Endocrine Abstracts

A 27-year-old woman with Carney Complex, with inactivating mutation of the PRKAR1α gene [(a 2-bp deletion of nucleotides T and G at positions 576 and 577 with frame-shift mutation beginning with aminoacid residue threonine 163 (ΔFSterThr163)], bearing a GH secreting microadenoma, Cushing syndrome from PPNAD and with high operatory risk because of the neurological sequelae of cerebral embolism from atrial myxomas, underwent a low-dose mitotane (MT) regimen.<p clas...

Hepatocytes are both insulin sensitive and the primary site for synthesis of SHBG. Thus, it is possible that a condition of hepatic insulin resistance may impair hepatic synthesis of SHBG. In this study, we assessed SHBG circulating levels after 30 days of a very low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) based on high-biological value protein preparations diet (ISOMED) and natural food in a cohort of insulin-resistant obese male subjects. Moreover, we investigated the effects of expo...

RT-coding genes are expressed at very low levels in differentiated, non pathological tissues, while are significantly up-regulated in undifferentiated and transformed cells, suggesting a direct correlation between the level of expression of RT and the proliferative state of the cell. Either nevirapine and efavirenz, two RT inhibitors, used in the therapy of AIDS, reversibly down-regulate cell proliferation and induce differentiation in several human tumor cell lines.<p cla...

Insulin is a major endocrine hormone able to regulate whole-body energy disposal and lipid metabolism. Particularly, insulin stimulates the renewal of the adipose tissue (AT) via activation of insulin receptors (IR) consisting of two splicing variants: a short isoform (IRa) involved in cell proliferation, and a long isoform (IRb) mainly implicated in metabolic responses. The contribution of these isoforms to the AT expansion is still poorly understood. We investigated the expr...

Low levels of testosterone and SHBG levels are often present in subjects with overweight and obesity; functional hypogonadism further alters the metabolic balance and may drag subjects in a sort of vicious cycle, reducing exercise and energy expenditure. The very low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) has been reported to rapidly reduce body weight, glycaemia and insulinemia, but its effects on total testosterone (TT) and SHBG levels are less clear. We thus aimed to evaluate the r...