Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Prediction of HPA (hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal) activity after trans-sphenoidal pituitary surgery (NS) is essential for post-operative management. There is not unique behavior in this setting: most of specialists suggests 4-6 weeks of glucocorticoid supplementation and treatment interruption after demonstration of normal endogenous response. Some authors suggest early cortisol detection for the identification of patients requiring glucocorticoid therapy. Aim o...

Pseudohypoparathyroidism type 1 A (PHP-1A) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by hypocalcemia, hyperphosfatemia, multi hormones resistance (PTH, TSH, Calcitonin, GH) associated with Albright hereditary osteodystrophy (AHO) features. The disease is caused by GNAS haploinsufficiency due to inherited inactivating mutation of GNAS-gene that codes for the stimulatory alfa subunit of G protein. A positive genotype-phenotype correlation was recently hypothesized. The purpose of...

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...

Neurosurgery is the treatment of choice of non-functioning pituitary tumors (NFPAs), but its success is strongly affected by local invasion. Medical therapy is still under debate, although the use of cabergoline results in tumor shrinkage in a subset of patients. We recently demonstrated that dopamine receptor DRD2 agonist BIM53097 exerts cytostatic and cytotoxic effects in cultured cells from NFPAs, but no data are present in literature about DRD2 mediated effects on pituitar...

Aim: There are few reports discussing incidence and characteristics of the whole group of Cushing’s syndrome patients in the literature. The aim was to establish the incidence of endogenous Cushing’s syndrome with in-depth analysis of their various subtypes in a well-defined population.Methods: Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of Cushing’s syndrome patients diagnosed between 2008 and 2017. A thorough search for patients was carrie...

The physiological and pathophysiological significance of hGH isoforms remains to be fully elucidated. In order to study the two most abundant hGH isoforms 20 and 22 kDa hGH, we have generated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against 20 and 22 kDa hGH. The mAbs against 20 and 22 kDa were characterized for their specificity and epitopes with different binding assays as well as by Western blot. The mAb 1G12 against 20 kDa with lower than 0.05% cross reactivity to 22 kDa hGH combined ...

Background: Secretion and metabolism of glucocorticoids and sex steroids is disrupted in critical illness, and may be further disrupted in COVID-19. The host receptor (ACE-2) is expressed in endocrine tissues including adrenal cortex and gonad, and its occupancy may dysregulate the renin-angiotensin system. We hypothesise that severe COVID-19 results in glucocorticoid and sex hormone deficiency, and aldosterone excess.Methods: Plasma was obtained from 27...

Introduction: Endogenous hypercortisolism is associated with cardio-metabolic complications and promotes the deposition of lipids in different tissues, particularly in the liver. However, the prevalence of hepatic steatosis in patients with Cushing’s syndrome (CS) has been little investigated so far and only one previous study reported a prevalence of 20% using computed tomography. The aim of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of hepatic steatosis and the organ-speci...

Chronotype is defined as a trait determining the subject circadian preference in behavioral and biological rhythms relative to external light-dark cycle.The morning chronotype (MC) prefers activities earlier in the day, while the evening chronotype (EC) perform its main activity late in the day. Intermediate chronotype (IC) is in an intermediate position between MC and EC. EC as well as menopause have been associated to an increased risk of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) in ob...

Introduction: According to the DSM-5, gender dysphoria (GD) is defined as a distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity. This condition may require gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT), in order to reduce distress. GAHT, however, is not free from side effects and it could increase the risk of onset of new pathological conditions.Aim of the study: To evaluate cardiovascular comorbid...