Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The regular diagnostic workup for primary aldosteronism (PA) can be very demanding and involves multiple invasive as well as time and cost intensive diagnostic tests. Here we have explored the value of urinary steroid metabolome analysis in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of PA. Previously, urinary 3α,5β-tetrahydroaldosterone (THAldo) has been suggested as a reliable screening test for PA and serum 18-oxocortisol and 18-hydroxycortisol have bee...

Objective: Adrenal vein sampling (AVS) is recognised by Endocrine Society guidelines as the only reliable mean to distinguish between aldosterone producing adenomas and bilateral adrenal hyperplasia, the two most common subtypes of primary aldosteronism (PA). However, AVS protocols are not standardised and vary between centres. The objective of the present study was to assess whether the presence or absence of contralateral adrenal (CL) suppression has an impact on the postope...

Objective: Bilateral adrenalectomy (BADX) is an important treatment option for patients with Cushing’s syndrome (CS). The outcome of this procedure has not been studied well.The aim was to analyze long-term outcome of CS patients treated with BADX.Design: Fifty patients with BADX treated since 1990 in two German centers were identified. 34 patients had Cushing’s disease (CD), nine ectopic Cushing-syndrome (ECS), and seven...

Background: Genetic alterations underlying the pathogenesis of autonomous cortisol secretion and early adrenocortical tumorigenesis have been identified in 40% of adrenocortical tumors (ACT). Nonetheless, the molecular events leading to development of ACT and steroid secretion remain obscure for a large proportion of patients.Aim: Aims of our study were to investigate the relationship between transcriptome profile and genetic background in a large series...

The effective treatment and optimal prognosis of hypercortisolism (Cushing’s syndrome – CS) depend on accurate and early diagnosis. However, hormonal assays can be complex, requiring multiple tests, and not predictive for any related complications, neither for their duration and severity. Identifying novel, specific and easily measurable biomarkers may improve CS diagnosis as well as the evaluation of complications. Since stress-associated epigenetic markers can be...

Rationale: Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is a hallmark of primary aldosteronism and paves the way for subsequent atherosclerotic disease. Past research has confirmed that one factor involved in ED is disturbed nitric oxide (NO) signalling. Since defects in NO release alone cannot explain the whole effect, we set out to address the role of endothelial CYP-expoygenase products (epoxyeicosatrienoic acids, EETs) in aldosterone-mediated endothelial dysfunction.<p class="abstext"...

Context: Primary aldosteronism (PHA) is the most common cause of secondary hypertension. Distinguishing unilateral (UAH) from bilateral (BAH) and other causes of PHA is one of the greatest challenges in the diagnostic process. Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is widely considered to be the gold standard for subtype differentiation.Methods: Technical and diagnostic outcome of AVS was analysed retrospectively in 59 patients with PHA who underwent AVS at the U...

Objectives: The TNM classification is a worldwide benchmark for reporting the extent of malignant disease and is intended as a prognostic tool to predict the outcome in patients with cancer. Until 2004, no TNM classification was available for adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) and different staging systems were used. Due to the rarity of this malignancy, the prognostic value of different staging systems has never been compared directly in a large series of patients.<p class="a...

IntroductionSomatic USP8 mutations are found in around 50% of Cushing’s disease tumours and are located in a single mutational hotspot that contains the recognition site for 14–3-3. These proteins bind to phosphoserine recognition motifs to alter the function and location of their target proteins, and are deregulated in several cancers. AimTo explore the expression and function of 14–3-3 prot...

IntroductionTP53 mutations have been rarely reported in pituitary tumours. Recently two exploratory exome sequencing studies have identified somatic TP53 mutations in a small number of functional corticotroph tumours (6/18 and 4/10) with USP8 wild type (wt) status, suggesting that they may be more frequent than previously thought. Nevertheless, the clinical impact of those mutations is still unknown.AimTo det...