Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is the mainstay diagnostic procedure for evaluation of thyroid nodules, but it doesn’t permit to distinguish between benign and malignant follicular lesions (category IV in the Bethesda Cytopathology System). Some reports have suggested an association between increased serum levels of TSH and thyroid cancer. However, the specific relationship between TSH and malignancy has been scarcely studied in follicu...

Introduction: Cavernous hemangiomas (CH) are benign vascular tumors that frequently involve the skin, central nervous system or liver. Rarely, they can also affect adrenal glands. Adrenal cavernous hemangiomas are mostly unilateral lesions, typically discovered incidentally on radiological imaging. They generally present in the sixth to seventh decade of life and tend to be asymptomatic and non-functioning tumors. Preoperative differential diagnosis from malignant neoplasms ow...

Introduction and aim: The current population is experiencing an increase in life expectancy, with a consequent change in the demographic structure of the society. It is common, therefore, to find elderly patients with pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNET) in our usual clinical practice. Currently, there are no specific recommendations for treatment and data of outcomes in elderly are scarce. The aim of our study was to compare the clinical characteristics and surgical outco...

Idiopathic hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (IHH) is a rare congenital disease caused by deficiency or action of gonadotropin-releasing hormone. While generally considered a long-life condition, IHH can be reversible in about 20-30% of cases, but mechanisms of reversibility are unknown. We report the case of a male with IHH who began treatment with low dose (20 mg/day) transdermal testosterone to induce pubertal development at age 18. Following the start of treatment, he experien...

A major limitation of nutritional science is the objective assessment of dietary intake in free-living populations. Monitoring individuals’ response to policy recommendations is based on self-reported dietary assessment tools, which are known to have high misreporting rates estimated at 30–88%. We have developed a novel analytical pipeline capable to classify people into consumers of a healthy or unhealthy diet based on urinary metabolic patterns, without relying on ...

A major limitation of nutritional science is the objective assessment of dietary intake in free-living populations. Monitoring individuals’ response to policy recommendations is based on self-reported dietary assessment tools, which are known to have high misreporting rates estimated at 30–88%. We have developed a novel analytical pipeline capable to classify people into consumers of a healthy or unhealthy diet based on urinary metabolic patterns, without relying on ...

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent and multifactorial endocrine disorder, characterized by reproductive and metabolic alterations. However, the mechanisms that contribute to the development of metabolic abnormalities are not completely understood. Interestingly, women with PCOS show changes in folate and homocysteine levels suggesting an altered folate metabolism, which could be associated to changes in the methylation patterns of metabolic genes. Meth...

Cushing’s disease tumours bear activating mutations in the ubiquitin-specific-protease 8 gene (USP8) gene in 40-60% of cases. We have previously observed that patients with USP8 mutant tumours have smaller tumour size and show a better response to high dose (8mg) dexamethasone stimulation test compared to those with wild type USP8 (1). The aim of this study was to define the role of USP8 on glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in corticotroph tumour cells. We did experim...

Epidemiological studies have shown that caffeine increases plasma SHBG levels and also reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. There are no reports describing any molecular mechanism by which caffeine regulates hepatic SHBG production. The aim of the present study was to explore whether caffeine regulates SHBG production and to determine the associated molecular mechanisms. For this purpose, in vitro and in vivo studies were performed using human HepG2 cells and ...

Pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) is a rare clinical entity characterised by an absent or thin pituitary stalk, hypoplasia of the anterior pituitary gland, and ectopic location of the posterior pituitary on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Presentation is on early childhood or puberty and the most common hormonal deficiencies are growth hormone (GH) and gonadotropines. We present the case of a 28-year-old female patient who consulted after 2 years in secondary amen...