Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Iron deficiency contributes to stabilization of HIF1α and upregulation of genes that stimulate angiogenesis in diseases associated with oxidative stress. The authors’ interest is centered on evaluation of the relation between iron status and angiogenesis (VEGF-A, sVEGFR) in patients with melanoma.Methods: The study included 128 patients with melanoma before surgical removal of the tumor. We determined ferritin (immunoturbidimetric...

Introduction: Pituitary apoplexy is a rare and potentially life-threatening disorder defined by hemorrhage or infarction of the pituitary gland. Occasionally, it may be the first manifestation of an underlying adenoma.Case report: We present a case of a 70-year-old male, who was admitted in our clinic for an incidentally discovered pituitary macroadenoma accompanied by severe left hemicrania, otalgia and left eyelid ptosis.Medical ...

Introduction: Malignant melanoma is a challenging illness for researchers due to unknown hormonal disorders involved in promoting/developing this disease. Some authors accept nowadays, that prolactin is involved in extrapituitary carcinogenesis.The authors aimed to study the status of prolactin in patients with melanocytic lesions and the impact of surgical removal on prolactinemia.Method: The study included 128 adults with melanom...

Context: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) overexpressing glucagon are associated with phenotypic heterogeneity. Objective: To correlate clinical phenotype with detailed analysis of plasma levels of proglucagon-derived peptides (PGDPs) in subjects with proglucagon-expressing tumours using specific immunoassays and gel filtration profiles to elaborate molecular heterogeneity of PGDPs, before and after somatostatin analogues.Case 1: A 57 year old wo...

Introduction: Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) is an innovative method for the detection of primary tumours or metastases of thyroid cancer; however, recurrence or metastases of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) are still difficult to detect.Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical use of 18F-FDG PET in patients with MTC.Patients and methods: We enr...

Nesidioblastosis is defined as a diffuse proliferation of primitive pancreatic islet cells budding from ductal epithelium. This condition can cause hypoglycaemia in infants as a result of mutations in the sulfonylurea receptor or in the anatomically linked potassium channel. In adults, this disease occurs independently from these genetic mutations.Case report: A 41-year-old male was referred to our center via emergency room with suspicion of an insulinom...

The aim of our study was to assess the relation between common carotid intima-media thickness, a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis and other metabolic risk factors, in a group of obese patients.Patients and methods: Of 142 obese patients (47 male, 95 female, mean age 39.74±11.41 years, and mean BMI 46.88±8.85 kg/m2) were clinically and biologically evaluated. BMI and waist circumference were measured and a complete patient histor...

We present the case of a 51 years old woman, nonsmoker, without relevant past medical history, who presented with acute psychotic state starting the third day of treatment with prednisone 30 mg indicated for allergy. She had also arterial hypertension and a significant and progressive loss of proximal muscle strength in her legs. The initial evaluation showed hyperglycemia, metabolic alkalosis and severe hypokalemia. Basal plasma cortisol was high (>90 μg/dl) and did ...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most frequently encountered endocrine pathologies in women of reproductive age, being regarded as a chronic systemic disease instead of the simple local one. It is frequently associated with insulin resistance, hyperandrogenemia and chronic inflammation. PCOS reunites multiple and diversified pathological combinations like: ovulatory functional disorders directly impacting on the reproductive system, carbohydrate and lipid metabol...

Introduction: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is an important cause of secondary hypertension, associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality rate compared to patients with essential hypertension.Case report: We report the case of a 59-year-old Caucasian male with a medical history of dilatative cardiomiopathy, paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and bifascicular block who was admitted to the E.R. with shortness of breath, headache, palpitations,...