Endocrine Abstracts

Background2–3% of the general population is chronically treated with glucocorticoids (GCs). Modification of the structure and/or function of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) due to its polymorphisms may result in increased (GC – S – bclI, N363S) or decreased (GC – I – A3669G, ER22/23EK) sensitivity to GCs. To date, whether such modulation of cell’s response to GCs can be associated with presence or absence of the side effect...

Introduction: Pheochromocytoma is a rare tumor that develops from chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla. In about 90% of cases, it is a benign tumor. Along with catecholamines, neuroendocrine cells of the adrenal medulla have the ability to produce various proteins and neuropeptides and secrete them into the blood. Among the known biologically active substances are: neuropeptide Y and human cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART).Purpose: ...

Introduction: Paragangliomas belong to the neuroendocrine tumours arising from autonomic nervous system. Various localizations, symptoms that can mimic a wide range of diseases and often unpredictable ability to metastasize are the reasons why paragangliomas pose a significant diagnostic challenge. More than one third of paragangliomas is associated with germline mutations –succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) subunit genes are among the most common susceptibility genes. SDHD wa...

Background: Etomidate is mainly used in general anesthesia. In some rare cases it can also be helpful in treating life-thretening severe hypercortisolaemia (in much lower doses) in patients who are not able to take oral medications or when oral drugs are not available.Case Presentation: Fifty-seven-year-old woman with symptoms of virilization, hypokalemia and muscle weekness for 6 months was admitted to Department of Endocrinology. On admission cortisol ...

Introduction: One of the most common side effects of glucocorticoid treatment is glucose intolerance and diabetes. Although glucocorticoids cause mainly postprandial hyperglycaemia the International Diabetes Federation, American Diabetes Association and The European League Against Rheumatism recommend to screen patients chronically treated with glucocorticoids by regularly determining fasting plasma glucose. Such an approach can lead to false negative results. Since pre-diabet...

Adrenal cortex scintigraphy has been used as early as in the 1970s, however, in recent years, it has been a rarely performed and unappreciated examination. In fact, this examination does not provide a perfect view on morphology of adrenal glands, however it provides an assessment of the examined tumor’s function. The aim of this work is to present our experience with adrenal cortex scintigraphy in assessment of adrenal tumors.We present a series of ...

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare and very aggressive tumor with poor prognosis. The aim of the study was to identify prognostic factors of recurrence-free (RFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with ACC.We present a retrospective analysis in 52 patients diagnosed with ACC. A number of factors both histological and clinical were analyzed. Recurrent disease was defined as a new lesion confirmed in imaging. Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate ...

Analogues of somatostatin are widely used in management of neuroendocrine tumors. The “classic” indications for this treatment are: acromegaly and NETs of midgut to diminish symptoms caused by hormonal overproduction and slow down the tumors’ growth. However we consider the use of this medication also in the other cases in which we confirm the presence of somatostatin receptors in tumor by somatostatin receptor scintigraphy.We would like t...

Objective: According to some authors a higher incidence of subclinical hypercortisolaemia is found among patients with bilateral adrenal tumors with benign phenotype than with unilateral ones. The question is whether all patients with bilateral adrenal tumors and subclinical hypercortisolemia should undergo surgery and, if yes, which of the tumors should be removed first.Patients and methods: The investigated group consisted of 25 patients with benign bi...

Introduction: Ultrasound imagining of parathyroid lesions is often challenging, as they may be difficult to distinguish from thyroid lesions or enlarged lymph nodes.Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the value of parathyroid hormone determination in ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspirates-(FNA) in preoperative localization of parathyroid lesions.Materials and methods: We measured FNA–PTH in 30 consecutive patients with pr...