Impact of dietary modification of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on the hormonal and metabolic profile of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Evangelia Tantalaki, Christina Piperi, Sarantis Livadas, Anastasios Kollias, Christos Adamopoulos, Aikaterini Koulouri, Charikleia Christakou, Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis

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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of dietary intervention on Advanced Glycation End products (AGEs) intake on the hormonal and metabolic profile in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHODS: After baseline evaluation, 23 women with PCOS …

The impact of obesity on male fertility

Thomas JG. Chambers, Richard A. Anderson

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Obesity in men of reproductive age is globally on the increase. There is clear evidence from epidemiological studies that obesity impacts negatively on male fertility; it is associated with hypogonadism, although it is less consistently linked to impaired spermatogenesis and tests of sperm function, including DNA fragmentation …

Role of color Doppler ultrasonography in the preoperative management of cold thyroid nodules

Emmanuel Varverakis, Evaggelos Neonakis, Maria Tzardi, Emmanuel Chrysos

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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the application of color flow Doppler (CFD) sonography in the preoperative management of benign and malignant cold thyroid nodules. DESIGN: Eighty-five patients with a cold thyroid nodule larger than 1cm were examined with CFD sonography prior to thyroidectomy. The histological examination revealed that 18 (21%) patients had malignant nodules …

A Paradox: The Roles of Inositolphosphoglycans in mediating insulin sensitivity and Hyperandrogenism in the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Kai I. Cheang, Paulina Essah, John E. Nestler

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Current evidence suggests that insulin resistance contributes to the pathophysiologic features of the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The observation that insulin resistance is a central feature of PCOS leads to studies of the insulin signaling system in this disorder. This article reviews the possible role of putative insulin mediators, inositolphosphoglycans (IPG) mediators, in PCOS. We will focus on how IPGs mediate (a) hyperandrogenism and (b) insulin sensitivity in this disorder…

Androgen receptors in early and castration resistant prostate cancer: friend or foe?

Vassiliki Pelekanou, George Notas, Efstathios N. Stathopoulos, Elias Castanas, Marilena Kampa

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Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignancies and causes of death among men in western societies. It has thus attracted the interest of the scientific community, which has resulted in great improvements in survival rates in recent years. As early as the 1940s, Huggins and Hodges first demonstrated that prostate cancer is androgen dependent …

Environmental chemicals targeting thyroid

Thomas R. Zoeller

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Thyroid hormones (THs) are required for normal brain and somatic development and for the proper regulation of physiology in both children and adults. Thyroid function is controlled by the dynamic interrelationships between the hypothalamus, the pituitary and the thyroid. These dynamic relationships maintain circulating levels of THs …

The response of serum leptin, cortisol and zinc concentrations to concurrent training

Guilherme Rosa, Estelio H.M. Dantas, Danielli Braga de Mello

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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of concurrent training (CT) on serum leptin, cortisol and zinc concentrations in physically active adults. DESIGN: Ten subjects aged (27.1±4.8 years, BMI 25.49 ± 2.65) were recruited to participate in three sessions: control session (CS), concurrent training 1 (CT1) and concurrent training 2 (CT2) sessions with five days of resting between them. In each session blood samples for leptin …

The-2548G/A polymorphism in the human leptin gene promoter region is associated with plasma free leptin levels; interaction with adiposity and gender in healthy subjects

Nikos Yiannakouris, Labros Melistas, Mary Yannakoulia, Keisha Mungal, Christos S. Mantzoros

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A common -2548G/A promoter variant of the human leptin gene has recently been shown to be associated with variations in circulating leptin levels but available data are still conflicting. The aim of this study was to explore potential associations between the -2548G/A polymorphism and adiposity-related variables, plasma total leptin levels …

Pre- and early post-partum adiponectin and Interleukin-1beta levels in women with and without gestational diabetes

Nikolaos Vitoratos, Georgios Valsamakis, George Mastorakos, Anastassios Boutsiadis, Nikolaos Salakos, Evagelia Kouskouni, George Creatsas

