Endocrine Abstracts

Background: It has been shown that one of major causes of obesity in young people could be explained by physical inactivity and fat intake.Purpose: This study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of obesity, dietary pattern and physical activity status in Tonekabon girls, a mountainous city in north of Iran.Methods: In a cross-sectional study 311 girls aged 10–12 years old in Tonekabon were studied. Weight, height, wa...

Introduction: Acromegaly is a chronic disease caused by excess growth hormone (GH) release from an adenoma caused by somatotroph cells of pituitary gland.In acromegaly, it is known that the risk of thyroid and colon cancer is increased 8 and 4 times, respectively, compared to the normal population.Moderate hypercalcemia, due to vitaminD activation, is seen in acromegaly, but overt hypercalcemia, generally secondary to primary hyperparathyroidism, is rare.Combination of acromeg...

Patients with glucocorticoids (GC) excess develop central obesity, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in up to 20% of cases. Current dogma suggests that GCs cause insulin resistance in all tissues. However, we have previously demonstrated that GCs induce insulin sensitisation in adipose tissue in vitro, whilst causing insulin resistance in skeletal muscle. In rodent hepatocytes, GCs enhance insulin stimulated lipogenesis but studies in human hepatocytes have not...

The potent effects of glucocorticoids (GCs) upon carbohydrate metabolism are well described. However, their actions upon lipid metabolism are poorly characterized. Patients with GC excess (Cushing’s syndrome) develop central obesity, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in up to 20% of cases. The A-ring reductases (5α-reductase type 1 [5αR1] and type 2 [5αR2]), inactivate cortisol as well as generate dihydrotestosterone (DHT) from testosterone (T) and a...

Aims: Determine the utility of ultrasonography for the preoperative localization of enlarged parathyroid glands in primary hyperparathyroidism and to compare this method with 99mtechnetium sestamibi scintigraphy.Methods: The results of ultrasonographic localization of enlarged parathyroid glands witch were performed by one experienced ultrasonographer were determined in 65 consecutive patients with primary hyperparathyroidism and compared with...

Introduction: CLOCK system is a highly conserved, ubiquitous molecular ‘clock’ which creates internal circadian rhythmicity under the influence of light/dark information. CLOCK system is regulated by the coordinated activation/inactivation of several transcription factors, including the CLOCK, the BMAL1 and other essential regulators, such as the Pers, Crys and RORs. The present study aimed to evaluate the circadian rhythm of clock-related genes expressed in patients...

Introduction: Although the protective effects of 1,25(OH)2D3 on the early stages of atheromatosis process have been investigated, data on its influence on factors implicated in plaque vulnerability are limited. During these stages metalloproteinases MMP-2, MMP-9, their inhibitors TIMP-1,TIMP-2, the RANKL-RANK-OPG system and MCP-1 play a critical role. We aimed to investigate the effect of vitamin D on the expression of the above factors on endothelial cel...

Introduction: Glucocorticoids (GCs) are used in the treatment of chronic inflammatory or autoimmune diseases. However, patients are often resistant to the GC effects. Response to GCs is triggered through glucocorticoid receptor (GR). An important regulator of GR activity is the FKBP5. FKBP5 binds to co-chaperones promoting a conformation with lower cortisol affinity. The number of GRs is another determinant of GC sensitivity; GR expression is regulated by the nuclear ...

Introduction: In the presence of atherogenic plaque, estrogens may be potentially harmful. Among the key vessel wall components in the later stages of atherogenic process are endothelial cells (ECs). During the stages of plaque instability/rupture, metalloproteinases (MMP2 and MMP9), their inhibitors (TIMP2 and TIMP1), RANK, RANKL, OPG, MCP1, lysyl oxidase (LOX), PDGF, and ADAMTS4 play critical role. We aimed to investigate i) the effect of oestrogens on the expression of the ...

Patients with GC excess (Cushing’s syndrome) develop central obesity, insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. The A-ring reductases (5α-reductase type 1 (5αR1) and 2 (5αR2)) generate dihydrotestosterone from testosterone, but importantly also inactivate cortisol and are highly expressed in human liver. We propose that 5αR may regulate GC exposure and therefore may modulate metabolic phenotype in human liver.Primary human hepato...