Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Selective oestrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) potentially increase endogenous gonadotrophin and testosterone secretion in men. They are used off-label in men with hypogonadism and/or infertility. There is a lack of guidance on using these agents in men with secondary hypogonadism, though these agents are widely used in these people as a cheaper alternative to gonadotrophins. Methods: Systematic search was co...

Background: In patients with Klinefelter syndrome (KS) morbidity and mortality seem to be higher than general population, this depending on a wide number of possible comorbidities. Impaired metabolic profile, increased risk of venous thrombosis and the consequent increase of cardiovascular diseases might play a key role in this condition as well as reduced bone mineral density and higher fracture risk. Nowadays testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is the first-choice treatme...

Introduction: Fetal goiter is an infrequent and potentially life-threating condition derived from either fetal hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism. TSH-receptor stimulating antibodies (TSH-R-ABs) can cross the placenta and induce fetal hyperthyroidism and goiter. We describe a rare case of TSH-R-ABs-induced hyperthyroidism in a woman with autoimmune hypothyroidism (AH) without previous hyperthyroidism.Case Report: A 28 years old pregnant woman under treatm...

Introduction: Anophthalmia/microphthalmia is a rare developmental craniofacial defect often associated to congenital hypopituitarism with GH deficiency and hypogonadism. SOX2 gene plays a key role in embryonic development regulation and heterozygous mutations of this gene, reported only in 14 patients to date, have been associated to anophthalmia/microphthalmia and congenital hypopituitarism in uo to 10% of cases. Therefore, the study of the SOX2 gene can be clinically useful ...

Introduction: Male-to-female gender identity disorder (MtF GID) is a complex phenomenon that could be better evaluated by using a dimensional approach.Aim: To explore the aggregation of clinical manifestations of MtF GID in order to identify meaningful variables describing the heterogeneity of the disorder.Methods: A consecutive series of 80 MtF GID subjects (mean age 37±10.3 years), referred to the interdepartmental Center fo...

Introduction: Childhood maltreatment is quite common and constitutes a non-specific risk factor for a range of different emotional and behavioural problems during lifespan. It has been demonstrated that sexual minorities are at higher risk of maltreatment and abuse, and a high proportion of transsexual subjects reports childhood maltreatment.Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of reported childhood maltreatment in a clinical sample of patients with male to f...

Introduction: Although penile blood flow (PBF) has been recommended as an additional diagnostic test in identifying erectile dysfunction (ED) patients at risk for latent cardiovascular disease, no study has ever assessed the possible association of PBF and the relational component of sexual function with incident major cardiovascular events (MACE).Aim: The aim of this study is to investigate whether severity of ED, PBF and other factors related to a coup...

Introduction: It is general acknowledgement that obesity is associated with a systemic, low-grade inflammatory state. Although the relationship between obesity and semen parameters or prostate diseases has been previously investigated, the association between body mass index (BMI), prostate inflammatory diseases and colour-Doppler ultrasound (CDU) features of the male genital tract (MGT) has been poorly studied. This study was aimed at evaluating the association between BMI an...

Introduction: Interleukin 8 (IL8) is a proinflammatory cytokine highly expressed in seminal plasma. Seminal IL8 (sIL8) has been proposed as a reliable surrogate marker of prostatitis and as a potential marker of male accessory gland infection (MAGI). So far, no study systematically evaluated the correlations of sIL8 with colour-Doppler ultrasound (CDU) features of the male genital tract. Hence, we investigated these possible correlations in infertile patients with MAGI.<p ...

Introduction: Although testosterone has been suggested to play a protective role against the development of atherosclerosis, studies demonstrating an association between low testosterone, and incident major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) are scanty in the general population and absent in subjects with erectile dysfunction (ED). The aim of this study is to investigate whether low testosterone in subjects with ED predict incident fatal or non fatal MACE.<p class="abste...