Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: Several studies reported that a long-time therapy with somatostatin analogs (SSTa) in acromegaly could induce persistent remission event after drug withdrawal. The aim of this study was to evaluate GH/IGF-I secretion after SSTa discontinuation in a series of acromegalic patients.Materials and methods: Data of 21 patients regularly referred to our Centre and previously included in a multicentre study, have been updated at the last available fol...

Background: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is a frequent clinical condition with a prevalence of 3–15% in general population. It is defined by elevated TSH levels with normal thyroid hormones [free thyroxine (FT4) and free triiodothyronine (FT3)]. Similar to prolactin, high TSH levels may be caused by macroTSH, a large molecular sized TSH with a low bioactivity. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of macroTSH in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism....

Background: In acromegalic patients, quality of life reduction and neuropsychological impairment are common, in addition to well-known complications related to the pituitary adenoma and to the GH/IGF-I excess. Acromegalic patients need a lot of outpatient visits and a multidisciplinary approach during the management of the disease and its comorbidities. Aim of the project is to analyze the role of an electronic health device (eHD) with remote monitoring in management of acrome...

Introduction: Non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPA) accounts for about 40% of all pituitary tumors. One or more anteropituitary deficiencies are present at diagnosis in 60–80% of NFPA. Hypopituitarism classically appears with the following order: GH→FSH/LH→TSH→ACTH. Aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence and the order of appearance of pituitary deficiencies in patients with NFPA.Materials and methods: We retrospectively...

Background: Patients with Cushing’s Syndrome (CS) have a high risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) related to a hypercoagulable state. Previous studies showed increased levels of procoagulant factors but also an elevation of some of the anticoagulants factors and fibrinolytic enzymes. Once patients achieve disease remission, there is a significant decrease of some procoagulant factors but if these alterations are completely reversible is still unclear. Compared to tradit...

Introduction: The diagnosis of acromegaly is confirmed in the presence of high IGF-1 levels and inadequate suppression of growth hormone (GH) after glucose load. According to guidelines, a GH nadir (GHn)>0.4 ng/ml is considered diagnostic with ultrasensitive assays. However, some acromegalic patients with lower GHn, also called ‘micromegalic’, are reported, but a systematic collection of their clinical features is unavailable.Aim of the s...

Progressive osseous heteroplasia (POH) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder of mesenchymal differentiation characterized by progressive heterotopic ossification (HO) of dermis, skeletal muscle and deep connective tissues. Initially HO occurs during infancy as osteoma cutis, then extends progressively into deep connective tissues during childhood. Most cases of POH are caused by paternally inherited mutations of GNAS gene. Maternal mutations as well as epigentic defec...

Context: Most of the clinical data on safety profile of desmopressin (DDAVP), i.e. an effective treatment of both polyuric conditions and bleeding disorders, originates from studies on tailoring of drug treatment, whereas few reports describe severe side effects secondary to drug–drug interaction.Objective: To describe a case of severe hyponatremia complicated with seizure and coma due to the intake of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) ...

Patients with craniopharyngioma (CP) are more often operated by transcranial route than patients with nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA), have higher prevalence of pituitary deficiencies, are more obese and dyslipidemic and have a higher mortality rate. A previous study in a large group of GHD subjects, showed that the effects of 2-year rhGH replacement are similar in patients operated for CP and in patients operated for NFPA, except for less reduction in fat mass in CP p...

A highly polymorphic microsatellite in the IGF1 gene promoter, composed of variable cytosine-adenine (CA) repeats (n=10–24) has been linked to IGF1 serum concentrations in normal, acromegalic and GHD subjects with conflicting results. Aim of this study was to investigate whether this polymorphism may influence the clinical and biochemical characteristics of adult patients with GHD (n=97). Moreover, the response to 12-month rhGH replacement in terms of IGF1 l...