Neoklis A. Georgopoulos, George A. Vagenakis, Apostolos L. Pierris
In an Orphic account of the constitutive mythology of the Eleusinian Mysteries, there occurs the relation of a remarkable tale of sacred obscenity. The Baubo affair is pivotal for a more in-depth understanding of the symbolism involved in the most awesome mysteric cult of the ancient Greek world …
Stelios Tigas, Petros Papachilleos, Nikolaos Ligkros, Maria Andrikoula, Agathocles Tsatsoulis
Glucocorticoids are commonly used in the treatment of patients with thyroid disorders, in particular Graves’ ophthalmopathy. Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis (TPP) is an infrequent but potentially serious condition characterised by recurrent episodes of weakness associated with hypokalemia …
Themistoklis Floros, Anastassios Philippou, Dimitrios Bardakostas, Dimitrios Mantas, Michael Koutsilieris
OBJECTIVE: It is well known that conventional surgery leads to detrimental immune and catabolic responses, thus there is growing interest in the effect of minimally invasive techniques on postoperative endocrine and immune function. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1)/IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) axis and acute phase (interleukin-6, IL-6, and C-reactive protein, CRP) responses in patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy …
Cristina Colom, Josep Oriola, Silvia Martínez, Francisco Blanco-Vaca, Roser Casamitjana, Rosa Corcoy
Always granting that de novo mutations are possible, family history and biological characteristics are nonetheless crucial for the diagnosis of monogenic diabetes. We report here the case of two patients with monogenic diabetes in which the initial family history misled the diagnostic work-up and did not support the diagnosis …
Filippo Ceccato, Gianluca Occhi, Daniela Regazzo, Maria Luigia Randi, Diego Cecchin, Marina Paola Gardiman, Renzo Manara, Giuseppe Lombardi, Luca Denaro, Franco Mantero, Carla Scaroni
BACKGROUND: Most pituitary adenomas with FSH- or LH-positive immunohistochemistry are endocrinologically silent, and neurological symptoms due to their large volume are the first clinical signs; they are rarely reported to be secreting gonadotropins, this usually occurring in cases with clinical endocrine findings …
Carmen Entrala-Bernal, Cristina Montes-Castillo, Maria Jesus Alvarez-Cubero, Carmen Gutiérrez-Alcántara, Francisco Fernandez-Rosado, Esther Martinez-Espίn, Carolina Sánchez-Malo, Piedad Santiago-Fernández
Kallmann Syndrome (KS) is a genetic disease of embryonic development which is characterized by the association of hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HH) due to a deficit of the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and a hypo/anosmia (including a hypoplasia of the nasal sulcus and agenesis of the olfactory bulbs) …
Roberta Minari, Alessandra Vottero, Francesco Tassi, Isabella Viani, Tauro Maria Neri, Maria Elisabeth Street, Lucia Ghizzoni, Sergio Bernasconi, Davide Martorana
OBJECTIVE: Congenital adrenal hypoplasia (CAH) is a rare disorder that can be inherited in an X-linked or autosomal recessive pattern. CAH is frequently associated with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (HHG) with absent or arrested puberty and impaired fertility caused by abnormalities in spermatogenesis …
Eduarda Resende, Gemma Novoa Gόmez, Marta Nascimento, Lourdes Loidi, Rebeca Saborido Fiaño, Paloma Cabanas Rodrίguez, Lidia Castro-Feijoo, Jesús Barreiro Conde
Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 2 (type 2 APS), or Schmidt’s syndrome, is defined by the presence of Addison’s disease in combination with type 1 diabetes and/or autoimmune thyroid disease. The estimated prevalence of this syndrome is 1.4-4.5 per 100,000 inhabitants and it is more frequent in middle-aged females …
Loukia Spanou, Kalliopi Dalakleidi, Konstantia Zarkogianni, Anastasia Papadimitriou, Konstantina Nikita, Vasiliki Vasileiou, Maria Alevizaki, EleniAnastasiou
BACKGROUND: The use of capillary blood 3-β-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) is a more precise method than urine ketones measurement for the diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis. Fasting ketonuria is common during normal pregnancy, while there is evidence that it is increased among pregnant women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus …
Alessandro Gasparetto, John F. Angle, Pasha Darvishi, Colbey W. Freeman, Ray G. Norby, Robert M. Carey
INTRODUCTION: Selectivity index (SI) and lateralization index (LI) thresholds determine the adequacy of adrenal vein sampling (AVS) and the degree of lateralization. The purpose of this study was investigate the clinical outcome of patients whose adrenal vein sampling was interpreted using “strict criteria” …
Maria P. Yavropoulou, Kalliopi Kotsa, Anna Gotzamani Psarrakou, Αlexandra Papazisi, Τheoni Tranga, Stelios Ventis, John G. Yovos
X-linked dominant hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH) is the most prevalent genetic form of hypophosphatemic rickets. Standard treatment of XLH patients includes long-term administration of phosphate and calcitriol. Treated patients usually respond well to the conventional therapy and demonstrate amelioration of rachitic symptoms and improved growth …
Mehmet Kirnap, Mustafa Calis, Cumali Gokce, Selim Kurtoglu, Mustafa Ozturk, Fahrettin Kelestimur
An 18-year-old man was admitted to the clinic complaining of deterioration in the function of his hands and feet. The clinical examination revealed that his movements were clumsy and that he had disproportionally short limbs. In addition, he also had facial abnormalities of frontal bossing …
