Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Several studies suggest DHEA and DHEAS (DHEA(S)) are related to memory enhancement and a better performance under stress. An anti-cortisol action may contribute to those relations. We looked for a new level of evidence, by studying DHEA(S) and cortisol relations to working memory (WM) and distraction in humans also at the electrophysiological level.Subjects and methods: Twenty-eight healthy female volunteers (18–26 years old) were pres...

Introduction: Several studies reported DHEA relations to memory and cognition improvement. An anti-cortisol action may contribute to those relations. The effect of working memory (WM) on DHEA levels is unknown. We studied DHEA and cortisol reactivity in humans after a WM stimulus with simultaneous distraction.Subjects and methods: Twenty eight healthy female volunteers (18–26 years old) were presented a well-established auditory-visual distraction t...

Introduction: Cardiovascular changes are rare but life-threatening consequences of primary hyperparathyroidism.Case report: A 53-year-old man, with past and family history of peptic ulcer, presenting with coronary heart disease and ischemic and dilated cardiomyopathy, treated with cardiac resynchronization. He was admitted to the emergency room due to sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (MVT). Laboratory tests revealed primary hyperparathyroidi...

Introduction: GLP-1 agonists and metformin are widely used antidiabetic drugs with excellent blood glucose-lowering effects, but patients very often develop side effects. The most common side effect of these two groups of drugs is gastrointestinal intolerance in the form of vomiting, diarrhoea, general weakness and dizziness.Case ReportA 58-year-old male patient was hospitalised for the second time in one month due to a recurrence of dizziness, vomiting, ataxia and epileptic s...

Aim: Low sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is accompanied with onset of diabetes (DM) and increased cardiovascular risk (CVR). Proinflammatory cytokines, including adiponectin (APN) influence SHBG production. Lipid accumulation product (LAP) advocates as an indicator of increased CVR. We investigated the influence of different types of DM and sex on CVR through changes in SHBG and related risk factors.Methods: Due to the non-normal distribution of indi...

A 57-year-old female patient was presented to the neurologist in the ER because of her first grand mal-type seizure. Initial examination in the emergency department confirmed hyponatremia (Na 131 mmol/l) in laboratory findings, while CT scan of the brain and EEG were normal. During hospitalization, additional laboratory and imaging studies were performed. Neuroradiological examination was performed (CT scan of the brain, MRI of the brain and MRI of the pituitary gland), which ...

Obesity is associated with increased and dysfunctional white adipose mass. In the past, pharmacological approaches have not yielded significant results in terms of stable weight loss. Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists (GLP-1RA) used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes have more recently been proposed as anti-obesity drugs due to their relevant effects on weight loss. Furthermore, dual agonists engaging both GLP-1R and glucagon receptor (GCGR) are under invest...

Whereas G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) have long been believed to signal via cyclic AMP (cAMP) exclusively at the cell surface, our group has shown that GPCRs also stimulate cAMP production from the cell interior once internalized together with their ligands. This phenomenon, which we originally described for the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) in thyroid follicles, has now also been shown for several other GPCRs. However, the involved subcellular compartment(...

The Insulin Autoimmune Syndrome (IAS) also called Hirata’s disease consists of hypoglycemia, high insulin concentration and presence of anti-insulin antibodies. IAS is the third leading cause of spontaneous hypoglycemia among Japanese population. The syndrome is exceptionally rare among Caucasians, with <50 cases described in literature.In this report we showcase a 67 year-old female patient. She presented with paroxysmal sweating, daily fatigue...

Osteocalcin (OC) is the main non-collagenous protein of the bone and it has a regulatory role in mineralization. Extra-skeletal roles have been recently hypothesized for OC (e.g., modulation of glucose-induced insulin secretion by interacting with GPRC6A in β-cells). However, OC-mediated GPRC6A activation has been demonstrated only in rodents and heterologous systems. In this study we aimed at evaluating the dose-dependent response to OC and the eventual activation of the...