Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Thyroid storm is a potentially fatal disorder if treatment is not initiated promptly upon assessment at the emergency department (ED).Case: A 20-year-old young woman is referred to the ED with rapid acceleration of complaints of palpitations, fever, diarrhoea and agitation, which had been present since several weeks.On physical examination we saw an uncomfortable, restless woman with a tachycardia of 170/min, and a fe...

Aminobisphosphonates impair osteoclast cell function and reduce bone remodelling rate. It has been speculated that atypical femoral fractures in patients on bisphosphonates are the result of impaired bone remodelling.The primary aim of this prospective study was to assess levels of bone remodelling in patients with osteoporosis on aminobisphosphonate therapy by measurement of bone turnover markers. The secondary aim was to assess the adequacy of concomit...

Identifying the pathogenic pathways involved in complex diseases such as Graves’ disease (GD) has proved challenging. Although several genetic risk factors, including the HLA class II region, CTLA4, PTPN22 and CD25, encode molecules playing key roles in antigen presentation and controlling T cell recognition/signalling, the identification of novel susceptibility loci has the potential to provide further insights into disease pathogenesis. Recently gen...

Aims: To study changes in bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral parameters, metabolic profile, body composition and quality of life at base line and 6 months following parathyroidectomy, in subjects with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT).Material and methods: This prospective study was conducted over 18 months with first 12 months of recruitment and next 6 months for follow-up. Sixty-eight patients with PHPT who underwent surgery were compared with 1...

Bone loss in anorexia nervosa and following bariatric surgery is associated with an elevated circulating concentration of the gastrointestinal anorexigenic hormone peptide YY (PYY), which acts principally via the Y1R and Y2R receptors. Selective deletion of Y1R in osteoblasts or Y2R in the hypothalamus results in high bone mass, but deletion of PYY has resulted in conflicting skeletal phenotypes leading to uncertainty regarding its role in the regulation of bone mass. We hypot...

Introduction: Interferon-α (IFN-α) exerts different immune effects and is used in current therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. One of the side-effects of IFN-α therapy is interferon-induced thyroiditis (IIT). The role of lymphocyte subpopulations in IIT remains to be defined.Objective: This study was conducted to assess different peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations, mainly regulatory CD4+CD25+...

Introduction and methods: Controversy exists regarding the optimal dosing regimen of radioactive iodine (RAI) for the treatment of hyperthyroidism. The dose of RAI was individualised, based on the size of the thyroid gland and 24-h RAI uptake. We performed a 10-year retrospective analysis of patients with hyperthyroidism treated with variable dose RAI, with a cure defined as eu- or hypothyroidism.Results: One hundred and forty-nine patients with hyperthy...

Background: Accurate genetic diagnosis is essential in disorders of sex development (DSD), guiding medical management and enabling optimal personalized care delivery.Case presentation: Two siblings (I and II) with a family history of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydroxygenase (17β-HSD3) deficiency presented postnatally with isolated labial swelling. Karyotype was 46,XY and urinary steroid profile (USP) normal. HCG-stimulated testosterone/androstenedion...

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a condition strongly associated with cardiovascular disease. Obesity is often related to both clinical problems and it is also a risk factor for incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).Aim: To assess cardiovascular risk among a cohort of patients with OSA in order to identify and optimise treatment of high risk patients.Methods: Prospective study that included 72 patients with OSA under continuous...

Introduction: Kisspeptins, the products of the Kiss1 gene that act via the receptor, GPR54 (or Kiss1R), are pivotal elements in the neuroendocrine control of GnRH neurons and, thereby, gonadotropin secretion. Extensive efforts have been devoted recently to elucidate the pharmacological effects and major putative regulators of the kisspeptin system. Yet, our knowledge on the potential interactions of kisspeptins with other key neurotransmitters involved in the central re...