Endocrine Abstracts

Inflammation activates a variety of inflammatory cells, which induce and activate several oxidant-generating enzymes which are able to produce high concentrations of free radicals and oxidants which react with each other to generate other more potent reactive oxygen and nitrogen species such as peroxynitrite (ONOO−) that can damage DNA, RNA, lipids, and proteins by nitration, oxidation, etc., leading to increased mutations and altered functions of enzymes and ...

Selpercatinib is a specific RET inhibitor, highly effective in the treatment of advanced RET-mutant medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). The consequences of selpercatinib administration in MTC patients who have not undergone thyroid surgery are still unknown. We report the case of an 84-year-old man undergoing investigations for worsening diarrhea and weight loss. Upon a neck ultrasound scan and blood exams that pointed out high levels of both calcitonin (CT, 20.583 ng/l) and ca...

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common endocrine disease mainly caused by a single parathyroid adenoma. Although the localization of the parathyroid adenoma is not a surgical criterion for parathyroidectomy (PTX), this is known to increase the cure rate and reduce the complication rate. Neck ultrasound and MIBI-scintigraphy are the first-line techniques to detect hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue, however, they have some limitations including the operator-dependent s...

Background: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex rare genetic disorder associated with hypothalamic dysfunction, pituitary hormone deficiencies, hyperphagia and (morbid) obesity. PWS is caused by loss of expression of paternally expressed genes on chromosome 15q11.2-q13. The most common genetic mechanisms leading to PWS are paternal deletion (DEL) and maternal uniparental disomy (mUPD). DELs can be subdivided in type 1 and (smaller) type 2 deletions (DEL-1, DEL-2). Most re...

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak in Italy forced the health system to cancel all non-urgent outpatient activities, to avoid further spreading of the disease inside the healthcare facilities. At our institution, for cancer patients the hospital allowed treatments and consultations: the medical team, however, identified patients whose procedures could be postponed. Even after May 2020, the capacity for non-urgent thyroid surgeries was reduced. These events enhanced our efforts ...

Introduction: Myxedematous coma is a rare endocrine emergency that settles in the absence of appropriate treatment for hypothyroidism for a long period. The severe and chronic reduction of serum thyroid hormones culminates in the insufficiency of compensatory mechanisms that maintain the physiological homeostasis of the organism. The clinical condition is severe, commonly associated with hypoxemia, hypercapnia, hypothermia, reduced cardiac output, and altered mental status.</p...

Introduction: The treatment of thyroid diseases with thionamides can cause agranulocytosis a potentially fatal side effect. The manifestations resulting from such a condition include, in most cases, infections that, if not treated immediately, have a high risk of septicemia. Therefore, the clinical presentation includes fever of unknown origin and infections such as pneumonia, tonsillitis, and abscesses. Most patients who do not receive immediate medical intervention progress ...

Introduction: Thyroid nodules represent a common cause of specialist consultation, with a risk of malignancy of 4-15%. The most widely used cytopathological method for diagnosing thyroid cancer is fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of thyroid nodules and the use of the Bethesda system (BS) for cytopathological reporting. We conducted the present study to report our experience using the BS, and to compare the results obtained with this system with the final histopathological ...

FAM83B has been recently identified as an oncogene involved in the development and progression of several malignancies, but its role in thyroid cancers (TC) is still unclear. In the present study, we examined the expression of FAM83B and its possible involvement in cell migration and differentiation, in neoplastic and normal thyroid tissues and in TC human cell lines. We found that FAM83B expression in TC varies according to tumor histotype, being si...

Current clinical presentation of PHPT is mild disease with an increased risk of fragility fractures. PHPT predominantly occurs in postmenopausal women, who have an increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures due to ageing and loss of estrogen.Aims: To explore skeletal phenotypes in postmenopausal women affected by PHPT with a wide clinical and biochemical spectrum of disease.Patients: Postmenopausal (at least 5 years from last men...