Endocrine Abstracts

GH replacement is widely used in adults with hypopituitarism, but its effect on tumor occurrence and pituitary tumor recurrence is unknown. Furthermore, in literature there are scant with short follow-up time. The available data do not seem to suggest that rhGH replacement increased the incidence of regrowth of pituitary tumor and of cancer in adults with GHD, provided that IGF1 concentrations remain within the normal range for age.The aim of our study w...

Objective: To evaluate Vitamin D levels and bone metabolism in adult patients with cystic fibrosis (CF).Patients and methods: One hundred patients with CF (53 F, 47 M; age 29±8 years). and 100 healthy controls were enrolled. Patients were assessed through clinical, and laboratory investigations. Evaluation of serum 25 hydroxy vitamin D (25OHD), vertebral fractures (quantitative morphometric analysis) and bone mineral density (BMD) at lumbar spine an...

Aims: SC can be discovered in 5–20% of the incidentalomas. Subclinical secretion is defined by the failure to suppress plasma cortisol after 1 mg-overnight dexamethasone <50 nmol/l, but there is no agreement in literature. The aim of our study was to evaluate cortisol response to oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) as potential marker of autonomous activity of these adenomas.Methods: Ninety subjects, 47 females and 43 males, underwent the protoco...

Aim: ACC is an extremely rare heterogeneous aggressive disease. Clinical presentation are various. The prognosis is very poor. There are limited data to define prognostic markers for survival beyond stage.The aim of this study is to describe the experience of our institution with patients affected by ACC.Material and methods: This study was performed on 13 patients aged between 26 and 76 years, from 1992 to 2009 who turned to our I...

The calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) is a G protein coupled receptor that is expressed in type A intercalated cells of the distal convoluted tubule and cortical collecting ducts, where it is involved in renal proton excretion. We have therefore investigated the Nuf mouse, which has an activating CaSR mutation (Leu723Gln) that leads to hypocalcaemia, hypercalciuria, renal calcification, a urinary concentrating defect, and cataracts, for disturbances in acid-base homeostasis. Mic...

GH replacement is widely used in adults with hypopituitarism, but its effect on tumor occurrence and pituitary tumor recurrence is unknown. Furthermore, in literature there are scant with short follow-up time. The available data do not seem to suggest that rhGH replacement increased the incidence of regrowth of pituitary tumor and of cancer in adults with GHD, provided that IGF-1 concentrations remain within the normal range for age.The aim of our study ...

BMP15 is an oocyte-derived growth factor belonging to TGF-β superfamily involved in follicular development as a critical regulator of granulosa cell processes. BMP15 gene maps at Xp11.2 and is expressed throughout folliculogenesis. BMP15 is translated as a pre-proprotein consisting of signal peptide, pro-region and mature peptide. The pro-region has an important role in the processing driving the pro-protein dimerization and secretion of active mature dimers. We report th...

Background: The development of a vascular supply is a critical factor in the growth and metastatic spread of malignant tumors. The recognition of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway as a key regulator of angiogenesis has led to a considerable efforts to exploit its potential for therapy in oncology. Endocrine gland-derived (EG-VEGF) has been recently identified as an endothelial cell mitogen, predominantly expressed in steroidogenic tissues; it represents a n...

The aim of this study was: 1) to determine whether there is a correlation between a stressful event, such as the mourning, the hyperactivity of HPA axis, and the fast weight gain 2) to assess whether there is a specific parameter that can predict the susceptibility of individuals to develop metabolic syndrome following a stressful event. We investigated 80 obese women, aged between 23 and 67 years; each subject underwent a clinical evaluation, an OGTT and biochemical, metaboli...

Background: Correlation between therapy with interferons, thyroid autoimmunity and dysfunction is widely reported. Currently we used two different pegilated-interferons (α-2a, α-2b).Aim: Evaluate a probable different behaviour of two PEG-IFN responsible of thyroid abnormalities.Patients and methods: We observed 236 consecutive naïve-patients with HCV-related chronic-disease undergoing a treatment with antiviral thera...