Endocrine Abstracts

A 22-year old female is followed at our department because of genetically confirmed autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 1 (APS-1). This was diagnosed at the age of 9 and in this patient characterized by autoimmune hypoparathyroidism, autoimmune hepatitis, autoimmune gastritis and premature ovarian insufficiency. Throughout childhood and puberty, the hypoparathyroidism was treated with moderate doses of calcium citrate (~3g/d) and calcitriol (~1.5µg/d), nevertheless res...

Context: Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) affects approximately 1-3% of women. Clinical presentations are heterogeneous and the underlying etiologies remain unknown in the majority of cases.Objective/aim: To characterize presentations of POI and to evaluate the distribution of underlying etiologies in women with newly diagnosed POI of unknown cause.Design: Prospective study of 100 women with newly diagnosed POI. Autoimmunity w...

Introduction: Vitamin D insufficiency (25-hydroxy vitamin D <50 nmol/l) is a global health problem. Vitamin D food fortification might be the solution, but knowledge is sparse on whether fortification of various food items affects the bioavailability differently. It is generally assumed that ingesting vitamin D with a fatty meal improves the bioavailability of vitamin D. Furthermore, complex formation with whey protein isolate (WPI) may enhance the stability of vitamin D a...

Objectives: Maternal hypothyroidism in pregnancy has been proposed to increase the risk of preeclampsia, but uncertainties persist regarding the underlying causal mechanisms. Thus, it remains unclear if an increased risk of preeclampsia in hypothyroid pregnant women is caused by the lack of thyroid hormones or by the thyroid autoimmunity per se.Methods: We performed a national and regional study in the Danish population. The national study was r...

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) could be associated with increased risk of thyroid disorders. Possible associations between TSH and cardio-metabolic risk in PCOS are debated.Methods: National Register-based study on women with PCOS in Denmark. 18,476 women had a diagnosis of PCOS in the Danish National Patient Register. PCOS Odense University Hospital (OUH, N=1,146) was an embedded cohort including premenopausal women with PCOS and ...

Background: Maternal circulating cortisol and 24-h urinary free cortisol levels are up to three times higher in third trimester pregnant women compared to non-pregnant women. Maternal cortisol status could be associated with offspring sex, maternal PCOS and testosterone levels.Aims: To determine predictors of maternal serum (S) and urinary (U) cortisol and cortisone levels during 3rd trimester and to examine associations between maternal cortisol status,...

Background: Secondary adrenal insufficiency is usually treated with hydrocortisone replacement therapy twice or thrice daily in varying doses to mimic the physiological rhythm of cortisol release. However, despite efforts to optimize treatment regimens patients report impaired quality of life (QoL), including important aspects such as fatigue. A possible explanation is a suboptimal imitation of cortisol release resulting in an inadequate substitution at certain times during th...

Background: Cardiorespiratory fitness is a measure for physical activity and a prognostic health indicator. However, measurement of maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) is not possible in clinical practice.Aim: We hypothesized that body composition and testosterone levels could be used as possible determinants of VO2max in young men.Participants and design: The Odense Androgen Study, a population-based, observational study including...

Background: Primary aldosteronism (PA) patients have increased left ventricular mass (LVM) and increased cardiovascular morbidity compared with those with essential hypertension. Echocardiographic studies have demonstrated that adrenalectomy or spironolactone decreases LVM. The aim of the present study was to use MRI to assess both LVM and cardiac function before and during stress testing, at baseline and after treatment with adrenalectomy or spironolactone, compared with heal...

Background: The Synachten test is used to diagnose for adrenal insufficiency (AI) and non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). The cut-off levels for s-cortisol and s-17-hydroxyprogesterone are derived from immunoassays that were not well standardized and are no longer in use. Introduction of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LCMSMS) could resolve the lack of standardization of steroid hormone assays and enable increased diagnostic accuracy.<p clas...