Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: Hypothyroid patients report a diversity of symptoms at disease presentation. We studied how useful symptoms are to predict hypothyroidism, and if this may vary between subgroups of patients.Methods: Patients newly diagnosed with overt autoimmune hypothyroidism (n=140) were prospectively identified in a population by linkage to diagnostic laboratory databases, and we concomitantly enrolled individually sex and age-region matched contr...

Background: Diabetes mellitus is prevalent in adults with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS), and GH therapy may deteriorate glucose balance.Design: We prospectively investigated effects of 12 months of GH treatment on body composition and insulin resistance in relation to BMI in forty-two adults, mean(±S.D.) age 28.5±6.7 years with genetically verified PWS. Three patients with known diabetes were excluded. Data from baseline and 1...

Background: Serum IGFI measurements are used during GH replacement in GHDA for titration of the GH dose, to monitor compliance and to avoid overdosing, but it is uncertain if pretreatment IGFI is a determinant of the GH dose or the response to GH treatment.Methods: Data from the NordiNet IOS have been analyzed to determine pretreatment serum IGFI concentrations in GHDA and to analyze if they influence the GH starting dose and/or the therapeutic response ...

Background: Data from several clinical studies have demonstrated the benefit of GH treatment in relation to bone mineral density and body composition in young adults who received GH treatment in childhood due to GHD1–3. There are recommendations to use a higher GH dose in the transition phase compared to the GH dose required during adulthood to mimic the endogenous GH secretion4,5.Methods: Data from NordiNet IOS have been analy...

Background: Surgery is accepted as first line treatment of somatotroph macroadenomas with involvement of the optic chiasm. However, during recent years somatostatin analogues (SA) have increasingly been used as primary treatment improving ultimate cure rate, as SA’s have anti-proliferative effects in most tumours. We demonstrate here positive effect of subacute/acute SA treatment on tumour shrinkage and chiasm decompression in two recently diagnosed acromegalic patients.<...

Context: An interaction between gut-derived ghrelin, which is implicated in the regulation of short- and long-term energy balance, and thyroid function has previously been reported in patients with hyperthyroidism, in whom ghrelin levels are reversibly suppressed. In the present study, we measured total serum ghrelin levels and pertinent metabolic indices in hypothyroid patients before end after L-thyroxin replacement.Patients and methods:...

Currently, no treatment options exist to improve semen quality for the majority of infertile men, but it is well known that the interaction between Sertoli- and germ cells is essential to ensure complete spermatogenesis. A recent study suggested that denosumab, an inhibitor of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) signaling, may decrease germ cell apoptosis in human ex vivo testis cultures and stimulate sperm production in some infertile men. Her...

Background: Maternal free testosterone (FT) increases during 3rd trimester pregnancy and FT levels are higher in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) compared to controls. Fetal exposure to maternal FT during 3rd trimester was associated with lower weight, length and shorter abdominal circumference at birth, in boys. Furthermore, lower birth weight has been related to higher abdominal fat mass in young children.Aim: To examine associations between...

Objective: Patients with acromegaly present increased insulin resistance despite reduced adipose tissue (AT) mass. Growth hormone (GH) stimulates lipolysis, but the role of AT as a metabolic factor in patients with acromegaly is still uncertain. Moreover, there is a need for better biomarkers of disease activity in acromegaly.Methods: RNA-sequencing was performed on paired subcutaneous AT (SAT) biopsies from patients (n=6) with active acromegaly...

Background: Insulin resistance as part of the metabolic syndrome is associated with ectopic lipid deposition. Growth hormone (GH) status also modulates ectopic lipid accumulation but how this associates with insulin resistance in patients with GH disorders is not well established.Aim: To study body composition, ectopic lipid deposition and insulin sensitivity in acromegaly and adult GH-deficiency before and after treatment.Subjects...