Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: ACTH stimulates adrenocortical steroid production through the melanocortin 2 receptor (MC2R). MC2R trafficking and signaling depend on the melanocortin 2 receptor accessory protein (MRAP). The MRAP-homolog MRAP2 also transports the MC2R but prevents effective activation. We investigated expression of these components of the MC2R complex in human adrenal tissues in order to uncover novel regulatory mechanisms and their contribution to ACTH responsiveness.<p cl...

Objective: The objective of this study was to asses the quality of self-management in patients with primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency and to find patient-related factors that influence quality of self-management.Methods: The quantitative research was assessed by a questionnaire. Mainly focused topics were i) demographic data ii) daily medication intake iii) en route precautions and iv) dose adaptation during medical emergencies. One hundred and...

Background: Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is the most prevalent manifestation of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1). Surgery is the preferred treatment but which type of surgery offers the best chance of cure combined with the lowest risk of postoperative hypoparathyroidism is still uncertain.Aims: Identifying the optimal surgical technique for MEN1 related pHPT. Describing the course of postoperative hypoparathyroidism. To see if a genotype...

Introduction: Elevated levels of cortisol are known to induce a wide range of pathology, e.g. abdominal obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Measuring serum and saliva cortisol is limited to one time point. Measurement of cortisol in scalp hair is a recently developed method to measure long term cortisol levels and might reflect cortisol exposure in patients with hyper- or hypo-cortisolism and in healthy persons. Our aims were to explore this measurement of cor...

Introduction: Ketoconazole is an antifungal agent that, in a high dose, suppresses adrenocortical steroidogenesis by inhibition of cytochrome P-450 dependent enzymes. Currently, ketoconazole is used to decrease cortisol production in patients with Cushing’s syndrome. However, ketoconazole often causes gastrointestinal side effects and hepatotoxicity. Fluconazole may also inhibit steroidogenesis and has the advantage over ketoconazole that it has less side effects. Therefo...

Background: Hypothyroidism may profoundly alter mental function and influence mood and cognition, but the neural correlates of these impairments and of thyroid hormone treatment are not well understood.Methods: We prospectively studied 24 subjects, 14 previously untreated newly diagnosed hypothyroid patients (age 42±12 yrs; 11 female, 3 men) and 10 euthyroid control subjects (41±12 yrs). All patients underwent comprehensive neuropsychiatric ass...

Growth hormone deficiency frequently occurs as consequence of radiation therapy in pituitary disorders. However, it not known whether radiation therapy in acromegaly results in comparable diminution of GH secretion. We therefore hypothesized that stimulated and spontaneous GH release is ultimately indistinguishable in irradiated acromegalic patients and irradiated patients with other pituitary disorders. For this study 10 acromegalic patients and 10 patients with other pituita...

Introduction: The endocrinologist is confronted with an increasingly large population of postbariatric patients who present with endocrine problems. One of these is early dumping, a complication that may be the result of increased entero-endocrine activity. To address the prevalence of early dumping and to gain further insight into its pathophysiology, we performed a Mixed Meal Tolerance Test (MMTT) in a random sample of patients after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB).<p cl...

PurposeAs the majority of patients with pituitary disease are of working age, their health situation may negatively impact their functioning at work. However, work participation can also be influenced by contextual (environmental and personal) factors. The aim of this qualitative study was to investigate the perspective of patients with pituitary disease on their functioning at work and on contextual factors contributing to work-related problems, using t...

ContextGermline mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP) have been identified in patients with pituitary adenomas, most frequently presenting as somatotropinomas in the setting of familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA). Our current understanding of AIP related tumorigenesis indicates that it leads to isolated pituitary adenomans, while other associated tumors have not typically been considered part of the...