Endocrine Abstracts

Aim of the study was to evaluate whether clinical parameters and echographic patterns may be predictive of malignancy in thyroid nodules with a cytological diagnosis of follicular (FOL) and H?rthle cell (HC) neoplasia. The study included 495 patients (388 F: mean age 45±14 yr; 107 M: mean age 46±14 yr) with FOL (n=418) and CH (n=77) nodules, ‘cold’ at scintiscan and undergone to thyroidectomy. Clinical parameters considered were: sex, age, goi...

Aim of the study was to establish the diagnostic value of nuclear atypia thyroid nodules with cytological diagnosis of follicular (FOL) and Hv¨rthle cell (HC) neoplasia. 1039/23.313 fine needle aspiration (FNA) performed in January 2002 June 2005 in the Department of Endocrinology, University of Pisa had cytological diagnosis of FOL e CH. FNA was performed under echo guidance, using 23 gauge needle attached to 10 mL syringe. The material was air-dryed and stained with Pap...

About 10–15% of FNA cytologies are nondiagnostic, because of inadequate material or indeterminate (i.e. follicular neoplasms). Aim of this study was to analyse the practical usefulness of the analysis of BRAF mutations and RET/PTC rearrangements, known to be associated to papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), in FNA-material.We analysed 100 thyroid nodules with a nondiagnostic cytology: 75 follicular nodules and 25 cases with inadequate material. Fifte...

Background: Evaluation of steroid replacement therapy (SRT) in adrenal insufficiency (AI) is challenging for the lack of reliable parameters. Measurement of salivary cortisol and cortisone emerged as a non-invasive tool for AI management, however poorly investigated. Aim: To analyse the cortisol and cortisone circadian rhythm in normal controls (NC) and patients with primary AI (PAI) under different SRTs, and to identify useful biomarkers. <p class="...

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous non-coding RNAs that pair with target messengers regulating gene expression. They are involved in biological processes including development, organogenesis, tissue differentiation, cell cycle and metabolism. Changes in miRNA levels occur in human cancers, including thyroid cancer. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) with cytologic evaluation is the most reliable tool for malignancy prediction in thyroid nodules, but cytologic diagnos...

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...

Background and aim: The relationship between sarcopenia and overt cortisol excess as in Cushing’s syndrome is well-known. However, only a few studies investigated the relationship between autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) in adrenal incidentalomas and skeletal muscle mass. The aims of our study were to analyze the skeletal muscle mass in patients with adrenal incidentalomas and to investigate the correlations with hormonal data.Methods: We enrolle...

Background: Adrenal insufficiency patient (AIP) care is mostly based on symptoms or clinical signs of inadequate glucocorticoid replacement treatment (GRT). Salivary cortisol (F) and cortisone (E) recently emerged as new tools for AIP management, although poorly employed in clinical practice.Aim: To assess associations between salivary glucocorticoid measures and life quality, anxiety depressive symptoms, sleep quality in AIP.Metho...

Background: Chronic hypercortisolism exhibits irregular circadian rhythm and deranged protein metabolism. Altered amino acid(AA) and biogenic amine(BA) circulating levels were found in patients with hypercortisolism. However, there is limited information about the physiologic circadian fluctuation of AA and BA levels, and it is not known whether this is affected by states of hypercortisolism.Aim: To characterize levels and daily fluctuations of AA and BA...

Introduction: An increase in dietary iodine uptake, from insufficient to borderline values, induces the unmasking of a hidden epitope on thyroglobulin (Tg). No data about the effect of an excessive iodine intake on the expression of Tg epitopes recognized by human TgAb are available.Objective: To compare the expression of TgAb epitopes in sera of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) patients from areas with adequate, slightly and markedly excessive iodine i...