Endocrine Abstracts

A 21-year-old woman with homozygous sickle cell disease, presented to A&E with vomiting and diarrhoea, and was noted to be hypercalcaemic (corrected calcium 3.00 mmol/l [ref. 2.2–2.6]; phosphate 0.48 mmol/l [ref. 0.8–1.5]). She reported polyuria and polydipsia, but no other symptoms of hypercalcaemia. There was no history of renal stones, renal impairment, or fragility fracture. A maternal aunt required parathyroidectomy in middle age. Bloods revealed PTH 138.4 pmo...

Introduction: Therapeutic approach of patients (pts) with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) may include the use of biological agents such as m-TOR inhibitors: temsirolimus (TM) and everolimus (EV). Its use is associated with metabolic dysfunction, especially with everolimus: hyperglycemia (37% TM treated pts vs 72% EV treated pts), hypercholesterolemia (25% TM treated pts vs 81% EV treated pts) and hypertriglyceridemia (30% TM treated pts vs 73% EV treated pts). Discontin...

IntroductionTurner syndrome(TS) is characterized by complete/partial monosomy or by a structural defect in one of X chromosomes. Despite clinical hallmarks of short stature(SS) and gonadal dysgenesis(GD), phenotype is variable and related to underlying chromosomal pattern. Loss of the distal segment of the short arm of x-chromosome(Xp-), including haploinsufficiency of short stature homeobox-containing (SHOX) gene, is thought to be the main factor for gr...

Background: Male hypogonadism is defined by low circulating testosterone level associated with signs and symptoms of testosterone deficiency. Although the bidirectional link between hypogonadism and cardiovascular disease has been clarified recently, the association between testosterone and chronic heart failure (CHF) is more controversial. Methods: We critically review published studies relating to testosterone, hypogonadism, and CHF and provide practic...

Context: Fludrocortisone (FC) is the mineralocorticoid (MC) replacement treatment for patients with primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI). Objective: To explore the dose of FC treatment and its relationship with glucocorticoid therapy, sodium, potassium, renin and clinical parameters. Design: Longitudinal study.Setting: Monocentric cohort.Patients: Data of 193 patients with PAI (130 autoi...

Introduction: Transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) is the first-choice treatment in Cushing’s disease (CD) with an immediate success rate of 70-80%. Unfortunately, due to the high rate of post-operative recurrences, CD patients require life-long surveillance. However, there is no consensus on how to follow these patients after TSS to early diagnose relapses. The aim of the study was to find reliable predictors of recurrence after neurosurgery in CD.Materia...

Several reports of Graves’ disease (GD) onset after COVID-19 vaccination were recently published. The mechanism underlying GD occurrence in these cases could be related to the autoimmune syndrome induced by adjuvants (ASIA), a condition triggered by several vaccine adjuvants and excipients leading to dysfunctional immune response causing different conditions and endocrinopathies in genetically predisposed subjects. In Italy, population campaign for COVID-19 vaccination st...

Context: Cushing’s disease (CD) is rare condition burdened by several systemic complications that in turn increase mortality. The main goal of CD treatment is to promptly reduce cortisol excess, but whether remission can revert cortisol-related complications and guarantee a normal life expectancy remains debated. Aim: To assess the prevalence of cortisol-related complications and mortality in a large monocentric cohort of CD patients followed at our...

Low vitamin D levels were consistently reported as a risk factor for worse outcomes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Emerging evidences suggest that in 50–70% of COVID-19 survivors several post-COVID symptoms can be observed up to 3 months after acute-disease, representing a novel clinical condition defined Long-COVID syndrome. To date, the predisposing factors for this syndrome are still poorly understood. We retrospectively aimed at evaluating the influence of 25(OH) ...

Background and aim: Aldosterone-to-Renin Ratio (ARR) is recommended as initial test to screen for Primary Aldosteronism (PA), especially in high-risk hypertensive population. Endocrine Society (ES) Guidelines recommend that patients with an increased ARR should undergo one or more confirmatory tests in order to confirm or exclude PA diagnosis. Captopril Challenge Test (CCT) and Saline Infusion Test (SIT) are commonly used in routine clinical practice. The aim of our study was ...