Endocrine Abstracts

Patients with hypopituitarism and untreated growth hormone (GH) deficiency have excess mortality. GH replacement therapy (GHRT) has many beneficial effects, but its impact on mortality has not been proven and there are still safety concerns regarding the potential cancer risk. We have therefore studied the mortality in non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA) patients with and without GHRT. Only patients with NFPA were studied in order to eliminate the influence of the aetiolo...

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is common in patients with acromegaly, with a reported prevalence of 19–64%. We have studied CTS in a large national cohort of patients with acromegaly, and the temporal relationship between the diagnosis of the two diseases.Methods: Retrospective nationwide cohort study including patients diagnosed with acromegaly in Sweden between 2005 and 2017. Patients with acromegaly were identified in the Swedish Natio...

Tissue cortisol levels are amplified by the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1). In mice, transgenic overexpression of 11β-HSD1 causes the metabolic syndrome, consequently 11β-HSD1 inhibitors are a promising therapeutic target. However, determining the importance of 11β-HSD1 in humans has proved more complicated, in part due to difficulty quantifying in vivo activity. We hypothesized that cortisol regeneration by 11β-H...

Background: Aberrant accumulation of cytoplasmic/nuclear β-catenin frequently occurs in breast cancers and breast cancer cell lines. Deregulated expression of Wnt ligands, sFRP1 and Dvl1, but no inactivating or activating mutations in Wnt signaling components have so far been reported. We have recently described an internally truncated LRP5 receptor (LRP5Δ) in 91% of hyperparathyroid tumors, and showed that LRP5Δ was strongly implicated in the aberrant accumulat...

Growth hormone (GH) and insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) modulate and stimulate angiogenesis and endothelial function. Excess of GH, as in acromegaly, is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, which is reversible after normalization of IGF-I and GH. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common comorbidity in acromegaly, but the prevalence of diabetes retinopathy in patients with acromegaly is unknown. Also, the roles of GH and IGF-I in diabetes retinopathy are not f...

ContextPrimary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common cause of secondary hypertension. Yet, the incidence of PA in the population has not been studied.ObjectiveTo estimate the incidence of PA in western Sweden.Design and methodsPatients who had received a diagnostic code for PA between 1987 and 2016 were identified in the Swedish National Patient Registry. Assessme...

Background: Diabetes is an important risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality but its impact on outcome in acromegaly is unknown.Methods: This was a nationwide, observational, matched-cohort study. Adult patients with acromegaly due to a pituitary adenoma were identified in the Swedish National Patient Registry between 1987 and 2020 and those with coexistent type 2 diabetes in the National Diabetes Registry and Drug Registry. Overall mortal...

Background: Patients with secondary adrenal insufficiency have an excess mortality. Data concerning the influence of the glucocorticoid replacement regime on mortality is sparse.Objective: To investigate if the total daily dose of glucocorticoid replacement has an effect on mortality in patients with non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA).Method: Patients with NFPA treated for hypopituitarism in the western region of Sweden were ...

Context: Late-night salivary cortisol is a recommended screening method for Cushing’s syndrome. Liquorice intake may lead to falsely elevated salivary cortisol as glycyrrhizic acid inhibits the 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 induced conversion of cortisol to cortisone in the salivary glands. Furthermore, sample contamination by blood from the oral mucosa may also cause falsely elevated salivary cortisol levels. Salivary cortisone has been suggested to more ...

Background: The Swedish Pituitary Registry is a national quality registry founded in 1991 by the Swedish Pituitary Group.A total of 89 such national quality registries exist in Sweden (2011) that provide important data in the continuous quality assessment and improvement work within the Swedish health care system.In 2011, a nurse network was started for nurses working with the registry.Purpose: The purpose of...