Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The COVID-19 outbreak in Italy forced the health system to cancel all non-urgent outpatient activities, to avoid further spreading of the disease inside the healthcare facilities. At our institution, for cancer patients the hospital allowed treatments and consultations: the medical team, however, identified patients whose procedures could be postponed. Even after May 2020, the capacity for non-urgent thyroid surgeries was reduced. These events enhanced our efforts ...

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can involve multiple organs and systems, including the endocrine system. In particular, thyroid dysfunctions are frequently seen in COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate thyroid function in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and to correlate thyroid function with inflammatory status, blood count parameters and mortality.Materials and methods: Data of COVID-19 patients admitted to the hosp...

Context: Significant uncertainty exists about the diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonographic (US) features used to predict the risk of thyroid cancer in the pediatric population. Moreover, there are not specific indications for thyroid nodule evaluation in patients during the transition age.Objective: The meta-analysis aimed to address the following question: which thyroid nodule US features have the highest accuracy in predicting malignancy in the transiti...

Introduction: Literature has already described some cases of hypophysitis related to acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov2). The pituitary is indeed target for the virus due to the angiotensin-converting-enzyme-2 expression. Hypophysitis patients present with mass effect and pituitary dysfunction related symptoms. ACTH and TSH deficiencies are the most reported, along with central diabetes insipidus (CDI). The best way to manage these hypophysitis is still undefi...

Background: Available medical treatments for Broncho-Pulmonary Neuroendocrine Neoplasm (BP-NENs) derived from clinical trials are not specific for the management of this malignancy. Sunitinib, a multi-receptor tyrosine-kinases (RTKs) inhibitor, mainly described as VEGFR inhibitor, has shown its efficacy in Pancreatic NENs but there are not available data about its action in BP-NENs. Our aim was to understand the effects of RTKs inhibition promoted by Sunitinib in order to eval...

Background: Possible Autonomous Cortisol Secretion (pACS) is a condition found in 1–29% of patients with adrenal incidentalomas. The diagnosis of pACS has been variably associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and mortality. However, dedicated studies describing the morphologic and functional cardiac alterations in these patients are lacking.Aim: To compare the cardiovascular features of patients with pACS to those with nonfunction...

Dopamine has been found in both semen and oviductal fluid and dopamine receptors (DRs) have been detected in male genital tract and spermatozoa, suggesting that dopamine system may control important reproductive functions in humans. Dopamine improves sperm motility and viability in animal models, although the underlying molecular mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. The aims of this study were to investigate DRs expression in human spermatozoa and to evaluate the in ...

ACTH resistance syndromes (ARS) are rare, severe and heterogeneous diseases that include either familial glucocorticoid deficiency (FDG) or Allgrove syndrome (AS). FDG is a rare autosomal recessive disorder resulting from mutation in genes encoding either the ACTH-receptor (ACTHR) in FDG1, or its accessory protein MRAP, in FDG2. AS is characterized by adrenal insufficiency due to ACTH resistance, alacrimia, and achalasia secondary to mutations in the AAAS gene, which ...

Background: Adrenal incidentalomas are found in 3–7% of radiological series and many of them are adrenal adenomas. Autonomous cortisol secretion without clinical signs of overt hypercortisolism is a common finding in these patients. Studies reported metabolic derangement and increased cardiovascular risk associated with this state of subtle cortisol excess, however scanty data are available on the natural history of this condition.Aim: To assess the...

Background: In a large 12-month Phase III study, pasireotide led to rapid and sustained decreases in UFC and provided clinical benefit in patients with Cushing’s disease. Here, we report data following an open-label, open-ended extension.Methods: 162 patients with persistent/recurrent or de novo Cushing’s disease were randomized in the core study. 58 patients with mean UFC≤ULN or clinical benefit at month 12 entered the extension...