Endocrine Abstracts

Whereas G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have long been believed to signal via cyclic AMP (cAMP) exclusively at the cell surface, our group has shown that GPCRs also stimulate cAMP production from the cell interior once internalized together with their ligands. This phenomenon, which we originally described for the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) in thyroid follicles, has now also been shown for several other GPCRs. However, the involved subcellular compartment(...

Introduction: Recently, Th17 cells and their cytokines were identified to play an important role in the pathogenesis of thyroid autoimmunity. IL-23, produced by antigen presenting cells, is required for survival and differentiation of Th17 cells, and is known to guide T cells toward the Th17 phenotype. Its serum levels are increased in several autoimmune diseases, including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT), however, the expression level of IL-23 within thyroid tissue assessed...

Hyperandrogenism is a clinical condition characterized by excessive secretion of male sex hormones. An excess amount of androgens in women is manifested by symptoms of defeminization and masculinization. Hormonally active adrenal and ovarian tumors and non-tumor causes must be considered in the differential diagnosis. The authors describe the case of a 77-year-old patient who had hirsutism and reduction of the timbre of the voice. At the beginning she was suspected to have adr...

Introduction: Lesions of the pituitary stalk (PSL) are a challenging diagnostic problem for clinicians. Because of the critical location and role of the pituitary stalk, mass lesions in this area are not often biopsied, and the diagnosis may be based on clinical evaluation and imaging. Due to biopsy risk, about 40% PSL diagnosis are ‘probable’ or ‘unknown’.The main clinical symptoms of PSL are visual field defect, DI and hypopituitarism.<p class="abstex...

Cushing’s Syndrome (CS) is an uncommon disease worldwide, being characterized by an increased production of glucocorticoids, and if left untreated can lead to serious consequences and women with CS rarely get pregnant. The aim of our work is to make a systematic review of the cases of pregnancy in patients with previously diagnosed CS, being performed an extensive research of the Medline and Web of Knowledge databases, and add three new cases observed in our institution. ...

We present a case of a eighteen-year-old woman admitted to the Gynecological and Endocrinological Department because of primary amenorrhea. Physical examination showed excessive pubic hair and clitoral hypertrophy. Laboratory tests showed the increased level of foliculotropina (FSH) 90 mIU/ml (normal range 3.5–12.5 mIU/ml) and the estradiol level below 10 pmol/l (normal range 46–607 pmol/l). An ultrasound-imaging of the abdomen and pelvis showed the uterus of normal ...

Whereas G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have been long believed to signal through cyclic AMP exclusively at cell surface, our group has previously shown that GPCRs not only signal at the cell surface but can also continue doing so once internalized together with their ligands, leading to persistent cAMP production. This phenomenon, which we originally described for the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) in thyroid cells, has been observed also for other GPCRs. How...

Introduction: Th17 cells and their hallmark cytokine IL-17A were reported to be involved in the development of autoimmune orchitis and encephalomyelitis by impairing the integrity of the blood–testis and blood–brain barrier integrity and by inducing local inflammation. However, the role of IL17A in autoimmune thyroid disease is still debatable.The aim of our study was to estimate immunoexpression of IL-17A in the thyroid tissue of patients with...

Background: Quantifying the body fat percentage (%BF), its scientific and clinical implications is critical to timely intervention as it has been proven to be a better measure of patient’s risk of cardiovascular diseases than the BMI. Several techniques have been developed to assess BF including imaging, DEXA, bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA), and underwater weighing. The use of anthropometric indices to derive %BF provides an inexpensive surrogate. There are very few...

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis can cause significant exudative fluid loss from a large body surface area in an infant leading to severe hyponatraemia.Case report: A 5-month-old boy was referred to the paediatric team from dermatology with severe cradle cap, eczema and fever. He also had faltering growth (weight: 4.95 kg, well below 0.4th centile) and moderate developmental delay. On examination, he had severe infected eczema over a large area of the sca...