Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Purpose of this study is to find a radiological score and to correlate radiological characteristics of adrenal adenomas and functional parameters to predict subclinical glucocorticoid secretion.Methods and materials: This retrospective study included 55 patients with adenomas, investigated through CT with adrenal protocol assessing diameters, HU values of the unenhanced and contrast enhanced phases (enhanced–E, and 15 min delayed enhan...

Though LC-MS/MS is replacing immunoassays for major glucocorticoids and androgens routine assessment, the measurement of other sex steroids and precursors is still challenging and available only in experienced research laboratories. Our aim was to develop a simple-prep and rapid 2D-LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous measurement of estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 17OHpregnenolone.Serum volumes of 300ul were spiked with intern...

Steroid profiling by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) offers an accurate and simultaneous detection of a panel of steroids with several advantages over traditional assays. However, only a few studies have investigated the steroid profiling in sporadic adrenocortical adenomas. Our aim was therefore to investigate steroid secretion by LC–MS/MS in patients with non-secreting adrenocortical adenomas (NSA) and subclinical hypercortisolism (SH...

Introduction: The relationship between food intake and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis has been studied in the development of visceral adiposity and obesity. The HPA axis may interact with the reward system, thus influencing food choices. On the other hand, it has been shown that macronutrients differently modulate the HPA axis activity.The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary habits in subjects with adrenal masses (adenoma o...

Introduction: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are considered to have increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), even though the syndrome encompasses hugely varying phenotypes. Research into CVD prevention demonstrated a variety of biochemical and ultrasound (US) markers predicting risk in the general population, but those are sparsely utilised for PCOS, in part due to the patients’ therapeutic goals.Aim: To evaluate if PCOS type or...

The endocannabinoid system is involved in modulating many metabolic and behavioural processes. Due to the instable nature of endocannabinoids in biological fluids and to the poor sensitivity of traditional analytical technologies, little is known about physiological circulating levels of these lipid mediators. We developed and validated an ID-LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous measurement of four endocannabinoids: anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), palmitoyl-et...

The development of a reliable and rapid method to simultaneously measure serum steroids represents a compelling challenge for modern endocrinology. Immunoassays are very sensitive methods, being widely employed in automated routine laboratories, lacking, however, in specificity due to cross-reactivity and matrix interference. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) constitutes the reference method for quantitative analysis of steroids, but time-consuming sample pre-t...

Background: Steroid profiling by mass spectrometry (MS) provided novel insights into the pathogenesis of adrenocortical tumors and hypercortisolism. The aims of the study were (I) to analyze the steroid profiling by liquid chromatography-tandem MS (LC-MS/MS) in a large cohort of patients with adrenal incidentalomas and (II) to investigate the relationship between steroid profile and clinical outcomes.Methods: We included 307 patients with mono- and bilat...

Introduction: Cardiovascular morbidity is more prevalent in primary aldosteronism (PA) than in essential hypertension. Preclinical studies have shown a possible association between ascending aorta dilatation and PA, probably mediated by the mineralocorticoid receptor.Patients and methods: A total of 84 patients attending the Endocrinology Unit of the S. Orsola-Malpighi University Hospital of Bologna, (Italy) were evaluated. Thirty-nine patients had a dia...

Context: Autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) has been associated with a higher prevalence of osteoporosis and fragility fractures in several studies. However, the data rely on heterogeneous studies and criteria for osteoporosis screening in this population are still debated.Objective: To assess the prevalence of fragility fractures and contributing factors in a large cohort of patients with adrenal incidentalomas.Methods: We review...