Endocrine Abstracts

The dopamine agonist cabergoline has been found to be effective in inducing normalization of cortisol secretion in 25–50% of patients with Cushing’s disease after long-term treatment. Moreover, tumor shrinkage have been documented in selected patients with pituitary corticotroph tumors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of cabergoline withdrawal in patients with a stable normalization of cortisol secretion and stable or absent visualization of p...

Coronavirus disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus (Covid-19) is associated with a variable clinical syndrome, ranging from a mild-moderate to a severe disease, progressing towards acute respiratory distress syndrome. Hypocortisolism is associated with a depletion of innate immunity and disruption of immune response, which could contribute to an increased risk of infection and development of a severe disease. Glucocorticoid (GC) replacement therapy(GCRT), especially if administere...

Adipose tissue is an endocrine organ releasing adipokines and expressing specific markers and intracellular mediators, which regulate whole-body energy by balancing lipid accumulation and utilization through adipogenesis, the differentiation of preadipocytes into mature adipocytes associated with gradual lipid storage, and lipogenesis, the additional lipid accumulation in mature adipocytes. Adipogenesis and lipogenesis, strongly induced by insulin, occur in white adipocytes, s...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized by menstrual irregularities and clinical and biochemical hyperandrogenism, and is associated with insulin resistance, visceral obesity and metabolic disorders. The aim of the current study was to compare the effects of inositol isomers (INO) and metformin (MET) on the clinical, metabolic and hormonal aspects of PCOS. In 94 PCOS women, clinical (weight, BMI, waist circumference - WC, menstrual intervals, Ferriman-Gallway score -...

Background: There have been conflicting reports on fertility, reproduction rates and pregnancy outcomes in women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). Identification of potential modifiable influential factors of pregnancy outcomes in these women has been hampered in the past by either small sample sizes or data derived from epidemiological samples.Methods: Retrospective multi-center study including a total number of 72 women with CAH (n=34...

Obesity, characterized by an abnormal body fat accumulation mainly caused by a chronic imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, is a massive public health problem. Targeting excessive fat deposition in adipose tissue and ectopic fat accumulation in skeletal muscle through promoting lipid oxidation pathway may represent a promising strategy to counteract obesity. This study aims at investigating the effects of cabergoline (CAB), a dopamine agonist, on adipose and skelet...

Cushing’s disease (CD), caused by an adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-secreting pituitary tumor, is the most common form of hypercortisolism. Pituitary surgery is the first-line treatment of CD and medical treatment is an alternative second-line approach to control cortisol excess. Long-term exposure to glucocorticoids (GC) downregulates the expression of somatostatin receptor type 2 (SSTR2) but not type 5 (SSTR5) in human and mouse ACTH-secreting tumor cell cultures; t...

Rationale: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is common in patients with Cushing’s disease (CD) and Acromegaly (AC), and contributes to increased mortality. This study aimed at investigating the prevalence and characteristics of DM in CD and AC patients at diagnosis and after disease control (DC).Patients and Methods: 34 CD patients (8M,26F, 24 microadenomas(mA),6 macroadenomas (MMA) and 4 empty sella) and 35 AC patients (16M,19F, 7 mA,28 MMA) were inclu...

Introduction: Adrenal Insufficiency (AI) is characterized by absolute or relative deficiency of glucocorticoids and adrenal androgen precursors. Patients with AI show an impaired quality of life, metabolic status, immune function and dysregulated circadian genes. Data on sexual function are scarce and often contradictory. The aims of the present study are to evaluate sexual dysfunction (SD) in women and men patients with AI and to investigate the effects of restoring a more ph...

Introduction: Cushing’s Syndrome (CS) is associated with an increased frequency and severity of infections. Mild hypercortisolism (MI) from adrenal incidentalomas has been associated with various complications, but data on infections are scarce. Retrospective data on patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI) showed an increased mortality attributed to infections. The approach used was very heterogeneous for all these studies. The aim of the study is to prospectively evalua...