Endocrine Abstracts

A 38 female patient with a diagnosis of primary CNS lymphoma was admitted for MATRIX (methotrexate, rituximab, thiopeta, cytarabine) chemotherapy. Prior to chemotherapy and while on steroids she became increasingly polydipsic and polyuric with blood biochemistry demonstrating a sodium of 164 mmol/l. An endocrine review of the patient was requested and a diagnosis of cranial diabetes insipidus was suspected due to the extent of infiltration of the hypothalamus and pituitary sta...

Healthspan is the period of life during which one enjoys good health. As people age, health is often compromised. Aging is a progressive process and changes of aging are multifactorial in origin. Growth hormone (GH) levels peak at midpuberty and thereafter decline progressively as people age. The number of GH pulses per 24 h does not change with age, but the pulse amplitude declines. The decline in GH secretion of aging is paralleled by a decline in muscle mass. This decline i...

Introduction: Measurements of midnight salivary cortisol, 24-hour urinary free cortisol (UFC) and 1mg overnight Dexamethasone (DXM) suppression test (short DST) represent classical first line screening tests to diagnose Cushing syndrome. In women using combined Estrogen–Progestogen contraception, cortisol response during short DST is often decreased, leading to false positive (FP = morning plasma cortisol post-DST > 50 nmol/l).Purpose: The main ...

Aim: The insulin tolerance test (ITT) is considered the gold standard test in assessing the integrity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. The aim of this study is to evaluate if the 0900 h cortisol levels can be predictive of the patient’s response to hypoglycaemia, minimizing the use of the ITT as it is labour, intensive and unpleasant for the patient.Methods: This is a retrospective study of 110 ITTs performed at the Endocr...

Background: Intermittent fasting increase maximum lifespan in several species and this effect is associated with reduced protein synthesis signaling. During fasting, a progressive loss of protein in human skeletal muscle is evident. Furthermore, fasting is associated with increased lipid oxidation and insulin resistance.Aim: To define which protein metabolic mechanisms are activated in skeletal muscle during fasting.Methods: We inv...

Aim of the study was to establish the diagnostic value of nuclear atypia thyroid nodules with cytological diagnosis of follicular (FOL) and Hv¨rthle cell (HC) neoplasia. 1039/23.313 fine needle aspiration (FNA) performed in January 2002 June 2005 in the Department of Endocrinology, University of Pisa had cytological diagnosis of FOL e CH. FNA was performed under echo guidance, using 23 gauge needle attached to 10 mL syringe. The material was air-dryed and stained with Pap...

Introduction: Severe hypoglycemia induced by sulfonylurea overdose is a result of insulin hypersecretion. Pasireotide (SOM230) is a multireceptor-targeted somatostatin analogue with high affinity for somatostatin receptor subtypes sstr1,2,3 and especially sstr5, which are expressed on rat and human β cells; pasireotide has been shown to inhibit insulin secretion in both species. The aim of these studies was to investigate the ef...

Wolfram syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder characterised by neurodegeneration and diabetes mellitus. The gene responsible for the syndrome (WFS1) encodes an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident transmembrane protein, that also localises to secretory granules in pancreatic β cells. Although its precise functions are unknown, WFS1 protein deficiency affects the unfolded protein response, intracellular ion homeostasis, cell cycle progression, and granular acidificati...

Convention places 17OHP measures as the way to monitor replacement therapy in congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to P450c21 deficiency. One case several years ago led to questioning of this approach as the 17OHP measures suggested inadequate replacement with hydrocortisone using a general dosing regimen of 12 mg/m2/day and questions about compliance. 24 h cortisol profiles showed high 17OHP concentrations with low cortisol concentrations. Careful studies ...

The goal of this study was to determine whether orexin affects GnRH and LH secretions in the prepubertal rats fed normal or restricted diets. Forty prepubertal rats were randomly divided into 4 groups. Animals in groups 1 and 2 were fed normal and animals in groups 3 and 4 were fed restricted diet for 10 days. After 10 days, animals in groups 1 and 3 received infusions of 1 ug orexin and groups 2 and 4 received infusions of 2 ug orexin into their third ventricle. Blood samples...