Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune and neurodegenerative disease of the central nervous system typically affecting young adults. Autonomic dysfunction is commonly detected in patients with multiple sclerosis. Lower response of sympathoadrenal system to various stressors is mainly connected with more developed disease. However, data evaluating sympathoadrenal system function in early MS are limited. Present study investigates stress respons...

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative diseasethat is manifested by a progressive loss of cognitive and behavioral function. In previous studies, we have constructed a predictive model for the classification of AD patients based on levels of circulating steroids and their polar conjugates.Both AD and Type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM) are well known to affect the levels of some steroid hormones, however, in the opposite direction, and in a gen...

Introduction: Differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules is one of the most frequently solved problems in the endocrinological practice. It is always necessary to determine their biological nature, which will decide about further therapeutic procedure, especially about early surgery in case of proven malignancy. In addition to sonographic examination and fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), now we can also use the possibilities of molecular-genetic examination.<p class="ab...

Endocrine disruptors represent exogenous substances that alter hormonal, reproductive, immune and homeostatic systems. Bisphenol-A (BPA) in the form of polymer is a part of polycarbonates used in plastics, food packing and medical devices. Incomplete BPA polymerization and cleavage of weak chemical bonds result in monomer release/leakage to the foods and beverages. Many studies have associated exposure to BPA with higher incidence of hormone-dependent mammary and prostate carc...

Introduction: The dependence on tobacco, diagnosis F 17, is an independent condition in the International classification of diseases and presents one of the most widespread addictions. Chronic smoking can cause impairment of fertility in both sexes. However, only a small number of studies were dedicated to the influence of smoking on levels of steroid hormones and their neuroactive metabolites. Neuroactive steroids modulate the effects of tobacco on central nervous system, and...

The hepatic peptide hormone hepcidin is the principal regulator of iron absorption and tissue iron distribution. Hepcidin circulates in blood plasma and acts at nanomolar concentrations by inducing degradation of its receptor, the cellular iron exporter ferroportin. Ferroportin exports iron into plasma from absorptive enterocytes, from macrophages that recycle the iron of senescent erythrocytes, and from hepatocytes that store iron. Therefore, hepcidin-mediated degradation of ...

Epidemiologic studies suggest that adult disease risk may be associated with adverse environmental conditions early in development but the biological mechanisms behind these relations are unclear.Our group used the circumstances of the Dutch famine of 1944–1945 to evaluate epigenetic changes in men and women with prenatal famine exposure during the Second World War. Study subjects were followed from birth to age ∼58 years. To minimize potentia...

Hirsutism is the presence of excessive terminal hair in androgen dependent areas of the female body. A frequent medical complaint that affects ∼ 12% of Caucasian premenopausal women, hirsutism usually results from relatively benign functional disorders. Among them, the polycystic ovary syndrome is the most frequent etiology.The most important tool for the diagnosis of hirsutism is a complete clinical history and physical examination. Functional cau...

PTSD is an anxiety disorder that occurs among persons exposed to a traumatic event involving life threat and injury. This is a co-morbid psychiatric disorder that occurs along with depression. Cortisol, secreted in the adrenal cortex in response to stress, is an informative biomarker that distinguishes anxiety disorders such as major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from normal subjects. In comparison to normal subjects, hypocortisolemia was observed during...

Background: Hypovitaminosis D is associated with T2DM risk, cross-sectionally and prospectively; supplementation can reduce insulin resistance and increase glucose-induced insulin secretion in humans. Increased pancreatic islet RAS activity is induced by hyperglycemia, enhancing β cell damage (Leung PS et al.). Vitamin D is now known to suppress renin secretion, thus we have examined effects of calcitriol on increased islet RAS activity in vitro±hyp...