Filippo Ceccato, Mattia Barbot, Marialuisa Zilio, Sergio Ferasin, Paola De Lazzari, Laura Lizzul, Marco Boscaro and Carla Scaroni
Objective: Measurement of cortisol levels in saliva is a marker of free hormone. How salivary cortisol rhythm is affected by age, gender, the metabolic syndrome and estrogen-progestin therapy was evaluated in a community sample of adults …
Emanuele Ferrante, Valentina Morelli, Claudia Giavoli, Giovanna Mantovani, Elisa Verrua, Elisa Sala, Elena Malcmiodi, Silvia Bergamaschi, Eriselda Profka, Elisa Cairoli, Serena Palmieri, Iacopo Chiodini, Andrea-Gerardo Lania, Anna Spada, Paolo Beck-Peccoz
OBJECTIVE: The diagnosis of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal insufficiency (HPAI) is a major clinical challenge. The gold standard procedure remains insulin tolerance test (ITT). This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of standard-dose corticotrophin stimulation test (SDCT) in diagnosing HPAI …
Jean-Louis Wémeau, Emmanuelle Proust-Lemoine, Amélie Ryndak, Laura Vanhove
Christos M. Hatzis, Christopher Papandreou, Evridiki Patelarou, Constantine I. Vardavas, Eleni Kimioni, Dimitra Sifaki-Pistolla, Anna Vergetaki, Anthony G. Kafatos
OBJECTIVE: To identify the cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk-factor status and dietary habits of the surviving elderly participants of the initial Seven Countries Study (SCS) cohort and newly recruited middle-aged men from the same villages …
Eleni P. Kotanidou, Maria G. Grammatikopoulou, Bessie E. Spiliotis, Christina Kanaka-Gantenbein, Maria Tsigga, Assimina Galli-Tsinopoulou
OBJECTIVE: While the US today has the highest rates worldwide of obesity, Europe, and particularly Southern Europe, is catching up fast. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of obesity in Greek children, aged 1-12 years. DESIGN: A systematic review—including all studies published in English and Greek …
Francesco Vierucci, Marta Del Pistoia, Paola Erba, Giovanni Federico, Giuseppe Saggese
OBJECTIVE. Bone health is a major concern in patients with Turner syndrome (TS). There are few studies assessing bone mineral status in TS adolescents and none have reported a clear relationship with the risk of fracture. We assessed bone mineral status at three different skeletal sites by two different …
Efi Koloverou, Nikolaos Tentolouris, Chryssa Bakoula, Christina Darviri, George Chrousos
OBJECTIVE: Although there is scientific evidence that stress adversely affects metabolic control, only a few studies have examined the role of stress management in improving glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). In this study, we investigated the effect of a relaxation technique on levels of stress and glycemic control …
Nektraria Papadopoulou-Marketou, Chrysanthi Skevaki, Ioanna Kosteria, Melpomeni Peppa, George P. Chrousos, Ioannis Papassotiriou, Christina Kanaka-Gantenbein
OBJECTIVE: Diabetic nephropathy constitutes a major long-term complication in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) and its diagnosis is based on microalbuminuria. The aim of this observational follow-up study was to explore the role of neutrophil-gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and cystatin C in unravelling early diabetic nephropathy even in patients with normoalbuminuria …
Christos Tsatsanis, Eirini Dermitzaki, Pavlina Avgoustinaki, Niki Malliaraki, Vasilis Mytaras, Andrew N. Margioris
Adipose tissue produces factors, including adipokines, cytokines and chemokines which, when released, systemically exert endocrine effects on multiple tissues thereby affecting their physiology. Adipokines also affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis both centrally, at the hypothalamic-pituitary level …
Corina Neamţu, Claudiu Ţupea, Diana Păun, Anca Hoisescu, Adina Ghemigian, Samuel Refetoff, Chutintorn Sriphrapradang
Thyroid hormones (TH) exert their actions by binding nuclear receptors alpha (TRα1) and beta (TRß1 and TRß2). Resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) is a clinical syndrome with various clinical manifestations, its hallmark being decreased tissue sensitivity …
Krystallenia I. Alexandraki, Mohammed Munayem Khan, Harvinder S. Chahal, Nadezhda S. Dalantaeva, Giampaolo Trivellin, Dan M. Berney, Philippe Caron, Vera Popovic, Marija Pfeifer, Suzanne Jordan, Márta Korbonits, Ashley B. Grossman
OBJECTIVE: The model of “oncogene-induced senescence” (OIS), resulting in cell-proliferation arrest, has recently been suggested as a possible explanation for the non-progression of pituitary tumours to malignancy. The aim of the study was to compare the expression …
Kai I. Cheang, Paulina Essah, John E. Nestler
