Endocrine Abstracts

The brain is critically involved in the regulation of energy balance and glucose homeostasis. Depending on the levels of energy available in our body, the activity of a group of hypothalamic neurons expressing the neuropeptidergic marker proopiomelanocortin (POMC) changes and it plays a key role in maintaining energy balance. When POMC neuronal activity is altered, this can lead to impaired energy homeostasis and therefore to obesity. However, POMC neurons are highly diverse, ...

Background: Triple A (Allgrove) syndrome is a rare genetic disorder with autosomal recessive inheritance, caused by mutations in the AAAS gene on chromosome 12q13. It is characterized by the following triad: ACTH-resistant adrenal insufficiency, alacrimia, and achalasia.Case presentation: We present the case of a 19-year-old male who was diagnosed with adrenal insufficiency at the age of five following an addisonian crisis with hypoglycemic coma. At the ...

Background: Recent studies reported high soluble α-klotho concentrations (α-klotho) in active acromegaly, with normalization after successful therapy. We showed that α-klotho correlates to GH and even better to IGF-I. So far, most studies employed an immunoassay from Immuno-Biological Laboratories (IBL) for measurement of α-klotho, but other assays are available. Agreement between assays remains questionable since α-klotho exists in several isoforms: K...

Introduction: Primary adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a highly malignant but rare neoplasm. It can occur as a hormonally active or an inactive tumor. It is considered that about three-fourths of ACC cases are hormonally active, although they do not always give clinical symptoms. Mitotane (Lysodren) is registered by the FDA for the therapy of ACC, either for monotherapy or as a combined chemotherapy.Case report: A 34-year-old woman, with a histopatholog...

Background: Obestatin, a ghrelin gene product was recently isolated but important questions remain regarding its regulation and its physiological effects. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of unacylated ghrelin (UAG) on obestatin levels in normal subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D).Methods: Five normal subjects and 5 T2D patients were included in this study. Unacylated ghrelin (3 μg/kg per hour) or saline were cont...

Background: The activation of the GHS-R1a receptor by acylated ghrelin (AG) or by synthetic GH secretagogues (GHS), potently stimulates GH release and mediates other neuroendocrine/metabolic effects. Beta-adrenergic receptor agonists negatively influence GH secretion and other metabolic functions. The GH response to AG and GHS is refractory to the inhibitory effect of β2-adrenoceptors activation but no other report has evaluated the interactions between AG and salbutamol ...

Background: Obestatin is a 27 aa peptide derived from the ghrelin gene. Obestatin was first described to exert anorexigenic effects by decreasing gastric motility in rodent models, however these results have been debated and there is presently only small information regarding its activity and its regulation in humans. Furthermore, its interactions with acylated ghrelin (AG), derived from the same gene, have not been evaluated. Therefore, in these preliminary data, we sought to...

Background: Previous studies have shown that acylated ghrelin (AG) modulates insulin secretion and glucose disposal in vitro and after acute administration in humans. The aim of the present study was to evaluate postprandial glucose and insulin response following AG infusion in normal subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes.Methods: Six normal subjects and 3 patients with type 2 diabetes were included in this study. AG (1 μg/kg per h) or s...

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 (IGFBP2) has been demonstrated to be a key mediator of the peripheral actions of leptin, and its deficiency is associated with impaired metabolic function. The metabolic activity of IGFBP2 can be localized to a unique heparin-binding domain (HBD-1) within its structure. AZP-3404 is a 9-amino acid analog of the IGFBP2 HBD-1 that has been demonstrated to increase glucose uptake by differentiated mouse myotubes in vitro, and to increas...

Introduction: Adrenal cortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignant neoplasm of epithelial origin, derived from the adrenal cortex, with a high tendency to local invasion and distant metastases.Aim: The aim was to assess the effect of serum mitotane concentration during mitotane therapy and identify prognostic factors on the survival of ACC patients.Material and methods: It was a multifactorial analysis of patients from a single end...