Niki Karavitaki, John AH Wass
Acromegaly, a multisystemic disease resulting from excessive growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels in adults, is associated with a two-to-threefold increase in mortality. The available treatment options (surgery, radiotherapy and medical treatment with somatostatin analogues or dopamine agonists) fail to achieve the currently accepted goals of therapy in a substantial number of patients …
Alexandra Bargiota, Konstantinos Dimitropoulos, Vassilios Tzortzis,, Georgios N. Koukoulis
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common disease worldwide and a growing public health burden. The number of people with diabetes is increasing due to population growth, aging, urbanization, and increasing prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity. Diabetes is known to cause multiple medical …
Hesham Fahmy, Katerina Spyridaki, Bhimanna Kuppast, George Liapakis
The maintenance of homeostasis is a basic prerequisite for life, ensuring the stability of our body in response to external or internal stimuli (stressful stimuli). The maintenance of homeostasis requires alterations in the function of the endocrine system …
Paschalia K. Iliadou, Christos Tsametis, Athina Kaprara, Ioannis Papadimas, Dimitrios G. Goulis
The Sertoli cell is important for endocrine and paracrine control of spermatogenesis. Functions attributed to Sertoli cells are: (1) supportive and trophic functions for the cells of the seminiferous epithelium, (2) transport of mature spermatids towards the lumen of seminiferous tubules, (3) secretion of androgen binding protein …
Dafni-Kalliopi Papafragkaki, George Tolis
Obesity is one of the most frequently encountered medical problems of our time. Among the complications of this pathologic entity, renal disease is an important issue and its pathophysiologic mechanisms are a challenge for the physician, since a variety of etiologic factors are implicated in its genesis. For example, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and insulin resistance …
Georgios A. Christou, Dimitrios N. Kiortsis
OBJECTIVE: The combination of 32 mg naltrexone and 360 mg bupropion prolonged release (NB32) was recently approved by both the food and drug administration (FDA) and the European medicines agency (EMA) as an adjunct to a comprehensive lifestyle intervention to achieve weight loss …
Wilmar M. Wiersinga
Thyroid nodules in childhood and adolescence are less prevalent but more often malignant than in adulthood. Malignant nodules are predominantly papillary cancers; benign nodules are mostly solid colloid nodules/adenomas, but can be cystic or due lymphocytic thyroiditis…
Nasiru Akamnu Ibrahim, Idowu Olusegun Fadeyibi
Ectopic thyroid refers to the presence of thyroid tissue in locations other than the normal anterior neck region between the second and fourth tracheal cartilages. It is the most frequent form of thyroid dysgenesis, accounting for 48-61% of the cases.1 Prevalence of this condition is reported to be between 1 per 100,000-300,000 persons …
Petya Kamenova
BACKGROUND: Amelioration of insulin resistance could improve both glycaemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Alpha-lipoic acid has been shown to improve insulin action after parenteral administration. OBJECTIVE: the aim of the study was to assess the effect of oral administration of alpha-lipoic acid on insulin sensitivity in patients with type 2 diabetes…
Marko Kaleva and Jorma Toppari
Testicular descent is an essential part of normal male sexual development. Any anomaly that disrupts normal testicular descent will be clinically evident as cryptorchidism. Several factors, such as Hoxa-10, epidermal growth factor (EGF), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), and hormones, especially androgens and insulin-like factor 3
Maria P. Yavropoulou, Christos Xygonakis, Maria Lolou, Fotini Karadimou, John G. Yovos
Sclerosteosis and Van Buchem disease are two rare bone sclerosing disorders characterized by increased bone mineral density, tall stature and entrapment of cranial nerves due to overgrowth of a highly dense bone. Recent advances in human genetics have revealed the genetic background of these disorders …
Sílvia Paredes, Claudia Matta-Coelho, Ana Margarida Monteiro, Alice Brás, Olinda Marques, Marta Alves, Laura Ribeiro
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the cardiovascular effect of antidiabetic drugs are today critical medical issues, with the prevalence of T2DM in particular showing a steep increase worldwide, mainly due to unhealthy lifestyle habits. T2DM in association with obesity and other cardiovascular risk factors, results in the development of CVD, the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with T2DM …
Retha R. Newbold