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…
Frangiskos Economou, Xenofon Xyrafis, Sarantis Livadas, Ioannis I. Androulakis, Georgia Argyrakopoulou, Charikleia D.Christakou, Eleni Kandaraki, Eleni Palioura, Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis
OBJECTIVE: To investigate liver enzymes in a cohort of women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and controls divided according to body mass index (BMI) and their association with features of the syndrome. DESIGN: Eighty-three PCOS women and 64 healthy women were studied. Patients and controls were subdivided into two groups …
Dimitrios Anyfantakis, Emmanouil K. Symvoulakis, Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos, Dimitrios Tsetis, Elias Castanas, Sue Shea, Maria Venihaki, Christos Lionis
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed at exploring to what extent psychosocial factors, such as religiosity/spirituality and sense of coherence, mediate the negative effects of stress on a variety of cardiometabolic indicators, i.e., hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, and atherosclerotic bio-clinical markers …
Nikos Yiannakouris, Labros Melistas, Mary Yannakoulia, Keisha Mungal, Christos S. Mantzoros
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 …
Spyros Karras, Themistoklis Tzotzas, Gerasimos E. Krassas
Antithyroid drugs (ATD) are widely used by endocrinologists all over the world for the treatment of Graves’ disease (GD) in the general population and in lactating thyrotoxic mothers.1,2 Traditionally, these agents produce minor side effects (rash, fever, urticaria) in 5-10% of the treated patients …
Grigorios Rombopoulos, Magdalini Hatzikou, Dimitra Latsou, John Yfantopoulos
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the impact of hypoglycemia on the Quality of Life (QoL) and its prevalence in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in Greece. DESIGN: A cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted in 6631 patients with T2DM …
Leonidas H. Duntas, Nikolaos Tsakalakos, Brigitte Grab-Duntas, Maria Kalarritou, Elli Papadodima
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 …
Thomas R. Zoeller
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 …
Evangelia Tantalaki, Christina Piperi, Sarantis Livadas, Anastasios Kollias, Christos Adamopoulos, Aikaterini Koulouri, Charikleia Christakou, Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis
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 …
Gerasimos P. Sykiotis, Argyro Sgourou, Adamantia Papachatzopoulou, Kostas B. Markou, Venetsana Kyriazopoulou, Athanasios G. Papavassiliou, Apostolos G. Vagenakis, Neoklis A. Georgopoulos
Thyrotropin (TSH) is the prime regulator of thyroid cell growth and function and acts through the thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) located on the surface membrane of thyrocytes. Somatic heterozygous mutations that cause TSHR activation in the absence of TSH have been found in toxic adenomas and in hot nodules of multinodular goiters…
Chryssanthi Mengreli, Maria Maniati-Christidi, Christina Kanaka-Gantenbein, Panagiotis Girginoudis, Apostolos G. Vagenakis, Catherine Dacou-Voutetakis
The neonatal screening program for congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in Greece shows an overall incidence of the disease of 1:2321. The cases with permanent CH have an incidence of 1:2542, whereas the transient forms of CH account for 8.7% of all cases diagnosed as CH. Transplacental passage of maternal thyrotropin receptor-blocking antibodies is a rare cause of transient CH …
Artemis Karkanaki, Dimitrios Vavilis, Alexandros Traianos, Ioannis Kalogiannidis, Dimitrios Panidis
Women present an estradiol-dependent cardiovascular risk profile. Based on various studies, it was considered that estrogen therapy (ET) in postmenopausal women could probably reduce the higher cardiovascular risk in this group. Assymetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous methylated arginine which inhibits nitric oxide ..
Neoklis A. Georgopoulos, Efstathios Papadakis, Anastasia K. Armeni, Ilias Katsikis, Nikolaos D. Roupas, Dimitrios Panidis
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 …
Ioanna Tzavara, Marinella Tzanela, Barbara Vlassopoulou, George Kouyioumoutzakis, Calliopi Alevizaki, Nicke C. Thalassinos
Radioactive iodine is a widely used treatment for hyperthyroidism caused by solitary autonomously functioning thyroid nodule (toxic adenoma). The aim of this retrospective analysis is to report the long term effects of this therapy on the thyroid function of patients with toxic adenoma treated in our department. Between 1968 and 1996…