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OBJECTIVE: To investigate maternal serum adiponectin and Ιnterleukin-1beta (IL-1β) levels during the pre- and post-partum periods in pregnant women with and without Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM). DESIGN: Thirty control pregnant Caucasian women without GDM and thirty Body Mass Index (BMI) and age-matched Caucasian women with GDM examined in the outpatient clinic between …

Annual increase in the frequency of papillary thyroid carcinoma as diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration at a cytology unit in Sicily

Massimo Rizzo, Alessandro Sindoni, Raffaele Talamo Rossi, Orsola Bonaffini, Stefania Panetta, Claudio Scisca, Giuseppe Altavilla, Lucia Denaro, Antonio Rosanò, Giovanna Saraceno, Francesco Trimarchi, Salvatore Benvenga

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The use of recombinant human thyrotropin (Thyrogen) in the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer

Leonidas H. Duntas, Nikolaos Tsakalakos, Brigitte Grab-Duntas, Maria Kalarritou, Elli Papadodima

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The introduction of human recombinant thyrotropin (rhTSH/Thyrogen) into the diagnosis of thyroid cancer has substantially ameliorated the patient’s quality of life through the avoidance of debilitating hypothyroidism. With the aim of updating the use of Thyrogen, we report 7 cases which were treated with Thyrogen for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes …

Growth hormone treatment in human ageing: benefits and risks

Roberta Giordano, Lorenza Bonelli, Elisa Marinazzo, Ezio Ghigo, Emanuela Arvat

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This paper will focus on the rationale of using Growth Hormone (GH) as an anti-ageing therapy in the healthy elderly with age-related decline in the activity of the GH/IGF-I axis, the so called “somatopause”. Although the age-related decline in the activity of the GH/IGF-I axis is considered to contribute to age-related changes …

Smoking is a significant determinant of low serum vitamin D in young and middle-aged healthy males

Eva N. Kassi, Spiros Stavropoulos, Panayiotis Kokkoris, Antonis Galanos, Paraskevi Moutsatsou, Cleanthi Dimas, Athanasios Papatheodorou, Christos Zafeiris, George Lyritis

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OBJECTIVE: We aimed to determine the prevalence of 25(OH)D (D2 and D3 independently) inadequacy in healthy young/middle-aged men and to investigate its relationship with BMD, bone markers, demographic and lifestyle parameters such as age, BMI, smoking, alcohol consumption and dietary calcium intake …

Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy in patients with previous neck surgery

Spiridon Dimas, Spiridon Michas, Ioannis Christakis, Christos Augoustis, Maria Alevizaki

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OBJECTIVE: Previous neck surgery (PNS) in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) is considered as a contraindication for minimally invasive parathyroidectomy (MIP). The purpose of our study was to determine the effectiveness of MIP in such patients …

Recent advances in the molecular mechanisms causing primary generalized glucocorticoid resistance

Nicolas C. Nicolaides, Agaristi Lamprokostopoulou, Amalia Sertedaki, Evangelia Charmandari

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Primary Generalized Glucocorticoid Resistance is a rare condition characterized by generalized, partial, target tissue insensitivity to glucocorticoids owing to inactivating mutations, insertions or deletions in the human glucocorticoid receptor (hGR) gene (NR3C1). Recent advances in molecular and structural biology have enabled us to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of action of the mutant receptors and to understand how certain conformational alterations …

Elevated serum androstenedione is associated with a more severe phenotype in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Neoklis A. Georgopoulos, Efstathios Papadakis, Anastasia K. Armeni, Ilias Katsikis, Nikolaos D. Roupas, Dimitrios Panidis

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OBJECTIVE: Τo evaluate the impact of elevated serum Δ4A levels on the hormonal and metabolic features of the different phenotypes of PCOS. DESIGN: 1276 women with PCOS according to the Rotterdam criteria were included …

Growth velocity and final height in elite female rhythmic and artistic gymnasts

Neoklis A. Georgopoulos, Anastasia Theodoropoulou, Nikolaos D. Roupas, Loredana Rottstein, Athanasios Tsekouras, Panagiotis Mylonas, George A. Vagenakis, Eftychia Koukkou, Anastasia K. Armeni, George Sakellaropoulos, Michel Leglise, Apostolos G. Vagenakis, Kostas B. Markou

