Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Postpartum depression affects 10–15% women after childbirth. There is no currently generally accepted theory about the causes and mechanisms of postpartum mental disorders. The principal hypothesis concerns the association with sudden changes in the production of hormones affecting the nervous system of the mother and, on the other hand, with the ability of receptor systems to adapt to these changes.Methods: We observed changes in ster...

Some steroids modulate the permeability of ionotropic receptors on cell membranes and therefore may activate or inhibit neuronal activity depending on the steroid structure. These neuroactive steroids (NAS) exert neuroprotective effects like the neuronal remyelination.Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common cause of neurological disability in young adults. Therefore, the authors have followed the neuroprotective, GABAergic, glycinergic, glutamatergic ...

Introduction: Tobacco dependence is considered to be a serious psycho-social problem. Chronic smoking can cause fertility disorders with both sexes. The literature brings up contradictory results in relation to the effects of the smoking on the steroid hormones levels. Only a few papers discuss the effect of the nicotine addiction treatment.Methods: We observed 26 smokers who decided to quit smoking and abstained from smoking for one year. With everyone ...

Introduction: The dependence on tobacco, diagnosis F 17, is an independent condition in the International classification of diseases and presents one of the most widespread addictions. Chronic smoking can cause impairment of fertility in both sexes. However, only a small number of studies were dedicated to the influence of smoking on levels of steroid hormones and their neuroactive metabolites. Neuroactive steroids modulate the effects of tobacco on central nervous system, and...

Objective: Skeletal disability pathogenesis is multifactorial. Many studies have proved a negative relation of smoking on calcium-phosphate metabolisms, bone density and quality; however in some other papers these results have not been confirmed. The aim of the study was to monitor the influence of the length of smoking, a number of cigarettes smoked and the age of the first use of cigarettes on the whole-body bone density.Methods: Whole-body densitometr...

This work aimed at acquiring data on pituitary response to CRH test in autoimmune type 1 diabetics with adult onset with/without thyroid autoimmunity. Our previous study showed 25% of such diabetic patients without clinical and immunological signs of adrenal insufficiency had lower response to the Synacthen test with normal basal levels of ACTH and cortisol.Twenty-seven diabetics were investigated; age 44±10 years (mean±S.D.), ag...

Objective: It is known sex steroids affect fat distribution with men and women. With men there is a tendency to deposit fat abdominally. Men are more likely to have more visceral fat than premenopausal women, with whom the preferential fat distribution is gluteofemoral and the percentage of body fat overall higher. Androgens may affect fat tissue with men either directly by androgen receptor stimulation, or indirectly by oestrogen receptor stimulation after aromatization. Inte...

Introduction: Cigarette smoking is one of the most serious substance abuse problems. It is generally accepted that nicotine and other chemicals in tobacco smoke alter endocrine functions in men and adverse reproductive outcomes, including deterioration of sperm. Studies on the effects of smoking and smoking cessation on male sex hormones are inconsistent. We studied changes of hormonal levels in men during smoking cessation and we looked for a possible predictive marker of suc...

Objective: Chronic smoking alters the circulating levels of sex hormones and possibly also the neuroactive steroids, however, the data available is limited.Patients and methods: Therefore, a broad spectrum of free and conjugated steroids and related substances was quantified by GC–MS and RIA in premenopausal smokers and in age-matched (38.9±7.3 years of age) non-smokers in the follicular (FP) and luteal phases (LP) of menstrual cycle (10 non-sm...

Background: Smoking represents the most widespread substance dependence in the world. Several studies show the nicotine’s ability to alter women hormonal homeostasis. Women smokers have higher testosterone and lower estradiol levels throughout life compared to women non-smokers. This negatively affects women reproductive function. Furthermore, alteration of neuroactive and neuroprotective steroids occurs in women smokers, which plays an important role in the activity of t...