocardiography and Doppler analysis) and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) analysis. Myocardial fibrosis was studied with late enhancement technique (LE) and extracellular volume technique (ECV) at CMR.Methods: 25 patients -pts- (13 ...

Hyperthyroidism associated to hyperthyrotropinemia is a rare condition which can be due to two different causes: resistance to thyroid hormones and TSH secreting adenoma. The differential diagnosis is not easy.We have observed 8 patients with hyperthyroidism associated to inappropriately elevated TSH. All patients had similar basal levels of thyroid hormones and 7 out of 8 had a multinodular goiter.Four out of 8 patients showed lac...

Aim: We compared effectiveness of partial withdrawal of levothyroxine (L-T4) to the use of recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) in preparation for Tg testing. We also evaluated clinical aspects and quality-of-life (QOL) during both regimens.Materials and methods: Ten consecutive patients, previously treated with total thyroidectomy and radioiodine ablation for DTC, underwent rhTSH protocol and, after 15 days, reduced their L-T4 dose by 50% for 5 weeks. At the f...

Background: Hobnail variant of papillary thyroid carcinoma (HPTC) has been recently identified. Given the rarity of the variant its characteristics have been studied only in little series, limiting the quality of the data available for its better management. The aims of our retrospective study were 1) to define the clinical and molecular characteristics of a series of HPTC in a monocentric and relatively large series; 2) to define the clinical and molecular characteristics abl...

Chronic hypercortisolism is associated with dramatic increase in fragility fractures. The evaluation of skeletal fragility in Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is a clinical challenge, since fractures may occur even in presence of normal bone mineral density (BMD). Recently, measurement of bone marrow fat (BMF) by vertebral magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was proposed as alternative tool for evaluating skeletal fragility in primary and secondary osteoporosis. Noteworthy, rece...

Context: Until now the role of medical therapy in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) was mainly based on the use of bisphosphonates. Recently, cinacalcet hydrochloride was reported to be effective in control hypercalcemia in PHP. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cinacalcet in PHP patients who were not effectively controlled with alendronate.Patients and methods: Fourteen PHP patients (mean age 64.1±2.6) were include...

X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH) is associated with mutations in PHEX, upregulation of FGF23, leading to hypophosphatemia, abnormal bone development and short stature. H-MAB to FGF23, Burosumab, is the new therapy for XLH. Among PHEX mutations, c.1586+6T >C, partially destroying the splice-site, is presumably associated to a mild phenotype not described so far. We describe two siblings bearing the PHEX c.1586+6T >C variant. Cas...

Glucocorticoid hormones (cortisol in man, corticosterone in rodent; CORT) are vital for maintaining normal homeostasis in multiple systems ((e.g., the cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune systems), and for an optimal response to acute and chronic stress. Plasma CORT is released from the adrenal zona fasciculata (ZF) in response to circulating levels of pituitary-derived adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH). ACTH binds to the MC2-receptor on the membra...

Glucocorticoid hormones (cortisol in man, corticosterone in rodent; CORT) are vital for maintaining normal homeostasis in multiple systems ((e.g., the cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune systems), and for an optimal response to acute and chronic stress. Plasma CORT is released from the adrenal zona fasciculata (ZF) in response to circulating levels of pituitary-derived adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH). ACTH binds to the MC2-receptor on the membra...

Introduction: Hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) is a rare endocrine disease which is characterized by hypocalcaemia and undetectable or inappropriately low serum parathyroid hormone (PTH). Post-surgical HypoPT (PS-HypoPT) is the most common cause, caused by accidental parathyroid removal/injury during neck surgery. From a neuropsychological standpoint, patients with PS-HypoPT present cognitive and neuropsychological symptoms: the more plausible pathophysiological mechanism resides i...