We welcome you to the 2013 third trimester issue of Hormones! In this issue, the Reviews section includes four papers. The first is an update on the use of positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/computed tomography (PET/CT) in the diagnostic workup of thyroid and adrenal diseases. The authors evaluate the literature on the use of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) PET and PET/CT tracer in the workup of differentiated thyroid tumors in patients with high serum thyroglobulin levels but negative post-thyroidectomy radioiodine whole-body scan. The authors also evaluate the use of other PET and PET/CT tracers in the workup of thyroid and adrenal disorders, in particular describing the use of iodine-124 PET and PET/CT tracer in the evaluation of thyroid tumors. Other aspects are also addressed. Fluorine-18-dihydroxyphenylalanine PET and PET/CT tracer is useful in assessing amino acid uptake, decarboxylation and storage in medullary thyroid carcinomas, pheochromocytomas and other neuroendocrine tumors. Furthermore, gallium-68-somatostatin analogue tracers enable evaluation of somatostatin receptors, while fluorine-18-dopamine and carbon-11-hydroxyephedrine assess catecholamine uptake and storage in neuroendocrine and adrenomedullary tumors. Finally, carbon-11-metomidate and analogues are PET and PET/CT tracers used in the assessment of lesions in the adrenal cortex. It should be noted that in the Original Research section we publish a second paper on the clinical utility of FDG-PET in the diagnosis of adrenal tumors. The authors found that the imaging characteristics of malignant adrenal masses and pheochromocytomas appear similar but in fact drastically differ from that of benign adrenal tumors.
Our second Review discusses basic concepts in the physiology of premenopause, the female reproductive decline, while our third Review explores the causative relationships and underlying mechanisms linking osteoporosis to depression and vice versa. The authors describe the possible effects of osteoporosis on mood and the better documented effects of depression on bone health. Finally, the fourth Review examines therapeutic interventions to ameliorate insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The authors scrutinize the relatively limited literature evaluating the use of glitazones as add-ons to metformin in cases of major insulin resistance.
In the Original Research section of this issue we include two papers on the nutrition and lifestyle of Cretans. The first paper reviews the 50-year follow-up of the Seven Countries Study (SCS). It describes the cardiovascular disease risk-factors and dietary habits of the surviving elderly participants of the initial SCS cohort as well as that of newly recruited middle-aged men from the same Cretan villages as the original recruits. Interestingly, the daily meat consumption of SCS participants had doubled, from 35g/day in the 1960s to 76g/day in 2010 compared to 130g/day of the younger participants. The daily fruit and vegetable consumption had dropped in the initial SCS participants from 656g/day to 266g/day, again compared to the younger participants of 412g/day. However, both younger recruits and the original elderly subjects showed higher fish intake, increased to 91g/day and 38g/day, respectively, compared to 1960, and a favorable olive oil consumption.
The second Original Research examines the impact of religiosity/spirituality on biological and markers of cardiovascular disease. Religiosity and spirituality were evaluated with validated questionnaires. It appears that those participants with higher levels of religious and spiritual beliefs displayed lower levels of carotid intima media thickness (IMT), lower prevalence of diabetes and lower serum cortisol levels.
Among the other excellent Research papers contained in the current issue, of especial interest is that discussing the Thyroid Cancer Alliance patient/survivor group coalition, involving 35 countries. This patient/survivor-initiated cross-sectional survey suggests that thyroid cancer patients/survivors have substantial unmet informational/psychosocial support needs and suffered considerable morbidity.
Last but not least, I would like to mention the four excellent Case Reports we publish in this issue. The first deals with pulmonary arterial sampling in localizing ectopic ACTH production in a patient with bronchial carcinoid causing Cushing syndrome, and the second reports three siblings with familial isolated hyperparathyroidism due to solitary parathyroid adenoma with HRPT2 mutations. The third Case Report describes a case of Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome (a rare disease characterized by cerebral hemiatrophy following intrauterine or perinatal damage of the developing brain) associated with two central endocrine disturbances, namely central hypothyroidism and secondary adrenal insufficiency, while the fourth Case Report presents two patients with monogenic diabetes in whom the initial family history skewed the diagnostic workup.
Our second Review discusses basic concepts in the physiology of premenopause, the female reproductive decline, while our third Review explores the causative relationships and underlying mechanisms linking osteoporosis to depression and vice versa. The authors describe the possible effects of osteoporosis on mood and the better documented effects of depression on bone health. Finally, the fourth Review examines therapeutic interventions to ameliorate insulin resistance in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The authors scrutinize the relatively limited literature evaluating the use of glitazones as add-ons to metformin in cases of major insulin resistance.
In the Original Research section of this issue we include two papers on the nutrition and lifestyle of Cretans. The first paper reviews the 50-year follow-up of the Seven Countries Study (SCS). It describes the cardiovascular disease risk-factors and dietary habits of the surviving elderly participants of the initial SCS cohort as well as that of newly recruited middle-aged men from the same Cretan villages as the original recruits. Interestingly, the daily meat consumption of SCS participants had doubled, from 35g/day in the 1960s to 76g/day in 2010 compared to 130g/day of the younger participants. The daily fruit and vegetable consumption had dropped in the initial SCS participants from 656g/day to 266g/day, again compared to the younger participants of 412g/day. However, both younger recruits and the original elderly subjects showed higher fish intake, increased to 91g/day and 38g/day, respectively, compared to 1960, and a favorable olive oil consumption.
The second Original Research examines the impact of religiosity/spirituality on biological and markers of cardiovascular disease. Religiosity and spirituality were evaluated with validated questionnaires. It appears that those participants with higher levels of religious and spiritual beliefs displayed lower levels of carotid intima media thickness (IMT), lower prevalence of diabetes and lower serum cortisol levels.
Among the other excellent Research papers contained in the current issue, of especial interest is that discussing the Thyroid Cancer Alliance patient/survivor group coalition, involving 35 countries. This patient/survivor-initiated cross-sectional survey suggests that thyroid cancer patients/survivors have substantial unmet informational/psychosocial support needs and suffered considerable morbidity.
Last but not least, I would like to mention the four excellent Case Reports we publish in this issue. The first deals with pulmonary arterial sampling in localizing ectopic ACTH production in a patient with bronchial carcinoid causing Cushing syndrome, and the second reports three siblings with familial isolated hyperparathyroidism due to solitary parathyroid adenoma with HRPT2 mutations. The third Case Report describes a case of Dyke-Davidoff-Masson syndrome (a rare disease characterized by cerebral hemiatrophy following intrauterine or perinatal damage of the developing brain) associated with two central endocrine disturbances, namely central hypothyroidism and secondary adrenal insufficiency, while the fourth Case Report presents two patients with monogenic diabetes in whom the initial family history skewed the diagnostic workup.
Enjoy the issue!
Andrew (Andy) N. Margioris, MD
Andrew (Andy) N. Margioris, MD