Endocrine Abstracts

Bone loss is a frequent complication of aromatase inhibitors (AIs) therapy in women with breast cancer. Bone-active drugs are effective in protecting the skeleton from detrimental actions of AIs. However, bone mineral density (BMD) was the primary end-point in most of published studies, whereas data on fractures were scant and mainly limited to denosumab. In this prospective study, we investigated the effects of denosumab, oral bisphosphonates and intravenous zoledronate on ri...

Background: PCBs are persistent organic pollutants, able to affect thyroid function (endocrine disruptors) and promote inflammation through multiple mechanisms. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a ligand-activated transcription factor able to bind dioxins and dioxin-like pollutants including PCBs, play a key role in xenobiotic response, by up-regulating specific responsive genes, the so-called “AhR gene battery”, including cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) and Nuclear ...

Background: Co secreting Thyrotropin/growth hormone pituitary adenomas are rare, and their clinical presentation and long term management may be challenging. Clinically, the majority of plurihormonal pituitary adenomas are silent and diagnosis almost always relies on immunohistochemical analysis of the tumor tissue. Early detection is key to optimize patient mamagement. We report a case of pituitary plurihormonal macroadenoma with overt clinical hyperthyroidism and minimal GH ...

Objective: Since the relationship between thymic hyperplasia (TH) and Graves’ Disease (GD) is of paramount importance for diagnostic and therapeutic choices, a wider knowledge of this association is required for endocrinologists in routine clinical practice. Our aim was to assess the prevalence, the clinical features, and the response to treatment of GD-related TH in an Academic referral centre.Methods: All consecutive cases of GD-related TH at Univ...

Introduction: Nelson´s Syndrome is defined as the presence of an enlarging pituitary tumor associated with elevated fasting plasma ACTH levels and hyperpigmentation in patients submitted to bilateral adrenalectomy for the treatment of Cushing´s disease. Case Report: We present a case of a 48 y/o woman who in 2015, was diagnosed of Cushing’s disease and underwent transsphenoidal adenomectomy but remission was not achieved, so the patient wa...

Introduction: Literature has already described some cases of hypophysitis related to acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov2). The pituitary is indeed target for the virus due to the angiotensin-converting-enzyme-2 expression. Hypophysitis patients present with mass effect and pituitary dysfunction related symptoms. ACTH and TSH deficiencies are the most reported, along with central diabetes insipidus (CDI). The best way to manage these hypophysitis is still undefi...

Introduction: Neutropenia can indicate infectious and hematological pathology but it can also be a sign of hyperthyroidism. For this reason, it has been suggested to perform a complete blood count before starting treatment with antithyroid drugs in case of new-onset hyperthyroidism. Antithyroid drugs can cause severe neutropenia, also called agranulocytosis, when the neutrophil count is less than 500/µl. Therefore, the use of these drugs should be reconsidered if it is le...

Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare cancer associated with hereditary syndromes in 10% of cases. However, data on germline variants (GVs) in adult patients with sporadic ACC are limited.Methods: We analyzed germline DNA from 150 adult patients with sporadic ACC sequentially referred to our centers between 1998-2019. We designed a custom panel of 17 genes potentially involved in the pathogenesis of ACC: AIP, APC, ARMC5, ARNT, BRCA1, BRCA2...

Most adrenal incidentalomas are benign and can be divided into nonfunctioning adrenal tumors (NFAT) and tumors with mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS). Several studies suggest that MACS may result in an increased risk for mortality and cardiometabolic disease. The cardiometabolic risk in MACS is possibly related to the increased frequency of cardiovascular risk factors such as diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HT) induced by cortisol excess. This is confirmed by ...

Introduction: Somatotropinomas are benign pituitary tumors with heterogeneous biological and clinical behavior. The tumor microenvironment (TME) is an environment generated by the interaction between tumor cells and the host immune system. It affects both the behavior of the tumor and the outcome of the therapy. The GNAS gene encodes the alpha subunit of G proteins associated with hormone receptors such as TSH, PTH, GHRH, FSH/lH, ACTH. Mutation of this gene has been associated...