Endocrine Abstracts

About 5–10% of fertile women have anti-thyroid antibodies (AAT); however this prevalence is higher in infertile women. Few studies have been focused so far on the role of thyroid autoimmunity in the outcome of ART. Aims of our studies have therefore been: a) evaluate prevalence of thyroid antibodies in infertile women before ART; b) investigate whether AAT are more prevalent in a specific subset of infertile women; c) investigate the possible influence of AAT or thyroid d...

Introduction: Epidemiological studies indicate that patients with acromegaly have increased mortality rates for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease (CVD). Potentials risk factors for increased CVD include hypopituitarism and cranial radiation therapy (CRT).Case Report: A 43-year-old acromegalic woman was admitted because of worsening headache, left lower facial numbness and left arm weakness. Two weeks later she developed a central palsy of the le...

Obesity is a major cause of chronic hypoventilation and/or obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of pulmonary dysfunction and the relationship between OSAS and several clinical, functional and polysomnographics parameters in severely obese patients. 101 subjects (68 females and 33 males) aged 49.2±13.2 years (mean±S.D.), with BMI 46.8±6.5 Kg/m2 were enrolled. Sleep quality and daytime ...

Objective: Interindividual variation in glucocorticoid sensitivity can be partly explained by polymorphisms in the GC receptor gene. The most frequent polymorphisms of the GR gene (N363S and BclI) are associated with increased BMI, less lean mass, higher cholesterol and insulin levels. In the present study we investigated the role of the N363S and the BclI polymorphisms in patients with adrenal disease to evaluate their prevalence and the possible clinic and hormone correlatio...

Introduction: Although possible autonomous cortisol secretion (pACS) is the commonest endocrine dysfunction detected in patients with adrenal incidentalomas, the diagnosis of this condition is still challenging. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) is an adrenal androgen secreted by adrenal glands under the regulation of ACTH. DHEAS does not follow a circadian rhythm and has a long half-life in serum. Because of these features, low blood concentration of DHEAS has been recen...

Introduction: Low-grade incomplete post-dexamethasone cortisol suppression in patients with adrenal incidentalomas, recently redefined as possible autonomous cortisol secretion (pACS), has been associated with increased cardiovascular events and mortality. However, prospective studies documenting cardiac abnormalities in these patients are lacking.Methods: In the context of ERGO trial NIH (NCT02611258), between July 2016 and September 2017, 71 consecutiv...

Radioiodide 131I (RAI) is the therapy of choice for radioiodine-avid differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). However, 5–15% of DTC patients become RAI refractory (RAIR), and the 10-year survival rate for metastatic disease decreases to 10%. The failure of RAI response is mainly due to the loss of thyroid differentiation, that leads to the loss of expression/function of components of iodide metabolism, first of all the Na/I symporter (NIS). The finding that the MAPK pathway i...

IntroductionAryl hydrocarbon receptor Interacting Protein (AIP), a pituitary tumour suppressing gene located in 11q13, is the most common predisposing gene for early-onset and familial acromegaly. Fifteen years after its identification, there is little evidence of AIP involvement in non-pituitary tumors. We had the opportunity to study AIP status in a cortisol-producing adenoma operated in an AIP mutation carrier.Case-report<p ...

Objective: Various features have been identified as predictors of relapse after complete resection of pheochromocytoma, but a comprehensive multivariable model for recurrence risk prediction is lacking. The aim of this study was to develop and internally validate an integrated predictive model for post-surgical recurrence of pheochromocytoma.Methods: The present research retrospectively enrolled 177 patients affected by pheochromocytoma and submitted to ...

During the spring of 2020, a national lockdown was adopted in Italy to prevent COVID-19 pandemic spread. Restrictive measures have been associated with impaired psychological outcome in the general population. As patients with Cushing’s Syndrome (CS), including Cushing’s disease (CD), adrenal CS (ACS), and ectopic CS (ECS), are reportedly associated with a higher prevalence of anxiety, stress susceptibility, depression, and maniac episodes, during both active disease...