Endocrine Abstracts

White adipose tissue (WAT) stores excess energy as triglycerides, while brown adipose tissue (BAT) dissipates energy through heat, acting as a defense against cold and obesity and as a positive regulator of metabolic functions. The thermogenic function of BAT is mainly regulated by the mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) in brown adipocytes. Moreover, it has been shown that chronic exposure to glucocorticoids (GC) or synthetic GC receptor (GR) agonists inhibits the activ...

Neurogenesis, a process by which new neurons are generated from precursors, still persists in discrete regions of the adult hippocampus. Impairment in neurogenesis is an important feature in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, such asAlzheimer’s disease (AD). The hippocampus is critical for learning and memory and is a main target of AD, which causes massive neuronal death, reduction in neurogenesis and impairment in cognitive functions. Therefore, preventing...

Background: Environmental rhythmicity seems able to affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in animals to achieve reproductive advantages. However, conflicting results were obtained when assessing the environmental-dependent rhythmicity on reproductive hormone secretion in humans.Aim of the study: This study was designed to evaluate seasonal fluctuations of the main hormones involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in men, using a big d...

RFamides are a family of peptides containing arginine-phenylalanine-amide at their C terminus. A novel 43-amino acid RFamide, named QRFP43, and a shorter endogenous peptide 26RFa, were discovered and identified as ligands of the G protein-coupled receptor GPR103. Different studies have shown that RFamides, such as neuropeptide FF and QRFP43 and 26RFa, play a role in food intake, thermogenesis and energy homeostasis. Here, we investigated the effects of QRFP peptides on surviva...

Introduction: Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) is a heterogenous disease caused by mutations in several genes. Based on the presence of hyposmia/anosmia it is distinguished into Kallmann syndrome and isolated HH. The prevalence of other developmental anomalies is not well established.Methods: We studied patients with HH (29 males, 3 females, mean age 41.5), 9 with familial and 23 sporadic HH (29 congenital, 3 adult-onset), by physical examination, smel...

Obestatin (Ob) is a peptide recently identified as a product of the ghrelin gene. It was claimed to bind to the orphan receptor GPR39, but this finding is still a matter of debate. Ob exerts peripheral effects, for example, it promotes cell survival and has antiapoptotic actions in different cell lines. In addition, Ob has central effects, such as inhibition of thirst, modulation of anxiety, sleep and mnemonic functions. Mnemonic processes involve neurogenesis; in particular, ...

Introduction: Hippocampus is a key area in the brain and influences the neuroendocrine functions, especially the hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis that is mainly regulated by corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), vasopressin (ADH) and glucocorticoid (GC). This feed-back action is mediated by both glucocorticoid (GRs) and mineralocorticoid (MRs) receptors. GRs are distributed throughout the brain, but mostly in hypothalamic neurons, while the MRs highest expr...

Introduction: There is no consensus about the usefulness of repeating the US-FNAB during the follow-up of nodules when a benign (Thy2) or indeterminate (Thy3) report is obtained at first US-FNAB.Aim of the study: To investigate the clinical value of repeating US-FNAB after a previous adequate Thy2 or Thy3 US-FNAB.Methods: We reviewed the US-FNABs performed from 2006 to 2009. All clinical data of the patients were collected and anal...

Introduction: Several studies in literature have shown that some features of thyroid nodules at US are associated with malignancy. However, previous studies were focused mainly on subjects affected by multinodular goiter (about 70%) rather than subjects with thyroid cancer (about 30%). Furthermore, the main limitation of previous studies was the lack of thyroidectomy in all subjects.Aim of the study: To evaluate the diagnostic value of US features in a s...

Introduction: Male sexual behaviour is deeply influenced by the endocrine system. However, few data are available on low cortisol serum levels and sexuality.Subjects and methods: In order to investigate the sexual function in 12 men before and during replacement treatment for Addison disease (AD), we performed sexual and psychological evaluations before replacement therapy (‘baseline’) and at least 8 weeks after complete recovery from cortisol ...