Endocrine Abstracts

In humans, adrenarche represents a unique endocrine process manifest by the development of the adrenal zonal reticularis and its production of a group of steroids often called the ‘adrenal androgens’. The physiologic manifestations of adrenarche are reflected by enhanced dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) production and the onset of adult body odor, mild acne and axillary and/or pubic hair. Clinically, the early rise in adrenal androgens is termed premature adre...

In humans, adrenarche represents a unique endocrine process manifest by the development of the adrenal zonal reticularis and its production of a group of steroids often called the ‘adrenal androgens’. The physiologic manifestations of adrenarche are reflected by enhanced dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) production and the onset of adult body odor, mild acne and axillary and/or pubic hair. Clinically, the early rise in adrenal androgens is termed premature adre...

The human adrenal cortex can be divided into distinct zones that have both morphologic and biochemical differences. The production of aldosterone in the zona glomerulosa can be traced to the zone-specific expression of the enzymes involved in steroid biosynthesis. This is particularly true for its expression of the enzyme aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2). For aldosterone biosynthesis, CYP11B2 expression has often been called the ‘late rate-limiting’ step. We and others...

Ligand-activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma), a nuclear hormone receptor, dimerises with retinoid X receptor(RXR) and acts as a transcription factor translating nutritional, pharmacological and metabolic stimuli into changes in gene expression. PPARgamma is thought to serve several roles in adipocyte differentiation, fatty acid and lipid metabolism, insulin sensitivity and ovarian steroidogenesis. PPARgamma has also been shown to increase gluco...

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) is one of the isoforms of the PPAR-family of nuclear hormone receptors. Ligand activated PPARs dimerise with retinoid X receptor and act as transcription factors translating nutritional, pharmacological and metabolic stimuli into changes in the expression of genes. PPARgamma is thought to serve several roles in adipocyte differentiation, fatty acid and lipid metabolism and insulin sensitivity. PPARgamma has also been...

Introduction: Primary hyperparathyroidism is a disorder, characterized by autonomous overproduction of parathormone resulting in hypercalcemia. The main cause is a parathyroid adenoma. Less common etiologies are parathyroid hyperplasia and carcinoma. Primary hyperparathyroidism during pregnancy is rare and the management could be challenging. Maternal and fetal/neonatal complications occur in more than 50% of the cases.Patient: We report about a 38-year-...

Background: Sales of iodized table salt (household use, bulk containers) have been flat in Germany since 1996/97. Nevertheless, the amount of iodide excreted with the urine has been steadily on the rise in the German population since 1993.Aim of the study: We investigated the beverage iodine levels as possible source of the increased input of iodine into the food chain. No systematic studies on this topic have yet been carried out in Germany.<p class...

Many organs are functionally sexually dimorphic, resulting in profound differences in the activity of several physiological systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The rodent HPA axis matures post-weaning, characterized by parallel increments in adrenal weight, adrenal cortical size and corticosterone secretion. Between postnatal days (PND) 30 to 45, these parameters increase to a greater extent in females compared to males. Over this same interval, h...

The transition of hypothyroidism from Hashimoto’s thyroiditis into hyperthyroidism (Graves’ disease) is uncommon, and the underlying causes are still unknown. We studied clinical characteristics in patients with the conversion of preexisting Hashimoto’s thyroiditis to Graves’ disease compared to patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or Graves’ disease alone.Patients and Methods: Retrospective comparative case series of 42 pa...

Objective: Postoperative nausea and vomiting is common after general anaesthesia and is reported by ~20–25% of all patients. The standard prophylaxis at the authors department is a single treatment of 4 mg of dexamethasone before initiating anesthesia. Dexamethasone is known to suppress ACTH and cortisol levels. The objective was to find out whether the standard PONV-prophylaxis of 4 mg of dexamethasone has an effect on postoperative levels of cortisol in patients undergo...