Endocrine Abstracts

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common motor neurone disorder in human adults, presents is characterized by selective and progressive degeneration of upper and lower motor neurones in central nervous system. GH secretion, evaluated by GHRH+arginine test, has been recently reported to be impaired in about 70% of untreated ALS patients. The currently available drug for ALS treatment is riluzole, a compound acting through inhibition of glutamate relase, post-synapti...

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) and growth hormone deficiency (GHD) are both associated with alterations of bone metabolism.GH secretion is frequently impaired in PHP patients; thus GH/IGF-I system alterations could be involved in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis.In the present study 50 post-menopausal women with PHP were evaluated by GH response to GH-releasing hormone (GHRH)+arginine (ARG) test and femoral neck bone mineral den...

Thyroid hormone resistance (THR) and pituitary TSH-secreting adenomas (TSHoma) are both characterised by increased serum free thyroid hormone levels and normal TSH concentrations. Differentiation of the two syndromes is a clinical challenge, and relies on the suppression (TRH) or lack of suppression (TSHoma) of TSH-dependent parameters and on the presence of germinal mutations in the thyroid hormone receptor beta 1 gene in patients with THR. Thyroid blood flow, evaluated using...

Pituitary autoantibodies have been detected in patients with endocrine autoimmune diseases as well as in various pituitary diseases but their role in determining pituitary dysfunction is not clear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate anterior and posterior pituitary function in a group of patients with detectable pituitary autoantibodies.31 patients (29 women and 2 men) were enrolled in the study: 21 patients affected by Hashimoto’s thyroid...

Organ-specific autoantibodies have been detected in patients with autoimmune diseases. The relationship between pituitary autoantibodies and lymphocitic hypophysitis has not yet been established and it is not clear if they are a specific serological marker of the disease.The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of pituitary autoantibodies in patients affected by autoimmune and nodular thyroid disorders.803 patien...

Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma, collectively referred to as PPGLs, are rare, mostly benign neuroendocrine tumors arising from chromaffin cells of the adrenal gland or of extra-adrenal sites, respectively. Surgery is the first-line therapy for localized PPGLs. However, up to 17% of PPGLs show metastatic spread, and for these cases there is no curative treatment. Therefore, the identification of novel therapeutic approaches for advanced PPGLs is highly clinically relevant. W...

Introduction: Pancreas transplantation is an established treatment for selected patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and severe chronic kidney disease (CKD), reducing mortality and morbidity.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the cases of pancreas transplantation performed at our centre from 1-January-2011 to 30-June-2016.Results: In this period, 53 transplants were performed: 48 simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplants ...

Introduction: Thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement in needle washouts from fine-needle aspiration biopsies (FNA-Tg) increases the sensitivity of lymph node (LN) metastasis diagnosis in differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). However, the cutoff value for FNA-Tg has not been clearly established and there are large differences between clinical studies, which hinders its interpretation. Our study aimed to investigate the optimal cutoff value of FNA-Tg and evaluate its utility in the diagn...

Introduction: Although recognized as a risk factor in most staging systems, including the UICC TNM classification, the significance of microscopic extrathyroid extension (ETE) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) remains controversial. Despite this fact, its diagnosis by a pathologist following surgery for tumours ≤ 4 cm without metastases means an upstaging to pT3 and stage III in patients over 45 years, implying a poorer survival. Our study aimed to evaluate the impact...

Introduction: Chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (LT) is a very common condition, and its coexistence with papillary thyroid carcinoma has often been reported. Analytical and echographic challenges must be kept in mind in the follow-up of patients with both these disorders.Case report:: We present the case of a woman with a history of multinodular goitre who underwent left thyroidectomy and isthmectomy at the age of 43, with the histopathological finding of...