Christos C. Zouboulis
Hormones influence the development and function of human skin which also produces and releases hormones. Recently attention has been focused on identifying and understanding the complex endocrine properties of human skin, such as expression and function of specific hormone receptors, synthesis of hormones from major classes of compounds used by the body for general purposes …
Stergios A. Polyzos, Marina Kita, Avraam Avramidis
Thyroid nodules are common in clinical practice. They may be solitary within a “normal” thyroid gland or dominant within a multinodular goiter. The incidence of thyroid nodules has been on the rise in recent decades, mainly due to the wider use of neck imaging. Therefore, the incidental finding of a thyroid nodule in an asymptomatic patient is not rare…
Artemis Karkanaki, Christos Vosnakis, Dimitrios Panidis
Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a homodimeric glycoprotein, a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily. Over the last decade, a large number of studies examining the multiple roles of AMH have been published. AMH levels accurately reflect the ovarian follicular reserve and could, therefore …
Jie-Xue Pan, Jun-Yu Zhang, Zhang-Hong Ke, Fang-Fang Wang, John A. Barry, Paul J. Hardiman, Fan Qu
Androgens, which are mediated via the androgen receptor (AR), play important roles in normal follicular development and female fertility. However, just like a double-edged sword, besides the positive effects of androgen on follicular development, abnormal androgen levels, especially as in hyperandrogenism, seriously suppress normal follicular development …
Athina Markou, Theodora Duka, Gordana M. Prelevic
Cognitive decline is well recognized during ageing but is often accelerated in women after menopause. Studies have shown that there are significant gender differences in brain ageing with significantly greater changes in brain structure, function and metabolism between females and males. Estrogens exert protective effects on neuronal cells in culture but the exact underlying …
Konstantinos A. Toulis, Athanasios D. Anastasilakis, Stergios A. Polyzos, Polyzois Makras
Targeting osteoblast may be the means of effectively improving both bone quality and mass, thus offering an intriguing alternative in the treatment of osteoporosis. Aside from injectable parathyroid hormone (PTH) and its novel preparations, PTH-related peptide (PTHrP), calcilytics …
Georgios Valsamakis, Evagelia L. Kyriazi, Zadalla Mouslech, Charalampos Siristatidis, George Mastorakos
Recent years have witnessed a worldwide increase in the prevalence of pre-pregnancy maternal obesity. A survey carried out in the USA between 2003 and 2006 reported that 32% of women aged 20-44 years were classified as obese (WHO 2009) …
George Mastorakos, Maria Pavlatou, Evanthia Diamanti-Kandarakis, George P. Chrousos
Exercise represents a physical stress that challenges homeostasis. In response to this stressor, autonomic nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis are known to react and to participate in the maintenance of homeostasis. This includes elevation of cortisol and cathecholamines in plasma. However, sustained physical conditioning in highly trained athletes is associated…
Markus Luster, Michael Lassmann, Lutz S. Freudenberg, Christoph Reiners
Thyroid cancer, although very rare in childhood, represents the most common pediatric endocrine neoplasia. The low incidence and the resulting limited availability of prospective, randomized trials lead to a lack of evidence- based recommendations for treatment strategies. Total thyroidectomy and lymphadenectomy …
Niyutchai Chaithongdi, Jose S. Subauste, Christian A. Koch, Stephen A. Geraci
This article is aimed at providing a practical up-to-date review of the precipitating factors, diagnosis, management and secondary prevention of hyperglycemic emergencies (diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state (HHS) to assist critical care physicians and hospitalists caring for these patients …
Ilpo Huhtaniemi
It is well established in various experimental models that luteinizing hormone (LH) stimulated testosterone (T) production of Leydig cells is the key endocrine stimulus of spermatogenesis. The role of the other gonadotrophin, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), is as yet somewhat unclear given that several clinical conditions …
Eleni Kousta, George Tolis, Stephen Franks
The diagnostic criteria for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have recently been revised. The polycystic ovarian morphology has been introduced as part of the criteria and an international consensus has been achieved providing the basis for future research and collaboration. It is now accepted that polycystic ovary syndrome has important long-term health implications …