Environmental chemicals with hormone-like activity can disrupt programming of endocrine signaling pathways during development and result in adverse effects, some of which may not be apparent until much later in life. Recent reports link exposure to environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals during development with adverse health consequences …
Sarah M. Creighton
In contemporary management of the infant with ambiguous genitalia assigned to a female gender surgery plays a central role. Once the infant is assigned to a female sex of rearing, feminising genital surgery almost always follows in an attempt to restore normality. This management is now being challenged by adult patients and other medical …
Lampros Fotis, Dionysios Giannakopoulos, Lela Stamogiannou, Maria Xatzipsalti
In 1995 David Barker formulated the ‘Barker hypothesis’ according to which there is a correlation between undernutrition in utero and several diseases in adult life. More specifically, undernutrition in utero permanently affects the vascular bed, resulting in a predisposition to diseases later on …
Andrzej Bartke, Michael Bonkowski, Michal Masternak
In laboratory mice, suppression of growth hormone (GH) signaling by spontaneous mutations or targeted disruption of GH- or IGF1-related genes can lead to an impressive increase of longevity…
Evagelos N Liberopoulos, Moses S Elisaf
Thyroid disorders are known to influence lipid metabolism and are common in dyslipidemic patients. Overt and subclinical hypothyroidism have an adverse effect on the serum lipid profile that may predispose to the development of atherosclerotic disease. Although thyroid substitution therapy is beneficial for patients with overt hypothyroidism …
Ulla Feldt-Rasmussen, Åse Krogh Rasmussen
Coexistence of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and thyroid autoimmune diseases could represent a mere coincidence due to the frequent occurrence of autoimmunity, but there may also be a pathological and causative link between the two conditions. The coincidence of DTC with Hashimoto’s disease has been variably reported …
Nikolaos Pontikides, Spyros Karras, Athina Kaprara, Angeliki Cheva, Argyrios Doumas, Dimitrios Botsios, Aris Moschidis, Elias Efthimiou, John Wass, Gerasimos E. Krassas
BACKGROUND: Parathyroid cysts (PC) are uncommon entities in routine clinical practice. The vast majority are nonfunctioning and are commonly present as asymptomatic nodular cervical lesions. PC should be considered in the differential diagnosis of an asymptomatic neck mass …
Sotirios Maipas, Polyxeni Nicolopoulou-Stamati
Ultraviolet solar radiation is a well-known environmental health risk factor and the use of sun lotions is encouraged to achieve protection mainly from skin cancer. Sun lotions are cosmetic commercial products that combine active and inactive ingredients and many of these are associated with health problems …
Lambrini Gouva, Agathocles Tsatsoulis
The effects of estrogens on reproductive tissues and climacteric symptoms are unambiguous. However, their effects on other tissues and, in particular, the cardiovascular system remain controversial. In general, premenopausal women are protected from coronary heart disease (CHD) compared with aged-matched men but this `female protection’ appears to be lost after menopause, suggesting beneficial effects of female sex hormones on the cardiovascular system…
Friedhelm Raue, Karin Frank-Raue
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) is an autosomal dominant tumour syndrome caused by germline activating mutations of the RET proto-oncogene. It has a strong penetrance of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) and can be associated with bilateral pheochromocytoma and primary hyperparathyroidism (MEN2A) within a single patient or family…
Natalia Sirimi, Dimitrios G. Goulis
Obesity, the most common metabolic disorder, concerns, among others, women of reproductive age and, when it occurs before or during pregnancy, constitutes a major risk factor for both maternal and fetal complications. The complications of obesity in a prospective mother include subfertility, miscarriage, thrombo-embolism, hypertensive disorders …
Wolfgang Wuttke, Hubertus Jarry, Dana Seidlovα-Wuttke
Hormones are peptides/proteins, lipids or aminoacid derivatives which after their secretion act on receptors to cause reactions within the respective receptive cells. Each cell of the body is in one way or another regulated by hormones. Hence, hormones exert innumerable effects on the organism of animals and humans …
Sofia Kitsiou-Tzeli, Aggeliki Kolialexi, Ariadni Mavrou
Microdeletions, translocations or other rearrangements of chromosomal region 22q11.2 have been reported in association with >80 different birth defects and malformations occurring in many combinations and with widely differing severity…