Endocrine Abstracts

Congenital hypothyroidism is frequently associated with congenital cardiac malformations (CCM). Studies in knock-out mice showed that heart and great vessels organogenesis share some nuclear transcription factors with the embryonic thyroid, suggesting that thyroid defects may have a higher prevalence in children with CCM. The present study investigated thyroid function and morphology in 280 children (145 M/135 F, aged 0.3–12 years), affected by CCM (septal defects, ductus...

Background: Aberrant cAMP signalling is involved in the pathogenesis of somatotropinomas. Recently, variants of phosphodiesterase type 11A (PDE11A) gene have been described in patients with adrenocortical tumors. Aim of the study was to investigate the presence of these variants in patients with somatotropinomas.Subjects and methods: Germ-line DNA of 78 acromegalic patients was screened for known genetic variants of PDE11A by direct sequencing or restric...

An increased cardiovascular risk has been described in patients (pts) with adrenal incidentaloma (AI), similarly to pts with overt Cushing’s syndrome (CS). Some echocardiographic abnormalities and alterations in adipokine secretion involved in insulin resistance, inflammation and atherosclerosis have been reported in pts with CS. In this study the possible correlation between echocardiographic parameters and adipokine levels in pts with AI was evaluated.<p class="abst...

Introduction: In type 1 multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN1), primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a challenging problem due to the high post-surgery recurrence rate. Cinacalcet is a calcimimetic agent which showed to be effective in patients in whom surgery is contraindicated or refused. In this study we assessed the efficacy and the safeness of cinacalcet in MEN1 patients, in comparison with patients with sporadic PHPT (sPHPT). Moreover, the influence of Arg990Gly CASR polym...

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) negatively affects renal function. It is known that chronic kidney disease is a predictor of cardiometabolic diseases. Cystatin C (cystC), an alternative measure of renal function, has been associated with adverse cardiovascular events and cardiometabolic risk factors. This study was aimed to evaluate serum cystC, its relationships with PTH and cardiometabolic risk in patients with PHPT.The following parameters were mea...

PKA regulatory subunit 2B (R2B) is the most expressed in mouse adipose tissue, where it plays an important role in regulating energy balance. We previously demonstrated that R2B is the most abundant R subunit in human adult subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissues. We further showed that R2B expression and PKA activation are reduced in adipose tissues from obese as compared to non-obese subjects. Normal adipose tissue development and increases in fat mass associated with obes...

Previous evidences have suggested that in adults with organic hypopituitarism the condition of GH deficiency (GHD) could mask the presence of other pituitary deficits. In our experience, both central hypothyroidism and hypoadrenalism were unmasked during rhGH therapy in adults with GHD due to central organic lesions. Few and conflicting information are available about the relationship among GHD, rhGH therapy and gonadal function. Aim of the present study was to investigate the...

It has been suggested that the selective m-TOR inhibitor, Rapamycin, has been improved the success pancreatic islet allotransplantation (ITx) in type 1 diabetic patients (T1DM). Forty-one ITx were studied. Thirteen T1DM in poor glycemic control underwent a 45-days Rapamycin before ITx followed by standard Edmonton Protocol (EP, group 1, Milan), and they were compared to 28 T1DM patients undergoing EP (group 2, Miami). Outcome measures were daily insulin requirement (DIR), HbA1...

Patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) are at risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). PHPT patients (n=190, 146 females and 44 males, aged 59.7±14.2 years) and non-hypertensive, non-diabetic age- and sex-matched healthy controls were evaluated for serum cystatin C and creatinine. PHPT patients and controls with established CKD were excluded. Serum cystatin C was measured by immunonephelometric assay and calculation of estimated glomerular filtration rate ...

Introduction: Bone marrow fat is considered a risk factor for osteoporosis and fragility fracture. It is not clear if bone marrow adiposity is increased in obesity and how it relates to other compartments of adipose tissue, in particular visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT).Aim: To evaluate bone marrow adiposity in obese as compared with normal weight women.Design: Tw...