Endocrine Abstracts

Gestational weight gain has been linked to obesity in women of childbearing age. Mothers who breastfeed present less postpartum weight retention. The underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are unknown. This study aimed at investigating the impact of breastfeeding on maternal appetite-regulating hormones.The clinical trial recruited 29 women divided in three age- and BMI-matched groups. The first group included 10 fully breastfeeding mothers of 3 to 6 m...

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and aggressive tumour with a poor prognosis, characterized by radio/chemotherapy resistance. The lack of an effective medical treatment is due to the poor knowledge of the mechanisms underlying malignant tumour transformation and aggressiveness. In vitro studies on the ACC H295R cell model have demonstrated that RGZ, an antidiabetic drug belonging to the thiazolidinedione ligands of PPARgamma, blocks cell proliferation/migration ...

Oxytocin is a hormone and neurotransmitter with antiinflammatory and neuroimmune-modulatory properties. Physiological states of elevated plasma oxytocin levels are associated with reduced hypothalamic–pituitaty–adrenal response to different stressors. We examined the effect of exogenous oxytocin administration on bacterial endotoxin induced innate immune responses in humans. Ten healthy men received in a randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over design (1) placebo, ...

Germline mutations in the RET gene cause MEN2, an inherited cancer syndrome associated with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). We performed genetic analysis on DNA from whole blood of a 58 yr old female affected by a multifocal MTC. Exons 10, 11, 13, 15 and 16 of RET gene were amplified by PCR using specific primers and characterised by direct automatic sequencing. Here, we report a new RET point mutation: a heterozigous missense mutation Y606C, a G to A nucleotide substitutio...

Hypoglycaemia stimulation serves as a model of physiological function of adrenal action during the stress reaction. The study aimed to describe the differences of steroid response between hypoglycemia and various doses of Synacthen (as ACTH stimulation alone). The goal of the study was to investigate the physiology of adrenal response. Twenty four steroids were measured in plasma using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry after stimulation of 1 μg, 10 μg and 250 &#...

The adrenal androgens dehydroepiandrosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, androstenedione, 5-androstenediol and 11β-hydroxy-androstenedione have a wide spectrum of important physiological effects. Aim of our study was to find differences in reaction of the C19 Δ5-steroids between healthy women and patients with adrenal insufficiency in various doses of Synacthen (1 ug, 10 ug and 250 ug). Our study involved seven healthy women and six premenopausal females (BMI an...

Objective: Smoking during pregnancy could have impact on steroidogenesis, with more marked changes in smokers carrying boys as well as in their newborns. The aim of study was compared steroid hormones between non-smokers, ex-smokers, which stop smoking in the beginning of pregnancy, and active smokers.Method: We focused on changes in steroidogenesis in the blood of mothers in their 37th week of pregnancy and in mixed cord blood from their newb...

Fascin-1(FSCN1) is an actin-bundling protein expressed in several solid carcinomas and often associated to an invasive and aggressive phenotype as it is involved in cytoskeleton rearrangement and filopodia formation. Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare endocrine malignancy characterized by a poor prognosis, particularly when metastatic at diagnosis. Complete surgical resection of the tumor mass is the main therapy for ACC patients in addition to the adjuvant administratio...

Background: Osilodrostat (potent oral 11β-hydroxylase inhibitor) provided rapid normalisation of mean urinary free cortisol (mUFC) in Cushing’s disease (CD) patients during the 48-week (W) core period of LINC 4 (NCT02697734) and was well tolerated. We report long-term efficacy and safety results from the LINC 4 core and extension phases.Methods: 73 adults with CD and mUFC >1.3 upper limit of normal (ULN) were enrolled. LINC 4 comprised a 12...

Background: Pasireotide has proven efficacy in acromegaly and CD, although pasireotide-associated hyperglycaemia occurs in some patients. This Phase IV, randomized, open-label study investigated optimal management of pasireotide-associated hyperglycaemia uncontrolled by metformin/oral antidiabetic therapy (OAD) [NCT02060383].Methods: Adults with acromegaly or CD were enrolled and treated with long-acting pasireotide 40 mg/28 days or subcutaneous pasireot...