Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Recent studies show that traumatic brain injury (TBI) and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are frequent causes of long-term disturbances of hypothalamo–pituitary function. Still little is known about risk factors and clinical characteristics of pituitary impairment after brain damage. This study aimed to address these questions on a larger scale by establishing a national registry of these patients.Methods: All centers treating p...

Background: Medical treatment for acromegaly (characterized by excess growth hormone [GH] production) includes somatostatin receptor ligands (SRLs), dopamine agonists (DAs), and GH receptor antagonists (GHRAs). However, recent real-world United States (US) treatment evaluations are few. We present treatment patterns for patients receiving medications for acromegaly (1/1/2010–31/7/2022).Methods: De-identified data were extracted from MarketScan&...

Background: Aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA) are a major cause of primary aldosteronism. Somatic mutations explain the excess aldosterone production in the majority of patients with APA with mutations in the potassium channel KCNJ5 the most prevalent. In contrast, mechanisms driving cell proliferation are largely unresolved.Objective: To identify genes that modulate cell growth in APAs.Methods: Quantitative transcripto...

Objective: Diagnosis of acromegaly is often delayed up to 10 years after disease onset despite obvious visual changes, bone and soft-tissue deformities. We hypothesized that a reduced sense of body perception in acromegaly, possibly mediated by psychiatric or cognitive alterations, might contribute to the delayed initiation of a diagnostic work-up.Design: Cross-sectional study.Methods: We investigated perceived body image ...

Introduction: It has been shown that face classification software might help distinguishing between subjects with and without acromegaly on regular photographs. In this project, we investigated several aspects that will be necessary and helpful to bring this recognition method closer to clinical application.Methods: Face classification was based on nodes placed on frontal and side photographs of individuals and analysis the underlying texture and geometr...

Background: Cushing’s syndrome is a disease that presents with clear symptoms and causes considerable harm to the body if left untreated, yet often remains undiagnosed for prolonged periods of time. Face-classification software might recognize typical changes of the face and thus aid in diagnosing the disease early as we have previously shown in the classification of acromegaly.Methods: Using a regular compact digital camera, we took frontal and sid...

Mitotane (o,p’DDD) is the first-line treatment for metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) and is also regularly used in the adjuvant setting after presumed complete removal of the primary tumour. Mitotane is considered an adrenolytic substance, but no information is available regarding distinct steroidogenic effects. Here we carried out steroid metabolomics by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry in 24-hour urine samples from 106 patients with ACC and with samples coll...

Acromegaly is accompanied by increased morbidity and mortality. The delay between onset of first symptoms and diagnosis of the disease is 6 to 10 years. Acromegaly causes typical changes of the face. We hypothesized that face classification software might help distinguishing between subjects with and without acromegaly on regular photographs and, thus, might help improving early recognition of acromegaly.Methods: We took frontal and side photographs of t...

Adrenal tumors have an incidence of 2–3% in the general population and the work-up of incidentally discovered adrenal masses represents a major burden to the health system. Differentiating adrenocortical adenoma (ACA) from adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) represents a continuous challenge, with unfavorable sensitivities and specificities provided by tumor size, imaging and even histology. Here, we aimed to develop a reliable screening tool for the detection of adrenal malig...

Background: In acromegaly, few in vivo data exist on changes of the brain parenchyma as a pathology caused by systemically elevated levels of GH and IGF-1. This is in contrast to neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression, cognitive impairment, personality changes and pain syndromes that accompany the condition. We aimed at measuring brain tissue volumes and white matter pathology in acromegaly.Methods: Forty-three patients (age 54±14 years...