Endocrine Abstracts

Patients with active Cushing’s syndrome (CS) have an increased coagulability and thrombotic tendency. High glucocorticoids concentrations increase plasma clotting factors, especially von Willebrand factor (vWf) and reduced fibrinolytic capacity. Thromboemobolic complications, mainly in the postsurgical phase, have been reported.Aim of this longitudinal study was to evaluate haemostatic and fibrinolytic markers in patients with active Cushing’s ...

Introduction: Among various comorbidities of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection, male hypogonadism is very frequent with a prevalence of 19% in patients treated with highly active anti-retroviral therapy. However, literature data are still lacking and achieved by studies with <300 subjects each.Aim of the study: Prevalence and clinical characterization of hypogonadism among a large number of men with HIV-1.Methods...

Biochemical control of acromegaly is currently defined by the achievement of GH suppression after oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and of normal age- and gender-matched IGF1 levels. OGTT is believed to inhibit somatotropin secretion by enhancing central somatostatinergic tone; thus, the use of this test in evaluating biochemical control in acromegalic patients on somatostatin analogues (SSA) is questionable. To gain further insights into this topic, we analyzed basal and nad...

Autoimmune thyroiditis is a common disease with different clinical aspects. It has not been established whether a rapid cellular destruction, with evolution towards hypothyroidism, may be associated with specific clinical phenotypes. To clarify this point, we studied 386 consecutive patients affected by autoimmune thyroiditis diagnosed within the previous 3 years: 193 patients (170 female and 23 males, age range 57.5±12.8, Group 1) were treated with L-thyro...

Introduction: HIV-infected patients often display a moderate to severe GH deficiency (GHD). To investigate the effects of r-hGH on hormonal parameters and body composition in patients with HIV-related lipodystrophy (HIV-r-L) and concomitant GHD, we studied 60 patients with HIV-r-L, 28 male and 32 females aged 18–65 years. According to their response to GHRH+Arginine (GH peak assumed to be normal when >7.5 ng/ml) patients were assigned to the following 3 groups: Group ...

Glucocorticoids suppress insulin secretion, inhibit glucose uptake in peripheral tissues, and promote gluconeogenesis in the liver. These effects are known to be mediated via genomic mechanisms of slow onset. Despite recent evidence on rapid non-genomic glucocorticoid signaling in several organs, there is no information on rapid glucocorticoid effects on carbohydrate metabolism in humans.Here we present data on the rapid effects of hydrocortisone on the ...

Osteoprotegerin (OPG) has been identified as a decoy receptor that inhibits osteoclast differentiation and recently as a paracrine regulator of vascular calcification. OPG is suppressed by glucocorticoid administration. In this study, we evaluated OPG and bone metabolism in Cushing’s syndrome (CS) before and after surgical treatment. Twenty-nine patients with CS (26 women and 3 men, mean age: 40.7–2.8 years) and 27 age and sex-matched controls have been studied for b...

Insulin hypersecretion during oral or intravenous glucose tolerance test (OGTT, ivGTT) was described previously in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Little attention was given to the regulation of insulin secretion in these subjects. We aimed to study the secretion of incretins (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, GIP, glucagon-like peptide 1, GLP-1), during OGTT in normoglucose-tolerant PCOS women.After signing written informed cons...

Mortality risk is increased in acromegalics, due to cerebrovascular and cardiovascular events. These events are namely related to atherosclerotic vascular alterations, both at coronary and peripheral level. Systemic comorbidities increase the risk of atherosclerosis, but the role of GH and IGF-1 excess is still debated. To evaluate the relationship between GH/IGF-1 excess, systemic atherogenic complications and vascular alterations we investigated stiffness index (β), pul...

Introduction: Adult growth hormone deficiency is associated with fatigue, tiredness and myalgias. The same clinical pattern can often be present in oncological patients during chemotherapy and follow up.Aim of the study: To conduct an extensive neuromuscular investigation of patients with breast cancer (BC), treated with taxol, in an attempt to explain their neuromuscular symptoms, eleven pre-menopausal patients with BC underwent a prospective protocol, ...