Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Despite being on adequate amounts of levothyroxine (>1.6 μg/kg) some patients still exhibit biochemical evidence of inadequate replacement (serum TSH >4.2 mIU/l±free-thyroxine (FT4) <12 pmol/l). We report the use of a 5-day absorption test for assessing levothyroxine absorption in such a patient.Case: A 35-year-old female with hypothyroidism since 2007 had a serum TSH ranging from 4.48 to 54.9 mIU/l and FT<s...

The calcium-sensing-receptor (CaSR) is a G-protein-coupled receptor that plays a fundamental role in extracellular calcium homeostasis, but is also implicated in non-calcitropic disorders including colon cancer and asthma. In addition, CaSR is highly expressed in pancreatic islets where it has a role in insulin secretion. Patients with gain-of-function CaSR mutations, and mice (referred to as Nuf) with a gain-of-function CaSR mutation (Leu723Gln), develop autosomal dominant hy...

Somatostatin exerts inhibitory effects on hormone secretion and cell proliferation by interacting with five different receptors (SST1–SST5) linked to effector systems via G proteins. The receptor structural domains mediating these effects have not been identified. Since SS is the hypothalamic peptide that physiologically inhibits GH secretion, aim of this study was to investigate the molecular determinants mediating the interaction of the human SST5 with G proteins and su...

Aims Nicotine (N) has detrimental effects on fibroblasts compounding those of AGE in uncontrolled diabetes. The impact of the antioxidant glutathione (G) is investigated to clarify mechanisms involved, using 5 alpha dihydrotestosterone (DHT) as a hormone marker of healing.MethodsHuman gingival fibroblasts in confluent culture were incubated in Eagle’s MEM, with 14C-testosterone / 14C-4-androstenedione an...

Although initially considered rare, the incidence of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (P-NETs) has progressively increased. A population-based study conducted in England and Wales (1986–1999) found that 5-year survival was 29% for non-functioning and 41% for functioning tumours when considering well-differentiated P-NETs. Traditional treatments show very limited effectiveness; novel targeted therapies are, therefore, required and identification of key molecules driving n...

We previously demonstrated that acromegalic patients with normal IGF-I levels after surgery also met the current criteria for cure (i.e. postglucose GH nadir <1 μg/l) after long term monitoring. Since some Authors recently proposed to even lower the present GH nadir cut off value, the aim of this study was to confirm its adequacy to define long lasting disease remission. A group of 24 acromegalic patients (9 M&15 F, age 54.2±9.6 yrs) normal IGF-I levels and p...

Background: In the last decade, the combination of the widespread use of streptavidin-biotin technology and biotin–containing supplements (BCS) in the daily clinical practice, have led to numerous reports of erroneous hormone immunoassay results. However, there are no studies assessing the clinical and biochemical significance of that phenomenon, when treating patients with hypothyroidism. Therefore, a prospective study was designed to investigate the potential alteration...

Obesity is due to the combined effects of genetic, environmental, lifestyle and the interactions of these factors. Leptin (LEP) is an adipocyte-derived hormone that acts to reduce food intake and increase energy expenditure by binding and activating its specific receptor in the hypothalamus. In humans, LEP and LEPR have been mapped to 7q31.3 and lp31, respectively. The LEP and LEPR genes have been investigated in the search for gene variants potentially related to the pathophy...

Background: Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer (PCa) leads to a global loss of lean mass. ADT leads to sexual dysfunction and a selective loss of leg muscle function, however individual muscle volumes have never been evaluated. We aimed to assess in men undergoing ADT, the muscle volumes of levator ani, which in mice is androgen-responsive, and of lower-limb muscles.Methods: We conducted a prospective case-control study involving 34 m...

Objective: Evaluate the influence of altered cortisol binding globulin (CBG) concentration on total cortisol and calculated free cortisol (CFC) during the 250 μg ACTH test.Methods: We included 100 unmedicated healthy individuals (HI) (50M:50F), 13 women taking oral contraception (OC), and 5 men with nefrotic syndrome (NS, prior to glucocorticoid treatment; hypoalbuminaemia <9 g/l; proteinuria >1.6 g/24 h). An ACTH-test was performed between ...