Endocrine Abstracts

Increased RhoA/Rho-kinase (ROK) signalling is known to impair erectile function. Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) over-express penile RhoA and show an impaired erectile response. We tested treatments known to inhibit RhoA activation, on erectile function and sildenafil responsiveness in SHR. SHR have been treated for two weeks with atorvastatin (5 and 30 mg/Kg/day), or with elocalcitol (30 μg/Kg/day), a vitamin D receptor (VDR) agonist. The normotensive Wistar Kyoto ...

Objectives: Radical prostatectomy is an effective therapy for men with clinically localized prostate cancer. A significant number of men develop erectile dysfunction after radical prostatectomy (PPED) due to intraoperatory cavernous nerve injury causing hypoxia and fibrosis of corpus cavernosus. We established an experimental model of bilateral cavernous neurotomy (BCN) in the rat in order to investigate whether sildenafil treatment in PPED patients could prevent penile tissue...

Objectives: Hypogonadism is often associated with diabetes mellitus and both conditions represent major risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of diabetes-induced hypogonadism on ED using two distinct animal models: alloxan-rabbits and streptozotocin (STZ)-rats.Methods: A subgroup of diabetic animals was Testosterone (T) replaced. After 8 weeks from induction of diabetes, erectile function was evaluat...

Background: Obesity is a major public health issue frequently associated with increased complication rates after elective general surgery. Previous reports on complications after thyroid surgery in obese patients were performed on selected cohorts. In this study, we sought to explore the relationship between Body Mass Index (BMI) and postoperative morbidity after thyroid surgery in a large cohort of consecutive patients.Materials and Methods: A single-ce...

Adrenocortical carcinomas (ACCs) are rare endocrine tumors with poor prognosis. The insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2) is overexpressed in the great majority of ACC, and IGF2/IGF1R pathway acts as a proliferative autocrine loop, but to date IGF1R-targeted therapies have demonstrated a limited efficacy and the molecular mechanisms regulating this pathway are still unknown. The cytoskeleton acting-binding protein filamin A (FLNA), determinant in cancer progression and metastasi...

Introduction: Several risk factors are involved in post-liver transplantation osteoporosis. Immunosuppressive agents, glucocorticoids, decreased renal function associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism and immobilization are the main determinants of fragility fractures in this population. Denosumab is highly effective in increasing bone mineral density (BMD) and preventing fragility fractures. However, the efficacy of denosumab in liver transplantation osteoporosis has nev...

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a clustering of metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors, with insulin resistance being one of the main components. In male, MetS is also associated to hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. Lifestyle modifications (e.g. physical activity) could prevent or considerably reduce MetS progression, however the ability to perform physical activity is often impaired in MetS subjects.Aim: Considering the known trophic role of T ...

Pathologies of the female reproductive system, characterized by chronic pain, are frequent and it has been hypothesized that inflammation may play an essential role in their pathogenesis. It is known that androgens, including dihydrotestosterone (DHT), have shown immunomodulatory effects in experimental models of chronic inflammation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of DHT in smooth muscle cells (rSMCs) isolated from vagina of intact Sprague-...

Introduction: The management of patients with adrenal incidentaloma (AI) and possible subclinical hypercortisolism (SH) is debated. This randomized study was aimed to evaluate the effects of adrenalectomy on arterial hypertension (AH).Methods: We consecutively evaluated 590 AI patients (referred to 3 Italian Centres between 06/2016 and 12/2019). Among these, 134 patients showed a possible SH (i.e. 1 mg DST between 1.8 and 5 µg/dl). Based on the excl...

Introduction: Patients with adrenal incidentalomas (AI) and subclinical hypercortisolism (SH) are thought to have increased incidence of cardiovascular risk factors, including diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension. Data regarding dyslipidemia are scarce. The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible influence of SH on lipid pattern in relation to the presence/absence of DM.Methods and design: 276 AI patients were enrolled (168 F, 108 M), 55 with di...