Endocrine Abstracts

Acromegaly is due to increased GH secretion usually sustained by a GH-secreting pituitary adenoma. Somatostatin analogues (SSA) can control GH hypersecretion in 60% of patients and tumor volume in 30%. The disease control is, in turn, associated with lower mortality and therefore to verify the optimal control of the disease activity is of critical importance to adapt the dose and the choice of alternative treatment. The criteria for optimized disease control had been assumed a...

Introduction: Somatostatin analogues (SSA) are one of the main effective drug used in acromegaly. Sludge and/or cholelithiasis development represents oneof the more common side effect. The aim of the study was to analyze the frequency of biliary adverse events (BAE) and possible predictive factors, to propose a work-up strategy for their management.Method: This is a single centre, longitudinalretrospective study; we enrolled 91 acromegaly patients during...

Background: Clinical reactive hypoglycemic events are defined as the coexistence of plasma glucose <60 mg/dl and autonomic and/or neuroglycopenic symptoms occurring in fed conditions. The diagnosis is based on tests aiming to simulate the causative triggers (i.e. mixed meal test). In clinical practice, however, a high percentage of symptomatic patients results negative to such diagnostic approach, leading to the impression of an inadequate sensitivity of this diagnostic to...

Pancreatic islet microendothelium exhibits unique structural and functional features, in an interdependent physical and functional relationship with the neighbouring β-cells. Glucose toxicity is not solely restricted to β-cells, but affects also survival, proliferation of human pancreatic islet endothelial cells, thus possibly contributing to β-cell function impairment and β-cell loss. It has been previously demonstrated that the ghrelin gene derived peptid...

GH secretion is usually impaired in active Cushing’s syndrome (CS), due to concomitant mechanisms, including diminished GHRH and/or increased somatostatin release and impaired pituitary somatotrope responsiveness. Differently, IGF1 levels not parallel GH insufficiency in CS, being reported reduced, normal or increased. Both ghrelin and GHRH+arginine (ARG) are powerful GH secretagogues, influenced by age and/or BMI. In 27 CS (42.7±2.9 years, 28.8±0.9 kg/m2</...

Background: Obestatin, a ghrelin gene product was recently isolated but important questions remain regarding its regulation and its physiological effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of unacylated ghrelin (UAG) on obestatin levels in normal subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).Methods: Five normal subjects and 5 T2D patients were included in this study. Unacylated ghrelin (3 μg/kg per hour) or saline were cont...

Hyper- and hypo-thyroidism are considered as clinical conditions of sleep alterations. At present, however, these clinical reports have never been confirmed by studies providing a structured description of subjective and objective sleep quantity and quality. To this aim, we enrolled 15 patients with naïve overt hyperthyroidism (HYPER), 9 with naïve overt primary hypothyroidism (HYPO) and 15 healthy age-, sex- and BMI-matched control subjects (CS). Clinical conditions...

Background: The activation of the GHS-R1a receptor by acylated ghrelin (AG) or by synthetic GH secretagogues (GHS), potently stimulates GH release and mediates other neuroendocrine/metabolic effects. Beta-adrenergic receptor agonists negatively influence GH secretion and other metabolic functions. The GH response to AG and GHS is refractory to the inhibitory effect of β2-adrenoceptors activation but no other report has evaluated the interactions between AG and salbutamol ...

Background: Obestatin is a 27 aa peptide derived from the ghrelin gene. Obestatin was first described to exert anorexigenic effects by decreasing gastric motility in rodent models, however these results have been debated and there is presently only small information regarding its activity and its regulation in humans. Furthermore, its interactions with acylated ghrelin (AG), derived from the same gene, have not been evaluated. Therefore, in these preliminary data, we sought to...

Background: Previous studies have shown that acylated ghrelin (AG) modulates insulin secretion and glucose disposal in vitro and after acute administration in humans. The aim of the present study was to evaluate postprandial glucose and insulin response following AG infusion in normal subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods: Six normal subjects and 3 patients with type 2 diabetes were included in this study. AG (1 μg/kg per h) or s...