Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Pasireotide LAR is a multireceptor targeted somatostatin analogue that has been shown to obtain a better biochemical control of acromegaly. However, pasireotide LAR could induce hyperglycemia in acromegalic patients with higher baseline glucose values. The devices that can track interstitial glucose levels such as continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) could be a useful for studying the impact of SSA on patients’ glucose status.Aim: We aime...

During the menstrual cycle, selection of the dominant follicle is characterized by changes of gonadotropin and steroid hormone receptor expression. We aim to evaluate whether co-existing follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) and G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) form heterodimers, suggesting their role in ovarian follicle selection. FSHR-GPER dimerization was evaluated in transfected HEK293 cells in vitro by bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (B...

Background: Pegvisomant (PEG) is a second line medical treatment for active acromegalic patients. PEG efficacy is between 61.5 and 92% and even if it is administered daily its long half-life suggests a possible use with a non-daily regime.Aim: We aim to compare acromegalic patients on daily PEG administration (DP) with patients on non-daily PEG administration (NDP).Methods: We studied 43 acromegalic patients under PEG treatment bet...

Somatostatin analogs (SSA) effectively control symptoms in neuroendocrine tumours (NET), besides showing antiproliferative activity. In progressive or metastatic NET, increasing SSA dose or shortening the dosing interval are common clinical practice, though empirical. Aim of this study is to evaluate efficacy and safety of high-dose SSA treatment in patients with progressive disease under standard SSA dose. Twenty-one patients (median age 56.8 years) with NET of different orig...

Introduction: FSH acts on its receptor (FSHR) resulting in signal transduction activation, gene expression and steroidogenesis. The FSHR common SNP p.N680S is a marker of gonadal response in vivo. However, in vitro dose–response experiments failed to demonstrate the molecular basis thereof so far. In this study, we systematically investigated whether p.N680S mediates different kinetics of FSH response in vitro.Des...

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...

Introduction: While the association of Klinefelter’s syndrome (KS) with infertility is well known, very few investigations have evaluated the prevalence of sexual dysfunction in KS. The aim of the present study is to systematically analyse the prevalence of KS in a consecutive series of adult male patients consulting for sexual problems and to investigate its specific correlates.Methods: Among a consecutive series of 1386 patients (mean age 48.9&#17...

GH and IGF-I exert an important role in the control of bone formation. Osteopenia and osteoporosis are a frequent recurrence in patients with thalassemia. Due to the high prevalence of GH deficiency (GHD) in adult thalassemic patients (Scacchi et al., Clin Endocrinol 2007), we investigated the possible role of GH - IGF-I abnormalities in the pathogenesis of the osteopenia/osteoporosis of this disease.Study: Sixty-four adult thalassemic pati...

Myelolipomas are rare benign tumours resulting from myeloid and adipose mature cells proliferation, both elements have a clonal origin from a common precursor. Myelolipomas predominantly involve the adrenal gland but may develop in extra-adrenal sites. They are hormonally inactive but may coexist with active diseases such as adrenogenital syndrome. They are often asymptomatic but rarely they cause symptoms due to their size or spontaneous retroperitoneal haemorrhage. The myelo...

The GH/IGF-I axis function are reported to ameliorate after weight-loss. Bariatric surgery leads to a significant weight loss in morbidly obese patients. We investigated the relationships between GH/IGF-I axis and body composition in 20 morbidly obese females (BMI: 44.8±4.7; waist circumference (W) 119.5±7.2 cm, age 33.7±11.7 yrs) with a normal glucose tolerance, before and after laparoscopic silicone adjustable-gastric banding (LASGB). The GH axis was evaluated...