Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: Acromegaly is a rare pituitary disease due to excessive secretion of GH. Insulin resistance, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and diabetes mellitus (DM) are common features in acromegaly. Seventy-four active acromegalic patients were retrospectively evaluated in order to determine the impact of family history for diabetes mellitus on glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and beta-cell function.Patients and methods: We studied 74 patients with ...

In order to evaluate hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal activity in diabetic patients in relation to neuroautonomic balance, we studied 50 consecutive hospitalized T2D patients (22F, 28M) without symptoms of neuropathy or hypercortisolism. We measured: morning, midnight and post-dexamethasone suppression cortisol (F8, F24 and F-Dex respectively) 24-hours urinary free cortisol (UFC), morning ACTH, systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels (SBP, DBP) and performed deep-breathing ...

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) with a normal located thyroid gland may be transient or permanent and environmental, iatrogenic, immunologic or genetic factors can be involved. PAX-8, TSH receptor and THOX2 gene mutations have been identified in cases of CH with a gland of normal size.In this study we performed genetic analysis of PAX8, TSH receptor and THOX2 genes in 14 children with CH and a normal sized eutopic gland. Genomic DNA was extracted from lym...

Aim of the study was to evaluate whether clinical parameters and echographic patterns may be predictive of malignancy in thyroid nodules with a cytological diagnosis of follicular (FOL) and H?rthle cell (HC) neoplasia. The study included 495 patients (388 F: mean age 45±14 yr; 107 M: mean age 46±14 yr) with FOL (n=418) and CH (n=77) nodules, ‘cold’ at scintiscan and undergone to thyroidectomy. Clinical parameters considered were: sex, age, goi...

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...

About 10–15% of FNA cytologies are nondiagnostic, because of inadequate material or indeterminate (i.e. follicular neoplasms). Aim of this study was to analyse the practical usefulness of the analysis of BRAF mutations and RET/PTC rearrangements, known to be associated to papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), in FNA-material.We analysed 100 thyroid nodules with a nondiagnostic cytology: 75 follicular nodules and 25 cases with inadequate material. Fifte...

Background: Steroid profiling by mass spectrometry (MS) provided novel insights into the pathogenesis of adrenocortical tumors and hypercortisolism. The aims of the study were (I) to analyze the steroid profiling by liquid chromatography-tandem MS (LC-MS/MS) in a large cohort of patients with adrenal incidentalomas and (II) to investigate the relationship between steroid profile and clinical outcomes.Methods: We included 307 patients with mono- and bilat...

The kidney is an important target of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). The 4th International Workshop for the management of Asymptomatic PHPT included the presence of hypercalciuria (24-h urinary calcium > 400 mg/day) and increased stone risk by biochemical stone risk profile as criteria for surgery. Increased stone risk profile was defined as at least one between ßCaOx>4 and ßHPO4>2, as defined in literature in a different study population. The aim of ...

Introduction: Cardiovascular morbidity is more prevalent in primary aldosteronism (PA) than in essential hypertension. Preclinical studies have shown a possible association between ascending aorta dilatation and PA, probably mediated by the mineralocorticoid receptor.Patients and methods: A total of 84 patients attending the Endocrinology Unit of the S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna, (Italy) were evaluated. Thirty-nine patients had a dia...

Background: Insulinoma is a rare pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor but a life-threatening condition if untreated. Surgical resection is the standard of care with a high cure rate for benign insulinomas but complications can occur in nearly 30% of cases. New non-surgical mini-invasive ablative therapies can be considered in patients with benign insulinoma who are either unfit for surgery or refuse it, although current data are scarce and long-term outcomes are unknown.<p clas...