Endocrine Abstracts

BRAFV600E mutation is considered useful in recognizing thyroid cancer aggressiveness or poor prognosis particularly in certain variants of papillary thyroid cancinoma (PTC). A recent meta-analysis identified 12 cancer-versus-non cancer gene candidate as markers of thyroid cancer; among these TIMP-1 (tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases) was found consistently up-regulated. Our aim was to evaluate BRAFV600E mutation and TIMP-1 expression in 14 PTC class...

Anaplastic thyropid carcinoma (ATC) is one of the most aggressive endocrine tumors with morphological features of undifferentiated neoplasm. Patients with ATC have a poor prognosis with a mean survival time of 2–6 months. Surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy do not improve survival rate. Bisphosphonates, analogs of endogenous pyrophosphates in which a carbon atom replaces the central oxygen atom, are successful agents for the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal o...

In the last years, a growing body of evidence supports the notion that tumors are organized in a hierarchy of heterogeneous cell populations with different biologic properties and that the capability to sustain tumor formation and growth exclusively resides in a small proportion of tumor cells, termed cancer stem cells (CSC). The existence of CSC was first proven in the context of acute myelogenous leukaemia, and subsequently verified in brain, breast, colon and prostate cance...

Central serotoninergic activity (CSA) is known to influence the hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, and a CSA loss seems to play a role in human brain aging and in etiology of functional hypercortisolism and depression, whose incidence increase with advancing age. Citalopram (CT), a SSRI, has been considered a good tool to evaluate CSA in humans. Aim of this study was to evaluate the neuroendocrine response to CT in healthy adult subjects during lifespan. We e...

A strong evidence suggests the role of BRAFV600E mutation in determining the aggressiveness of thyroid cancer. To detect how the association of BRAF mutation could influence the aggressiveness of particular subtypes of thyroid tumors, we analysed a possible correlation between BRAFV600E and metalloproteinase (MMPs) activity, as its enhanced production could be an important determinant of tumor invasion. For this purpose, we investigated the activity and t...

In primary adrenal insufficiency hydrocortisone or cortisone are commonly used at doses of 30–37.5 mg/day as replacement therapy, though recent studies showed that cortisol normal production is about 5.7 mg/m2, equivalent to 20 mg/day of hydrocortisone, suggesting that supraphysiological doses are used. In 19 Addison’s disease patients (8 M, 11 F, 23–71 yr) under conventional glucocorticoid replacement therapy (37.5 mg cortisone/day) with low DHEAS le...

Insulin tolerance test (ITT) is considered the golden standard test to evaluate HPA axis in suspected hypopituitarism. Low dose (1 μg) ACTH1–24 short stimulation test (LDSST) and metyrapone are often used when ITT is contraindicated. The diagnostic reliability of LDSST is, however, controversial, as even this dose has been considered supramaximal, while very low ACTH doses have been suggested more reliable to assess the adrenal sensitivity. Thus, in...

Introduction: Subcutaneous (sc) pasireotide effectively reduces cortisol levels, improves signs/symptoms and is generally well tolerated in Cushing’s disease (CD) patients, as shown in previous clinical trials. We report interim results from a multicentre, real-world observational study evaluating the long-term safety and efficacy of pasireotide sc in clinical practice in CD patients.Methods: Adults with CD, for whom surgery has failed or is not an ...

Low levels of testosterone and SHBG levels are often present in subjects with overweight and obesity; functional hypogonadism further alters the metabolic balance and may drag subjects in a sort of vicious cycle, reducing exercise and energy expenditure. The very low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) has been reported to rapidly reduce body weight, glycaemia and insulinemia, but its effects on total testosterone (TT) and SHBG levels are less clear. We thus aimed to evaluate the r...

Introduction: Lipodystrophy syndromes are characterized by a progressive metabolic impairment secondary to adipose tissue dysfunction and genetic background. The role of microbiota is still uninvestigated.Objective: Evaluate the gut microbiome ecology in relation to dietary and clinical parameters in two infant siblings with congenital generalized lipodystrophy type 4 (CGL4) before and after treatment with recombinant leptin.Method...