Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Primary hyperaldosteronism is still an underdiagnosed cause of hypertension. The challenge lies however, not only in diagnosing the primary hyperaldosteronism, but also in the distinction between aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) and idiopathic adrenal hyperplasia (IHA). Establishing the correct diagnosis is after all essential, because surgery is only effective in patients with adrenal adenoma.Case report: We report about a 67-year-old p...

Objective: The response of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis to stress is mediated mainly through corticotrophin-releasing hormone and vasopressin. Accordingly, vasopressin levels are increased in septic shock. However, measurement of vasopressin is difficult because of its instability and short half-life. Copeptin is a more stable peptide derived from the same precursor molecule. This study aims to evaluate copeptin levels and its prognostic value in a prospective observ...

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem that is responsible for a considerable morbidity, mortality and health care costs. Evaluation of fracture risk is essential to select patients who will benefit most of interventional strategies. Most prospective cohort studies, with fracture outcomes, rely on participant self-report as the main or only source of information on fracture incidence. Systematic validation by screening of medical files is time-consuming, costly and almo...

Introduction: Osteoporosis is characterized by a low bone mass and a microarchiterctural disruption. Ageing and estrogen deficiency are the two most important factors for developing osteoporosis. With advanced age the balance between bone formation and resorption becomes progressively negative and non-bone factors contribute to the increased fracture risk with advancing age. Osteoporotic fractures constitute a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Post-menopau...

Aim of the work: In patients with differentiated thyroid cancer, the basic goal of the therapy is to improve overall and disease-specific survival, reduce the risk of persistent/recurrent disease while minimizing treatment-related morbidity and unnecessary therapy. In 2015, the American Thyroid Association (ATA) published evidence-based guidelines for the staging and management of differentiated thyroid cancer, including the possibility of avoiding systematic complementary 131...

Introduction: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (pNETs) can either occur in patients with a familial syndrome, like multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1), or being sporadic. In the last decade, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has become one of the first-line investigations for the characterisation of pNETs. The ultrasonographic features of a pNET might differ depending on the familial vs sporadic pathogenesis of the tumour. Therefore, the EUS findings might help and direct t...

Aim of the work: In patients with differentiated thyroid cancer, the basic goal of the therapy is to improve overall and disease-specific survival, reduce the risk of persistent/recurrent disease while minimizing treatment-related morbidity and unnecessary therapy. In 2015, the American Thyroid Association (ATA) published evidence-based guidelines for the staging and management of differentiated thyroid cancer, including the possibility of avoiding systematic complementary 131...

Objective: Neurotensin is an anorexigenic peptide produced mainly in the N-cells of the ileum; levels are decreased in obese subjects and increase after bariatric surgery. This study is the first to compare the baseline and postoperative levels of neurotensin in patients after gastric bypass, gastric banding, and non-operated controls, respectively, during long-term follow-up.Patients and Methods: Overnight fasting plasma neurotensin levels were measured...

In large population-based epidemiological studies of osteoporotic fractures, self-report is an important way of obtaining information. However, this method is subject to errors of recall and may result in misclassification of fracture status. Surprisingly, the accuracy of self-reported fractures has only rarely been assessed. The purpose of our study was to assess the accuracy of self-reported fractures in the FRISBEE cohort (Brussels, Belgium) of 3560 postmenopausal, aged 60&...

Ectopic parathyroid tissue remains a significant hurdle in the surgical management of hyperparathyroidism. In diagnostically challenging cases of persistent hyperparathyroidism, unusual ectopic locations of parathyroid adenomas must be considered in order to avoid numerous re-operative explorations and the associated risks to the patient. We present a 30-year-old female was referred to the endocrinology department for symptomatic hypercalcemia. Routine laboratory investigation...