Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Generously supported by IPSEN)-->Glucocorticoids (GC) have a stimulatory effect on neutrophils and an inhibitory effect on the other leukocyte subpopulations. A potential stimulatory effect on erythropoiesis has been also hypothesized. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of pasireotide treatment on hemochrome parameters in patients with endogenous pituitary-dependent glucocorticoid excess or Cushing’s d...

Ovarian carcinoma (OC) is associated with poor prognosis and low survival rate. Eligible treatment for advanced OC is surgery followed by chemotherapy based on a combination of Platinum and Taxol, but unfortunately long-term outcome of such therapy is disappointing. Moreover, systemic administration of cytotoxic agents is usually accompanied by a series of side effects. On the basis of this evidence, more selective and tumour cell-targeted therapeutic approaches are warranted....

Aim: To evaluate the effects of short and long-term treatment with PEG on rhythm disturbances in a cohort of acromegalic patients resistant to long-term high-dose therapy with SA.Patients and methods: Thirteen patients (4 M, 9 F, aged 44±9.25 years) entered the study. All patients started PEG at initial dose of 10 mg daily, then increased of 5 mg every 6 weeks on the basis of IGF1 levels, until IGF1 normalisation or until the achievement of the maxi...

The GH-receptor antagonist PEG, used as monotherapy or in combination to SA, has been demonstrated to normalize IGF1 levels in up to 90% of acromegalic patients after unsuccessful surgery and/or radiotherapy and resistant to conventional SA treatment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined treatment with SA plus PEG in a cohort of acromegalic patients resistant to conventional SA therapy. Thirty-two acromegalic patients (17 M, 15 F, age 39.6&#...

Background: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is an uncommon malignancy with a still scantily understood pathogenesis and generally poor prognosis. Surgery, performed at early stages, offers the best chance for cure, but unfortunately, it is often noncurative. Medical treatment produced disappointing responses. mTOR inhibitors, such as sirolimus (S) and temsirolimus (T), are promising antineoplastic drugs in several types of carcinomas.Methods: To evaluate ...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate cardiac valve insufficiency prevalence after 12-month combined treatment with somatostatin analogues (SA) and CAB in acromegalic patients partially responsive to high-dose and long-term SA monotherapy. Twenty-four patients entered the study. A standard echocardiography was performed in all patients at diagnosis, after high-dose and long-term SA therapy and 12 months after CAB addition to SA to evaluate ejection fraction (EF) and mit...

Chronic exposure to hypercortisolism significantly impacts on patient’s health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We developed a disease-generated questio-nnaire to evaluate HRQoL in Cushing’s syndrome (CS) (CushingQoL); in 125 (104 females) patients recruited in Spain, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Italy, clinical and hormonal data were collected and correlated with results of the generic SF-36 questionnaire, a question on self-perceived general heal...

Background: Cabergoline, a dopamine receptor-2 agonist, used to treat prolactinomas was associated with increased risk of cardiac valve disease.Objective: To evaluate prevalence of cardiac valve regurgitation in patients with prolactinomas treated with cabergoline.Design: Open, case–control, prospective.Patients: Fifty patients (44 women, 6 men) and 50 sex- and age-matched control subjects.<p class="...

GH and IGF-I excess causes a specific cardiomyopathy, often complicated by diastolic and systolic dysfunction until heart failure. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of long-term treatment with pegvisomant on cardiac performance in acromegalic patients. Twelve patients (4 men and 8 women, age 29–58 years) entered the study. A radionuclide angiography at rest and during exercise was performed at baseline and after 18 months of treatment with pegvisomant with ...

The pseudo-Cushing states (PCS) include several clinical conditions such as obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome, depression and alcoholism, characterized by physical features and abnormalities of hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis similar to Cushing’s syndrome (CS). The differential diagnosis between CS and PCS is often complicated and requires several hormonal tests. The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the cortisol response to the or...