Endocrine Abstracts

Pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma (Pheo/PGL) are rare neuroendocrine tumors generally benign. About 30–40% of Pheo/PGL are due to germ-line mutations in one of the susceptibility genes, including those encoding the succinate dehydrogenase subunits A-D (SDHA-D). Up to 80% of patients affected by SDHB mutated Pheo/PGL develop metastatic disease with no successful cure at present. In this study, we evaluated the different effect of tumor microenvironment on tu...

Purpose: Non-Obstructive Azoospermia (NOA), occurring in approximately 1% of men, has an unknown etiology in the majority of cases. This study aims at evaluating the diagnostic efficiency of a gene panel contemplating all known genes associated with azoospermia in mice.Subjects and methods: Design of a ‘mouse azoospermia’ gene panel through the consultation of MGI; selection of 175 mouse azoospermia genes with human orthologues; selection of 31...

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors, with insulin resistance being one of the main components. In male, MetS is also associated to hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Lifestyle modifications (e.g. physical activity) could prevent or considerably reduce MetS progression, however the ability to perform physical activity is often impaired in MetS subjects.Aim: Considering the known trophic role of T ...

Pathologies of the female reproductive system, characterized by chronic pain, are frequent and it has been hypothesized that inflammation may play an essential role in their pathogenesis. It is known that androgens, including dihydrotestosterone (DHT), have shown immunomodulatory effects in experimental models of chronic inflammation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of DHT in smooth muscle cells (rSMCs) isolated from vagina of intact Sprague-...

Introduction: Although in females of infertile couples abnormal PRL has a definitive role in the medical flow-chart, its role in males is less clear. Animal models suggest that PRL does not play a major role in male reproduction, although its trophic action on male accessory glands was often observed. Studies in humans are scanty. We systematically evaluated possible clinical and ultrasound correlates of PRL in males of infertile couples.Methods: Out of ...

Introduction: ‘Prostatitis-like symptoms’ (PLS) are a cluster of bothersome conditions defined as ‘perineal and/or ejaculatory pain or discomfort and National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) pain subdomain score ≥4’ (Nickel’s criteria). PLS may originate from the prostate or from other portions of the male genital tract. Although PLS could be associated with ‘prostatitis’, they should not be confused. T...

Introduction: The role of testosterone supplementation (TS) as a possible treatment for male sexual dysfunction remains questionable. The aim of the present study is to meta-analyse data evaluating the effects of TS on male sexual function and its therapeutic synergism with the use of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5i).Methods: An extensive Medline Embase and Cochrane search was performed including the following words: ‘testosterone’, ‘erect...

The metabolic interplay occurring between the tumor microenvironment and cancer cells may represent a potential target for novel anti-cancer approaches. Among stromal components, adipocytes and adipose precursors have been shown to actively participate in tumor progression in several solid malignancies. In adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a rare endocrine neoplasia with a poor prognosis, cancer cells often infiltrate the fat mass surrounding the adrenal organ, enabling a possib...

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a diagnostic category which identifies subjects at high risk for diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, erectile dysfunction (ED) and male hypogonadism. However, MetS impact on male infertility has been poorly studied. We systematically evaluated possible associations between MetS and clinical characteristics in men with couple infertility.Methods: Out of 367 consecutive subjects, 351 men without genetic abnormal...

Tests detecting sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) could be included in the clinical management of male infertility. TUNEL/PI is an innovative version of the TUNEL assay, and it is able to distinguish between two different populations: PI brighter and PI dimmer sperm. The aims of the study were to determine the average value of SDF in recruited men of proven fertility and to verify whether SDF discriminates between fertile and subfertile men independently from semen quality. In add...