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PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of intensive training on adult final height in elite female rhythmic and artistic gymnasts. METHODS: The study included 215 rhythmic gymnasts (RG) and 113 artistic gymnasts (AG) …

The effects of sleep and light at night on melatonin in adolescents

Caleb Hersh, Julia Sisti, Vincent Richiutti, Eva Schernhammer

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OBJECTIVE: The circadian hormone melatonin has wide-reaching effects on human physiology. In adolescents, the impact of nighttime light exposure and other modifiable behavioral factors on melatonin levels is poorly understood. DESIGN: We cross-sectionally examined the influence of nighttime behaviors …

The effect of long-term somatostatin analogue treatment on free and total insulin-like growth factor (IGF) -I, -II and IGF binding protein -1, -2 and -3 serum levels in euthyroid patients with active thyroid eye disease

Gerasimos Krassas, Nikolaos Pontikides, Argyrios Dumas, Jan Frystyk, Jian-WenChen, Allan Flyvbjerg

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of long-term somatostatin analogue (SM-a) treatment on serum levels of free (F) and total (T) insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, -II and IGF binding protein (IGFBP) – 1, -2 and -3 in euthyroid patients with active thyroid ophthalmopathy. For this purpose, we measured the above-mentioned parameters …

Factors associated with body mass index in adults from Northern Greece

Themistoklis Tzotzas, Theodoros Konstantinidis, Maria Bougoulia, Gerasimos E. Krassas

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The aim of this large scale epidemiological cross-sectional study was to investigate potential factors, such as age, gender, socioeconomic status (measured as educational level and profession), smoking habits and physical activity, that could influence Body Mass Index (BMI) in a large sample of Greeks of Central Macedonia. Overall, 4032 adults (1296 males and 2736 females), age: 44.3±14.5 y (mean ± SD) participated in this study.

The differential impact of volatile and intravenous anaesthetics in humans

Nicholas J. Sarlis, Christian A. Koch

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We read with interest the contribution by Dr. Kostopanagiotou and colleagues describing the differential impact of volatile and intravenous anaesthetics on select hormonal and immune parameters of the stress response in the swine. We would like to highlight earlier human data of ours (some of which unpublished to date) as well as from others that are pertinent to this interesting line of research and generally supportive of the authors’ conclusions …

Male offspring of both diabetic parents have higher insulin resistance and serum leptin levels compared to those with one diabetic parent

Adeela Shahid, Khalid P. Lone, Sadia Saeed, Muhammad Arslan

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OBJECTIVE: We studied the influence of positive family history (FH) of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in male offspring using multiple metabolic and endocrine parameters in order to assess whether one or more of these parameters can be used as indicators for T2DM development later in life. DESIGN: Fifty male subjects with one diabetic parent (ODP) and thirty with both diabetic parents …

Thyroid carcinoma in children and adolescents. Presentation, clinical course, and outcome of therapy in 23 children and adolescents in Northern Greece

Kalliopi Pazaitou-Panayiotou, Athina Kaprara, Maria Boudina, Eleni Georgiou, Apostolos Drimonitis, Ekaterini Raptou, Grammati Galaktidou, Iraklis Vainas

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OBJECTIVE: To define clinical presentation, surgical complications, follow-up characteristics, and survival of 23 children and adolescents with thyroid carcinoma. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of data of 23 children and adolescents with thyroid carcinoma cared for in the Theagenion Cancer Hospital, Thessaloniki…

Pituitary disorders in pregnancy

Alexandra Chrisoulidou, Maria Boudina, Niki Karavitaki, Eleni Bili, John Wass

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The pituitary gland is significantly affected during gestation in terms of both size and function. Due to this physiologic adaptation, endocrine evaluation and interpretation of imaging is far more complex than in the non-pregnant state. Pituitary disorders are rare in pregnancy, as they are usually associated with gonadal dysfunction …