Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is associated with increased susceptibility to infections and mortality. Previously reported effects of hypercortisolism on immune function include a reduced CD4+/CD8+ ratio with a shift towards IL4+T helper cells (Th2), suppressed NK-cell cytotoxic activity as well as a low-grade inflammatory profile.Aim: This cross-sectional single center study aims to compare immune phenotype in patients with overt C...

Poor agreement between different analytical methods measuring aldosterone concentrations impedes applicability of uniform cut-offs in the diagnostic work-up of primary aldosteronism (PA). We compared 4 analytical methods (2 immunoassays and 2 LC-MS/MS) in plasma samples before and after saline infusion test (SIT). 80 hypertensive patients underwent the standardized diagnostic work-up within the German Conn’s registry. Patients (PA n=39/non-PA n=41) were ...

Background: Primary aldosteronism is commonly caused by an aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA). Somatic mutations in the KCNJ5 gene (encoding an inwardly rectifying potassium channel) are found in around 40% of APAs, KCNJ5 germline mutations cause familial hyperaldosteronism type III. The role of KCNJ5 mutations in excessive aldosterone production is established but their role in cell growth is unclear.Objective: To study the e...

The prolonged exposure to an excess of circulating cortisol (Cushing’s syndrome) causes various complications. An accurate and early diagnosis is critical for effective surgical management and optimal prognosis. However, the current diagnostic approach based on hormonal assays can be complex and requires multiple tests. The identification of novel, specific and easily measurable biomarkers of hypercortisolism may help to improve the diagnosis and to evaluate the complicat...

Background: Endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is rare with an estimated yearly incidence of 1–3 patients/million. CS describes a group of diseases that have in common an excess secretion of glucocorticoids which results in a characteristic clinical phenotype. Severe courses of Cushing’s syndrome are characterized by a break-down of protein catabolism translating into clinical consequences including muscle weakness. While remission of CS is achievable by surgica...

Background: Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is a chronic disorder characterized by endogenous cortisol excess resulting in long-term metabolic and cardiovascular consequences. The identification of metabolic alterations related to hypercortisolism could be beneficial in tailoring treatments of co-morbidities. Our aim was to characterize the metabolic alterations of patients with hypercortisolism by targeted plasma metabolomic profiling.Methods: Subjects (<e...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) describes the most frequent cause of secondary arterial hypertension. Aldosterone itself represents a BP-independent cardiovascular risk factor associated with increased rates of morbidity and mortality. Recently a worsening of lipid metabolism after treatment has been described.Objective: Our aim was to analyse changes in lipid parameters according to treatment outcome in PA patients. Data of 215 consecutive PA patients with u...

Introduction: Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is a rare disease characterized by clinical features that show overlap with the ‘metabolic syndrome’. Pilot studies regarding the use facial image analysis software as a novel diagnostic tool in acromegaly and CS have shown promising results. Distinguishing CS patients from patients that show similar features without true hypercortisolism remains a challenge in clinical practice. To address this particular problem, we evalua...

Primary aldosteronism caused by aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) or bilateral adrenal hyperplasia is the most prevalent cause of secondary hypertension. Somatic mutations of KCNJ5, ATP1A1, CACNA1D and ATP2B3 have been shown to be involved in the formation of APA. We studied the immunoexpressions of CYP11B2 and HSD3B2, the rate-limiting enzyme for aldosterone production and the prevalent isoform of β-HSD found in APA respectively, and...

Context: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most common cause of secondary hypertension. Aldosterone excess can cause oxidative stress and respectively DNA damage in vitro and in vivo and increased levels of oxidative stress have been demonstrated in PA patients. Single case reports describe a coincidence of PA with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and other tumours. However, so far no data on the prevalence of benign and malignant neoplasms in patients with PA exis...