George A. Garinis
The physicochemical constitution of DNA cannot warrant lifelong stability. Yet, unlike all other macromolecules, nuclear DNA must last the lifetime of a cell ensuring that its vital genetic information is preserved and faithfully transmitted to progeny…
Adeeb Shehzad, Waqas Iqbal, Omer Shehzad, Young Sup Lee
Adiponectin is a white and brown adipose tissue hormone, also known as gelatin-binding protein-28 (GBP28), AdipoQ, adipocyte complement-related protein (ACRP30), or apM1. Adiponectin circulates in the bloodstream in trimeric, hexameric, and high-molecular-mass species, while different forms of adiponectin …
Niki Katsiki, Vasilios G. Athyros, Dimitris P. Mikhailidis
The IMProved Reduction of Outcomes: Vytorin Efficacy International Trial (IMPROVE-IT) reported a significant reduction in first primary endpoint (PEP) post-acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in patients (n=18,144) on ezetimibe + simvastatin compared with placebo + simvastatin.1 The low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels in the combination group were significantly lower than in the monotherapy group (53.7 vs 69.5 mg/dl; 1.4 vs 1.8 mmol/l) …
Dimitrios A. Linos
The management of adrenalomas should include the following: 1. A detailed history and physical examination to detect subtle evidence of hormonal hypersecretion or the possibility of metastatic carcinoma…
Eero Kajantie
During the last two decades, a considerable body of evidence has emerged showing that circumstances during the fetal period and childhood may have lifelong programming effects on different body functions with a considerable impact on disease susceptibility …
Athanasios N. Tsartsalis, Charalambos Dokos, Georgia D. Kaiafa, Dimitris N. Tsartsalis, Antonios Kattamis, Apostolos I. Hatzitolios, Christos G. Savopoulos
Osteoporosis is a major health problem affecting both men and women. Statins, besides their action as lipid-lowering agents, seem to have additional pleiotropic properties, among them a beneficial effect on bone mineral density. The entirety of experimental and the majority of clinical studies …
Chrysanthi Aggeli, Alexander M. Nixon,Ioannis Karoumpalis, Gregory Kaltsas, George N. Zografos
Insulinomas are the most common functioning neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas, occurring in almost 1-4 per 1 million persons each year. In contrast to other pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, they are usually benign and solitary at the time of diagnosis. Due to their benign nature, surgical excision is the treatment of choice, with excellent long-term results. The introduction of minimally invasive techniques in the surgical treatment of insulinoma has been gaining popularity …
Panagiotis Nomikos, Rudolf Fahlbusch, Michael Buchfelder
Despite recent and ongoing advances in the pharmacological and radiotherapeutic management of pituitary tumors, surgery remains the therapy of choice for the vast majority of these lesions. Both transsphenoidal and transcranial microsurgery of pituitary adenomas and of other sella lesions are well established, safe and highly efficient therapeutic procedures…
Catherine Dacou-Voutetakis
The case presented by Petzold et al in this issue1 highlights certain critical aspects of management of the child and adolescent with endocrine problems which are both of theoretical and practical interest. First, the discrepancy between the hormonal profile and the clinical manifestations …
Antonis Polymeris
Obesity both in adults and children has emerged as a worldwide epidemic. Obesity is associated with an increased risk of a number of comorbidities including type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obstructive sleep apnea …
Xueyin Chen, Jinyuan Zhang, Xiangrui Wang
Recently, more and more studies have found that pain generation, transmission and modulation are under hormonal regulation. Indeed, hormonal dysregulation is a common component of chronic pain syndromes. Studies have attempted to determine whether the relationship between the pain and its perception and hormones is a causative relationship and how these processes interrelate …
Antje Körner, Susann Blüher, Thomas Kapellen, Ante Garten, Jürgen Klammt, Jürgen Kratzsch, Wieland Kiess
Body weight is regulated by a feedback loop in which peripheral signals report nutritional information to an integratory center in the brain. The cloning of the ob gene is consistent with this concept and suggests that body fat content in adult rodents is regulated by a negative feedback loop centered in the hypothalamus…