Endocrine Abstracts

Background and aimsG protein-coupled receptor 55 (GPR55) is a putative cannabinoid receptor, and l-α-lysophosphatidylinositol (LPI) is its only known endogenous ligand. Although GPR55 has been linked to energy homeostasis in different organs, its specific role in lipid metabolism in the liver and its contribution to the pathophysiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains unknown.MethodWe...

Context: Autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) has been associated with a higher prevalence of osteoporosis and fragility fractures in several studies. However, the data rely on heterogeneous studies and criteria for osteoporosis screening in this population are still debated.Objective: To assess the prevalence of fragility fractures and contributing factors in a large cohort of patients with adrenal incidentalomas.Methods: We review...

Somatic mutations in splicing factor 3 subunit B1 (SF3B1) were found in about 20% of PRL-secreting PitNETs. SF3B1 is involved in pre-mRNA splicing and required for assembly of the U2 complex, which is critical for branch site recognition and the early stages of spliceosome assembly. Patients with mutant prolactinomas showed higher PRL levels and shorter progression-free survival compared to wild-type patients. Aims of the present study were: 1) to characterize the genetic prof...

Introduction: A possible association between the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 pandemic, in terms of infection and/or vaccination, and subacute thyroiditis (SAT) has been recently reported. Although a higher SAT incidence in pandemic has been described, data are still conflicting.Aim: To determine SAT incidence in Italy during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and to characterize clinical peculiarities and response to medical treatment...

Background and aim: The relationship between sarcopenia and overt cortisol excess as in Cushing’s syndrome is well-known. However, only a few studies investigated the relationship between autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) in adrenal incidentalomas and skeletal muscle mass. The aims of our study were to analyze the skeletal muscle mass in patients with adrenal incidentalomas and to investigate the correlations with hormonal data.Methods: We enrolle...

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the performance of simple and clinical/imaging-corrected unconventional indices in predicting the selectivity of adrenal vein sampling (AVS) and the lateralization of aldosterone hypersecretion in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA).Methods: Data of all consecutive patients with a proven diagnosis of PA who underwent AVS for subtype differentiation in two Italian referral centers were analyzed retrospectively....

Coronavirus disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus (Covid-19) is associated with a variable clinical syndrome, ranging from a mild-moderate to a severe disease, progressing towards acute respiratory distress syndrome. Hypocortisolism is associated with a depletion of innate immunity and disruption of immune response, which could contribute to an increased risk of infection and development of a severe disease. Glucocorticoid (GC) replacement therapy(GCRT), especially if administere...

Introduction: Hypoparathyroidism (HypoPT) is a rare endocrine disease which is characterized by hypocalcaemia and undetectable or inappropriately low serum parathyroid hormone (PTH). Post-surgical HypoPT (PS-HypoPT) is the most common cause, caused by accidental parathyroid removal/injury during neck surgery. Conventional therapy with calcium and vitamin D analogues does not restore calcium homeostasis and patients with chronic PS-HypoPT complain with several complications. Fr...

Introduction: Immune tumor microenvironment plays a key role in tumors’ growth and metastatic spread, while its role in the heterogeneous field of neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) remains unclear. There is evidence that tumor progression in NENs is promoted by an immunosuppressed microenvironment created by a plethora of infiltrating immune cells. Changes in circulating leukocyte and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) subpopulations can mirror the local alteration of...

Dopamine receptor type 2 (DRD2) agonists (DA) are the first-choice treatment for prolactin (PRL)-secreting pituitary tumors, but poorly effective in non-functioning (NF)-PitNETs. Along with G protein-dependent signaling, DRD2 also mediates non-canonical beta-arrestin-dependent pathways, where reduction of AKT phosphorylation plays a leading role for the antiproliferative effect of DRD2 in pituitary tumors. Through UNC9994 and MLS1547, a beta-arrestin 2-biased and a G protein-b...