Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Patients on long-term glucocorticoid treatment are at risk of adrenal insufficiency during glucocorticoid treatment. The side effect can occur during glucocorticoid treatment if there is a mismatch between glucocorticoid requirements and production/intake. High-dose glucocorticoid treatment is often sufficient to overcome most stressful situations. A low-dose of 5 mg prednisolone/day is however, equivalent to 20 mg hydrocortisone, a dose often used as basal glucoco...

Objective: We aimed to assess the prevalence of glucocorticoid-induced adrenal insufficiency in prednisolone treated patients, and its relation to glucocorticoid dose and duration of treatment.Subjects and measures: As part of a larger study 48 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (33 women, aged 34–85 years) treated with a mean prednisolone dose of 7.0 mg (range 5–20 mg) per day, and a mean duration of treatment of 95 months (range: 6–360 m...

Background: It is still uncertain if subclinical thyroid disease or ‘high-normal’ thyroid function are risk-factors for atrial fibrillation (AF).Objectives: To examine the risk of AF in relation to thyroid function.Methods: Patients consulting their general practitioner from 2000–2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, who underwent thyroid blood tests, were identified by individual-level linkage of nationwide registries. Patie...

Aim: Patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) have increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) including stroke. The risk of CVD is traditionally assessed using office blood pressure (BP) and lipid profile. Increased arterial stiffness predicts cardiovascular events in the general population. We investigated if arterial stiffness was associated with cerebrovascular disease in patients with T2DM and sex- and age-matched controls indepentl y of classical risk factors.<p class...

Objective: To determine the cumulative incidence of nonadherent patients with type-2-diabetes from an outpatient clinic, and to examine determinants and consequences of premature discharge.Research design and methods: A cohort comprising patients with type-2-diabetes referred to a Diabetes Clinic from 2009-2012 was assessed. Patients were categorized as nonadherent if discharged within two years of referral due to nonattendance and/or nonadherence to med...

Objectives: Alemtuzumab, a monoclonal antibody against CD52, is used in the treatment of multiple sclerosis. A side effect to the treatment is development of autoimmune thyroid disease. The aim was to evaluate the rate, type and course of thyroid disease in Danish patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) previously treated with Alemtuzumab.Methods: The study was a retrospective cohort study of patients treated with first series of alemtuzumab for multiple s...

Objective: Vitamin D has potential immunomodulatory effects. We studied whether vitamin D3 supplementation affects the course of Graves’ disease (GD).Methods: In a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, we randomized patients with a first time diagnosis of GD hyperthyroidism to daily supplementation with vitamin D3 70 mg (2800 IU) or placebo, as add-on to standard treatment with anti-thyroid drugs (ATD). The intervention was continued 12 months af...

Objectives: The Danish population was previously iodine deficient with regional differences, and a mandatory iodine fortification of salt was introduced more than 20 years ago. Despite iodine fortification and frequent use of iodine-containing supplements, the iodine status in Danish pregnant women was insufficient when evaluated in 2012 (median urinary iodine concentration (UIC): 101 µg/l). From July 1, 2019 the authorities implemented a mandatory increase from 13 to 20 ...

Introduction: Alemtuzumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody against CD52, located on the surface of the lymphocytes, used in the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), that can induce novel secondary autoimmune diseases. Autoimmunity may be related to the pattern of T- and B-cell depletion and repopulation following Alemtuzumab treatment. The most frequently reported autoimmune disorders observed with alemtuzumab involve the thyroid gland in up to a third...

Background: Vitamin D is important to skeletal health and is standard care in conditions with low BMD. Thyrotoxicosis caused by Graves’ disease (GD) leads to increased bone turnover and reduced BMD. We aimed to test the hypothesis that vitamin D supplementation would improve bone recovery in GD.Methods: Using a double-blinded design, hyperthyroid patients with a first time diagnosis of GD were randomized to supplementation with vitamin D3 70 mg/day...