Endocrine Abstracts

The transition to the postmenopausal stage is associated with an increased risk for vascular diseases, including myocardial infarction and stroke. This has been linked to a decrease in estrogen production. Estrogens mediate their effects on the brain to a major extent through binding to nuclear receptors, estrogen receptor alpha and beta. It is possible that positive and adverse effects of estrogens are related to interactions between receptor genotypes and hormones. Notably, ...

Tissue cortisol levels are amplified by the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1). In mice, transgenic overexpression of 11β-HSD1 causes the metabolic syndrome, consequently 11β-HSD1 inhibitors are a promising therapeutic target. However, determining the importance of 11β-HSD1 in humans has proved more complicated, in part due to difficulty quantifying in vivo activity. We hypothesized that cortisol regeneration by 11β-H...

Objective: The low dose overnight dexamethasone suppression test (1 mg DST) is a sensitive screening test for Cushing’s syndrome. The specificity of the test can be improved by simultaneous analysis of plasma dexamethasone concentrations. A simple and accurate alternative to analysis of plasma cortisol is analysis of salivary cortisone or cortisol following 1 mg DST [1]. We evaluated if analysis of salivary dexamethasone following 1 mg DST could further improve the specif...

Context: Late-night salivary cortisol is a recommended screening method for Cushing’s syndrome. Liquorice intake may lead to falsely elevated salivary cortisol as glycyrrhizic acid inhibits the 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 induced conversion of cortisol to cortisone in the salivary glands. Furthermore, sample contamination by blood from the oral mucosa may also cause falsely elevated salivary cortisol levels. Salivary cortisone has been suggested to more ...

Background & Objective: Late night salivary cortisol (LNSC) and 1 mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test (DST) are two of the three recommended screening tests for Cushing’s syndrome (CS). The classical DST uses serum cortisol, but analysis of salivary cortisol and cortisone has shown high diagnostic accuracy at DST (1). Salivary cortisol can be analysed with immunoassays, which suffer from variable degree of cross reactivity with other steroids, or with LC-MS/MS...

Background: Due to the rarity and the slow progress of the disease, there is a considerable diagnostic delay in acromegaly, contributing to increased morbidity and mortality. Voice analysis may decrease this delay as patients with acromegaly often develop a dark voice and unclear speech due to macroglossia, enlarged lips and edema in the pharynx and larynx. Modern technology offers higher speed and power of voice analysis and increased the interest in voice as a biomarker to i...

Background: It is still undetermined whether patients with Cushing’s disease (CD) in remission have an increased mortality. Most previous studies are limited by small numbers of patients and/or short follow-up time.Objective: To study mortality in a nation-wide cohort of patients with CD during long-term follow-up.Methods: Patients with ICD codes for Cushing’s syndrome and/or CD, between 1987 and 2013, were identified in ...

Background: Acromegaly is associated with increased morbidity and mortality if left untreated. The therapeutic options include surgery, medical treatment, and radiotherapy. Guidelines regarding treatment algorithms and follow-up vary considerably.Aim: To evaluate consensus on the treatment and follow-up of acromegaly in the Scandinavian countries.Methods: To map the landscape of acromegaly management in the Scandinavian countries, ...