Endocrine Abstracts

Angiotensin II (AngII) is a vasoactive peptide hormone and the effector of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. It exerts its main physiological effects through type 1 angiotensin II receptor (AT1R), but it can also contribute to the development of cardiovascular diseases. Likewise, oxysterols such as 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-HC), the product of cholesterol-25-hydroxylase (CH25H), can have harmful effects on the vasculature since they affect vascular smooth muscle cells ...

Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone with low molecular weight (362 Da) synthesized from cholesterol in the adrenal gland. The release is regulated by the hypothalamic–pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Approximately 95% of the circulating amount is bound to proteins (CBG and albumin), but only the remaining free fraction is biologically active. Serum cortisol level is routinely analysed in laboratory medicine, though the widespread immunoassays (RIA and ECLIA) have the disadv...

Familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA) occurs if two or more members of a family develop pituitary adenoma with no features of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 or Carney complex. FIPA is an autosomal dominant disease with incomplete penetrance. FIPA families can be divided into two distinct groups based on genetic and phenotypic features. In 20% of FIPA families mutations have been identified in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein (AIP) gene. The AIP-posit...

Angiotensin II (AngII) mainly acts through type 1 angiotensin II receptor (AT1R) to promote a broad variety of biological effects. The vascular smooth muscle cells are one of the main target of AngII and its stimulation activates numerous signaling pathways which could result in gene expression changes in these cells. We carried out Affymetrix GeneChip experiments to analyze the effects of AngII stimulation on gene expression. More than 200 genes were upregulated in response t...

The total 25-hydroxy-vitamin-D (t-25OHD) level reflects the vitamin-D supply, but it is also influenced by the levels of vitamin-D-binding-proteins (DBP) and albumin. The type of dialysis influences the levels of serum proteins. The ‘free-hormone hypothesis’ states that only the free molecules (f25OHD) can diffuse intracellular. Our aim was to evaluate the total, calculated (c-f25OHD) and direct measured (dm-f25OHD) 25OHD levels in patients with chronic renal disease...

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR) was applied to investigate metabolic profile of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients and identify possible disorders of T2DM.We investigate the potential relationship between diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetic neuropathy (DN), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), anthropometric indicators (body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist to hip ratio (WHR), waist to sta...

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate whether multiple mild head trauma or repetitive heading of long term soccer playing causes growth hormone deficiency.Patients and methods: 28 retired previously professional male soccer players were investigated. Nine of them had sport related head injuries. Mean age: 48.7 years (range 36–70; S.D.±7.4); mean sport duration (professional and senior activity): 27.4 years (S.D.±...

Loss-of-function mutations in the TSH receptor (TSHR) gene are one of the most common known causes of congenital hypothyroidism (CH). While heterozygous mutations result in nonautoimmune isolated hyperthyrotropinemia, homozygous and compound heterozygous mutations may cause overt CH of various severity depending on the localization and type of the mutations.In our study we performed the systematic genetic analysis of the TSHR gene of a cohort of 85 Hunga...

Sufficient vitamin D supply is essential for general health. The total 25-hydoxy-vitamin-D (t-25OHD) level refers to the vitamin D supply and can be measured with various methods. Since these methods are not independent of the serum matrix, differences can be obtained among vitamin D levels measured with different methods. Our aim was to study the vitamin D in healthy blood donors, taking also into consideration the use of oral contraceptives (OC).Method...

The incidence of macroprolactinemia decreased notably because of wide use of prolactin (PRL) assays measuring macroprolactin at a lower rate. However, in case of high PRL levels, measurement of monomeric PRL (mPRL) levels after polyethylene glycol (PEG) treatment is still required. Our aim was to determine – by the use of a second generation PRL assay – how total PRL (tPRL) levels in native sera of healthy blood donors change after PEG treatment. In women, the use of...