Endocrine Abstracts

Purpose: Non-Obstructive Azoospermia (NOA), occurring in approximately 1% of men, has an unknown etiology in the majority of cases. This study aims at evaluating the diagnostic efficiency of a gene panel contemplating all known genes associated with azoospermia in mice.Subjects and methods: Design of a ‘mouse azoospermia’ gene panel through the consultation of MGI; selection of 175 mouse azoospermia genes with human orthologues; selection of 31...

Background: Correct identification of patients with HPA axis dysfunction following trans-sphenoidal pituitary surgery is important. Our centre measures post-operative day 5 0900 h serum cortisol (24 h after the last dose of glucocorticoid) to identify the need for glucocorticoid replacement. This is given if post-operative day 5 0900 h cortisol concentration is <300 nmol/l, until dynamic pituitary function assessment occurs.Methods: Data were reviewe...

Introduction: Dyslipidemia (DL) in diabetic patients is frequently undertreated. Even when cLDL targets have not been met, treatment remains unchanged despite the availability of alternatives approaches. This is known as therapeutic inertia (TI).The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of TI in lipid management among diabetic patients and to analyse associated factors and possible causes.Material and Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectional st...

Background: The etiology of non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) remains unknown in about 40% of cases and genetic factors are likely to be involved in a large proportion of them. Gene mutations involved in stem cell proliferation and DNA repair may cause isolated NOA or be responsible for syndromic diseases, such as Fanconi Anemia (FA). Although the most frequent presenting symptom in FA is bone marrow failure in childhood, in about 10% of cases the diagnosis is delayed until ad...

Context: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a common microvascular complication that affects approximately 40% of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). This complication is the leading cause of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in patients starting renal replacement therapy and is associated with increased cardiovascular mortality. Although a tight glycemic control is able to reduce the development and delay the progression of DKD, current therapies are still not totally effective ...

It is known that the synthesis and release of pituitary GH is controlled by complex neuroendocrine mechanisms that involve several neuropeptides, such as GHRH, SST, PACAP, TRH, GnRH, Ghrelin, among other regulators. Previous reports indicate that, during vertebrate evolution, the potency and efficacy of these secretagogues may vary and play differential effects upon GH regulation. In this work we aimed to study, in vitro, the capacity of these peptides to control the ...

Introduction: Thyroid nodules represent a common cause of specialist consultation, with a risk of malignancy of 4-15%. The most widely used cytopathological method for diagnosing thyroid cancer is fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of thyroid nodules and the use of the Bethesda system (BS) for cytopathological reporting. We conducted the present study to report our experience using the BS, and to compare the results obtained with this system with the final histopathological ...

Aim: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has important physiologic functions, nonetheless, excessive EAT leads to a proinflammatory state with adverse effects on the myocardium. EAT has also been associated with adverse outcomes in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. We think that visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and organ-specific ectopic fat plays an important role in cardiorenal dysfunction. The aim of our study is to analyse the relationship between EAT and the risk of develop...

Introduction: Tumour microenvironment (TME) is determined by non-tumoral cells, including immune, stromal or endothelial cells, and influences tumorigenesis, proliferation, invasiveness and angiogenesis. Little is known about TME in pituitary adenomas (PAs). We aimed to characterise the TME of PAs and its role in their aggressiveness, focusing on PA-infiltrating immune cells and cytokine network.Methods: Cytokine secretome from 24 human PAs (16NFPAs, 8GH...

Our 42-year-old patient presented with breathlessness and signs of congestive cardiac failure. Her ‘spade-like hands and acromegalic appearance’ were noted on the post-take round. She had headaches, orthopnoea and secondary amenorrhoea. She was a poorly controlled diabetic (so OGTT was not performed), anaemic, and previously had a thyroidectomy.Pituitary profile showed secondary hypogonadism, normoprolactinaemia and normal free T4 indicating ad...