Endocrine Abstracts

Pituitary adenomas (PAs) are benign neoplasms that comprise 10–20% of all intracranial tumors. Mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein (AIP) have been identified to cause a small subset of hereditary PAs. To study the mechanisms of tumor formation in patients with AIP-mutated PAs we conducted a miRNA array analysis comparing AIP-mutated PAs with AIP-wild type PAs. We found a novel and specific set of miRNAs differentially expressed between the two g...

Studies conducted using knockout mouse model revealed that defects of PROKR2 affect the correct ontogeny of GnRH neurons and, by consequence, neuroendocrine control of reproduction. Nevertheless its exact role during these processes and in the pathogenesis of congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) remains elusive due to the phenotypic differences observed between mouse and human. Zebrafish (ZF) has emerged in the last ten years as a reliable model organism for studying...

Background: Non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) necessitate prolonged clinical, biochemical and radiological observation, constituting a significant burden in terms of medical resources and societal costs. Reliable biomarkers associated with aggressiveness and recurrence of NFPAs are lacking. As the growth of tumor remnants is highly variable, molecular markers that can predict growth potential and tumor behavior are necessary.Aim: To identify tar...

Background and aim: Patients with GH deficiency (GHD) have increased risk of cerebrovascular events. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate and factors associated with the occurrence of stroke, a major cause of death and disability, in adults with GHD.Patients and methods: Data from 15,188 GHD patients treated with GH replacement therapy (GHRT) enrolled in KIMS were analyzed. Stroke incidence rates were compared to rates from the Oxford Vascular ...

The pituitary progenitors are responsible for generating a fully functional endocrine organ during embryonic development. They also preserve potency, to maintain the homoeostasis in the adult pituitary, being able to respond to endocrine challenges, such as pregnancy or obesity. But the main players of this complex process remain elusive. Eph-Ephrins have been implicated in an increasing number of physiological functions such as axon-guidance, eye field segregation from neural...