Endocrine Abstracts

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare type of tumor that originates from parafollicular C-cells and accounts for 3–4% of all malignant thyroid neoplasms. MTC presents as sporadic (75–80%) or inherited tumors (20–25%). Hereditary MTC is part of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2). Aim of the study was to describe clinical presentation, prognosis and therapy of sporadic MTC patients. Sixty-seven patients (pts) with histologically confirmed MTC refe...

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 5–10% of women in the reproductive age group. It is associated with insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia which is further aggravated during pregnancy. The use of metformin in PCOS is increasingly accepted but its therapeutic use during pregnancy is still a debatable issue. There are few local studies on the use of metformin among PCOS patients and data are lacking among Filipinos.Objectives: To...

Aim of the study: To evaluate efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous laser ablation (PLA) on benign thyroid nodule size reduction, thyroid function and autoimmunity.Methodology: This study was approved by local institutional review committee. All data are mean±S.D. Two hundred and ninety-eight euthyroid outpatients (F=241, M=57; age 50.7±12.0 years) with a benign thyroid nodule (volume 23.1±21.3 ml) causing ei...

Background: It has been reported that metformin might modify thyroid hormone economy. This farmacological tool appears very useful in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer usually receiving high Levo-tiroxine (L-T4) doses to suppress thyrotropin (TSH). In those patients that after five years of follow-up showed no persistence of disease, it’s useful to abolish the iatrogenic hyperthyroid condition.Objective: To evaluate metformi...

Background: Insulin-resistance phenomenon is a key factor in the pathogenesis of Metabolic Syndrome (MS). Several reports focus on the identification of a role of Insulin to trigger thyrocytes proliferation in vitro. Thyroid IRS-1 mRNA expression increased progressively during goitrogenesis in vivo. In order to individuate the impact of clinical and biochemical markers of MS on the growth-score of non toxic multinodular goiter (MNG) we evaluated a population of 6...

Introduction: Adult growth hormone deficiency is associated with fatigue, tiredness and myalgias. The same clinical pattern can often be present in oncological patients during chemotherapy and follow up.Aim of the study: To conduct an extensive neuromuscular investigation of patients with breast cancer (BC), treated with taxol, in an attempt to explain their neuromuscular symptoms, eleven pre-menopausal patients with BC underwent a prospective protocol, ...

Introduction: Recent advances in medicine have allowed a considerably decrease in mortality after traumatic brain injury (TBI) with the consequent increment in the number of subjects with physical, psychological and cognitive sequelas which means an important worsening of quality of life as well as difficulties in social and labour integration. Considering that many of the symptoms classically attributed to the TBI (memory impairment, concentration impairment, fatigue, social ...

Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), the specific plasma carrier for sex steroids, regulates hormone bioavailable fraction and estrogen signalling system in breast cancer cells. A common single nucleotide polymorphism in the human SHBG gene results in an amino acid substitution (Asp327Asn), which introduces an additional N-glycosylation site that has been associated with reduced breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women. Since wild-type SHBG was demonstrated to interfe...

Reproduction in mammals is centrally regulated by neuroendocrine neurons scattered in the hypothalamus and secreting the decapeptide GnRH (gonadotropin releasing hormone). During development, GnRH-secreting neurons originate in the olfactory placode – at least in rodents – and migrate along olfactory nerves (the vomeronasal and the terminalis) to gain access to the forebrain and reach their final destinations in the hypothalamus. Defects in the migration of these neu...

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a pleiotropic cytokine of the interleukine-6 superfamily, is involved in several functions including the control of reproduction at the embrionic-endometrial interface and the regulation of energy homeostasis. LIF activates a cell-surface receptor complex (LIF-Rs) composed of one ligand-specific low affinity LIF receptor β (LIFRβ) subunit and the gp130 subunit. Since little is known about the involvement of LIF in the modulation of t...