Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The d3-growth hormone receptor (GHR) polymorphism is a common variant characterized by genomic deletion of exon 3 (d3) of the GHR gene. It could be linked to a better growth response to GH, but the findings are controversial. Due to the lack of IGF-I feedback on the tumoral GH secretion, acromegaly seems to be a good model to study functional characteristics of this polymorphism. Aim of the study was to investigate possible influences of d3-GHR on GH and IGF-I rela...

Introduction: Serum thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement is the marker of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) after total thyroidectomy, but its value is limited by the interference of anti-Tg antibodies (TgAb). Detection of Tg in fine-needle aspiration biopsy (TG-FNAB) washout fluid is used recently to identify neck DTC metastases, but the interference of TGAb-FNAB in the procedure is unknown.Objectives: To evaluate the utility of TG-FNAB for detecting cer...

Among well-known circulating melanoma markers 5-S-cysteinyldopa (5-SCD), a precursor of pheomelanin biosynthesis and S-100 beta (S-100B) are extensively investigated. Our earlier observations confirmed that serum concentration of 5-SCD and S-100B correlates well with the stages and progression of the disease. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a multifunctional inflammatory cytokine implicated in advanced stage of various diseases and tumour recurrence. Malignant melanoma cells are known...

Pituitary adenomas are present in ∼25% of autopsy samples, and recent studies have also suggested that clinically important pituitary adenomas are some 5 times more common than previously recognised. Acromegaly is almost always due to a sporadic growth-hormone secreting pituitary adenoma, but familial acromegaly has been reported occasionally. Linkage and loss of heterozygosity studies have shown that it is caused by a tumour suppressor gene located at 11q13; very recent...

The preparation of Sandostatin LAR® injections using a 2 ml ampoule of vehicle solution may be associated with some technical difficulties of administration, with adverse consequences for patients. The development of a 2.5 ml prefilled syringe may alleviate some of these problems. We have compared these two methods of Sandostatin LAR® administration in 17 patients with acromegaly and 5 patients with neuro-endocrine tumours, (6 drug naïve, 1...

Paragangliomas (PGLs) are neuroendocrine tumors arising from the neural crest and localized from the skull base to the pelvic floor. In particular, parasympathetic PGLs arise in the head/neck region (carotid body, vagal nerve, jugulare and tympanic glomus) and more rarely in the anterior thorax, while sympathetic PGLs are localized in the posterior thorax and in the abdomen and secrete catecholamines.Localization of paragangliomas might be performed by a...

Limited data are available about pregnancy in acromegalic women. Forty-three women, 32±1 years, presented GH hypersecretion (GH=44±7 ng/ml, IGF-1=1009±82 ng/ml) due to micro (n=6) or macroadenoma (n=37). Thirty-six women had transsphenoidal incomplete surgical resection and 9 external radiation of the pituitary adenoma performed 2.8±0.5 and 7.1±3.3 years before pregnancy. Women received dopamine agonists (n=6), somatostatin analogu...

Background and aims: There are growing evidence supporting the deleterious effect of type 2 diabetes (T2D) on respiratory function and sleep breathing disorders. However, there is no information about the characteristics of lung function in the prediabetes stage.Methods: We assessed pulmonary function in 3,455 non-diabetic subjects, aged between 45 and 70 years, without vascular disease nor chronic pulmonary obstructive disease from the cross-sectional s...

Background: Birth weight is a marker and predictor of metabolic diseases in adult life. Fetal growth depends on the availability of nutrients, in turn cross the placental barrier by means of special cells called syncytiotrophoblasts, which express specific transporters for each type of nutrient. Glucose, the main energetic substrate for fetal development, is transported via facilitated diffusion, through glucose transporter proteins (GLUTs). Several investigations have focused...

Background: The fetal insulin hypothesis proposes that low birth weight, insulin resistance, and decreased insulin secretion in adulthood are genetically mediated. Babies with low birth weight have higher morbidity and mortality risk in adulthood. However, this situation could also occur in children with adequate weight at birth with genetic risk factors. The polymorphisms rs11708067 in ADCY5 and rs7754840 in CDKAL1 have been associated with low birth weight,...