Endocrine Abstracts

Prostate cancer (PCa) is driven by the androgen receptor (AR) signalling axis and begins with prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN), progressing to invasive adenocarcinoma and eventually metastatic disease. It is treated with androgen deprivation therapies, to which, in late-stage disease, tumours often become resistant and proliferation occurs in a low androgen environment. Mutation of the PTEN tumour suppressor gene is found in approximately 30% of primary human prostate...

Introduction: Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology with a prevalence of 10–20/100 000 individuals and affects mainly young adults. Neurological involvement occurs in about 5% of the cases and it can affect the hypothalamic–pituitary axis. In this case, the most common endocrine manifestations are hyperprolactinemia and diabetes insipidus.Case report: A 44-year-old male patient complaining of not feeling well and d...

Introduction: Obesity has been associated with increased androgenicity in women, however there are conflicting data on this subject. Objectives: To determine whether any androgen is independently related to body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) or age. To access if there is an association between elevated plasma androgen levels and the presence of either morbid obesity or metabolic syndrome (MS).Design and Methods: A total of 148 obese women we...

A positive association between thyrotropin (TSH) secretion and body-mass index (BMI) was previously reported. There are many studies concerning thyroid function in obesity, and some of them describe higher TSH levels in obese subjects.Evaluation of the hypothyroidism prevalence in a sample of obese women in their first obesity appointment at Hospital São João.Anthropometric variables and serum levels of TSH, free triiodot...

Ectopic ACTH secretion due to malignant tumours is a rare cause of hypercortisolism. Induced metabolic disturbances are often serious and the management of such patients may be difficult. We report the case of a 50-yr-old man who had a sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) removed 2 years ago (Dec/2003). Calcitonin and CEA levels remained high postoperatively and a CT scan revealed liver metastases. In August 2005 he was referred to Endocrinology with symptoms of muscular...

Background: In the general population, sleep disorders are associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment; moreover, people with dementia often have sleep disturbances. The prevalence of sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, in acromegalic patients is higher than in the general population, and they may have a higher risk of cognitive impairment due to acromegaly treatment (i.e. Radiotherapy) or cardiovascular comorbidities. In the literature, data about the relation...

Introduction: Bariatric surgery improves lipid profile. A still unanswered question is whether this improvement is merely weight dependent or also results from factors inherent to specificities of the bariatric procedure itself. We aimed to study lipid profile 1 year after bariatric surgery and compare its changes between the different procedures in patients matched for initial weight and for weight loss.Methods: We retrospectively analysed patients subm...

Introdution: Central diabetes insipidus(CDI) is a rare disease, with multiple aetiologies such as cranioencephalic traumatism and multiple sclerosis (ME). However, the association with ME is not commonly described. The clinical suspicion must be made in the presence of polyuria and polydipsia.Case report: Woman, 67 years-old, revealing history of ME relapsing-remitting subtype with 8 years of evolution, hypertension and dyslipidemia, medicated with inter...

Introduction: People with intracranial organic lesions, including pituitary tumours, may manifest initially as a psychiatric disorder, such as depression, emotional disturbance, anxiety, apathy, neurobehavioral disturbance, cognitive dysfunction and personality disturbance.Case Report: A male patient 45 years old was sent to the Department of Endocrinology of São João Hospital due to a pituitary macroadenoma. The patient referred asthenia, musc...

Introduction: Obesity is a heterogenous disorder. One of its subtypes that has been recently described is termed the metabolically healthy, but obese (MHO) individuals. Preliminary evidence suggests that this could be due to lower visceral fat levels and earlier onset of obesity.Objectives: To determine the prevalence of MHO in a sample of obese patients. To evaluate whether body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are...