Vassos Neocleous, Christos Shammas, Marie M. Phelan, Pavlos Fanis, Maria Pantelidou, Nicos Skordis, Christos Mantzoros, Leonidas A. Phylactou, Meropi Toumba
OBJECTIVE: Heterozygous mutations on the melanocortin-4-receptor gene (MC4R) are the most frequent cause of monogenic obesity. We describe a novel MC4R deletion in a girl with severe early onset obesity, tall stature, pale skin and red hair. CASE REPORT: Clinical and hormonal parameters were evaluated in a girl born full-term by non-consanguineous parents …
Luciana Parlea, Lisa Fahim, David Munoz, Amir Hanna, Jennifer Anderson, Michael Cusimano, Kalman Kovacs, Geoffrey Gardiner
Distant metastases as initial presentation of follicular carcinoma of the thyroid is rare, especially in young patients. We report the clinical and pathological features of a 33-year old pregnant patient with follicular carcinoma of the thyroid who presented with widespread bone and lung metastases at the time of diagnosis…
Kalliopi Lampropoulou-Adamidou, George Trovas, Ioannis P. Stathopoulos, Nikolaos A. Papaioannou
OBJECTIVE: Pregnancy- and lactation-associated osteoporosis (PLO) is an uncommon disease. The majority of cases are seen in the third trimester or early post-partum in primagravid women and the prominent clinical feature of PLO is severe and prolonged back pain and height loss. The prevalence and aetiology of this disorder …
Spyridon D. Mantzavinos, Nikolaos P. Vlahos, Demetrios Rizos, Demetrios Botsis, Theodoros N. Sergentanis, Efthimios Deligeoroglou, Themistoklis Mantzavinos
OBJECTIVE: We examined the predictive ability of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) for clinical pregnancy in women who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles in a short agonist protocol. DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study of 222 women undergoing their first IVF attempt between June 2010 and March 2016. Multivariate logistic regression …
Niki Papavramidou, Helen Christopoulou-Aletra
The term diabetes first appears in a text by Aretaeus to describe a disease of the kidneys. Galen is likely to have borrowed this term from Aretaeus also to describe the same disorder, though in a manner somewhat uncharacteristic of his writings. Taken as a whole, only a few mentions may be found in the Galenic writings …
Elisa Verrua, Giovanna Mantovani, Emanuele Ferrante, Andrea Noto, Elisa Sala, Elena Malchiodi, Gaetano Iapichino, Paolo Beck-Peccoz, Anna Spada
Most of the clinical data on the safety profile of desmopressin (DDAVP), which is an effective treatment for both polyuric conditions and bleeding disorders, originate from studies on the tailoring of drug treatment, whereas few reports exist describing severe side effects secondary to drug-drug interaction …
Shutan Liao, Mark H. Vickers, Rennae S. Taylor, Mhoyra Fraser, Lesley M.E. McCowan, Philip N. Baker, Jo K. Perry
OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether maternal serum concentrations of placental growth hormone (GH-V), insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1 and 2, and IGF binding proteins (IGFBP) 1 and 3 were altered in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHOD: In a nested case-control study, GDM cases (n=28) and matched controls (n=28) were selected from the Screening for Pregnancy Endpoints (SCOPE) biobank in Auckland, New Zealand …
Fritz S. Keck, Leonidas H. Duntas
In 1889, the pancreatectomy performed on a dog by Joseph von Mehring and Oskar Minkowski led to the discovery of the pancreatic origin of diabetes disease. Already 200 years before, Johann Conrad Brunner had successfully performed eight pancreatectomies on dogs and had precisely described the symptoms of polyphagia, polyuria, and polydipsia…
Damiano Gullo, Rossella Gelsomino, Ilenia Marturano, Domenico Restivo, Maria Luisa Arpi, Daniela Leonardi, Giuseppina Parrinello, Sebastiano Squatrito
Classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21-OH CAH) is treated with both glucocorticoids (to suppress pituitary ACTH and adrenal androgen production) and mineralocorticoids (to reduce angiotensin II concentrations) …
Anastassios Philippou, Maria Maridaki, Roxane Tenta, Michael Koutsilieris
OBJECTIVE: Mechanically overloaded muscle and its subsequent damage are strong stimuli for eliciting acute hormonal changes, while the muscle adaptation which occurs following exercise-induced muscle damage may involve complex hormonal responses before the completion of muscle regeneration. The purpose of this study was to investigate systemic responses of various hormones, as well as secreted proteins that are exercise-regulated and associated with muscle adaptation …
Andrzej Wincewicz, Mariola Sulkowska, Stanislaw Sulkowski
Tadeus Reichstein (1897-1996) was the first scientist born in Poland to receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology (1950) for the “discovery of hormones of the adrenal cortex, their structure and biological effects”, as stated by the Nobel Prize Committee. His family being deeply devoted to Polish cultural and historical heritage
Claudia Battista, Raffaella Viti, Salvatore Minisola, Iacopo Chiodini, Vincenzo Frusciante, Alfredo Scillitani, Vincenzo Carnevale
OBJECTIVE: To describe the biochemical effects of an over-supplementation of vitamin D3 in two patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT). DESIGN: Two patients (A and B) with PHPT took erroneously 2,400,000U …
Menelaos L. Batrinos
Contrary to the commonly held belief that in antiquity and as late as 1700 A.D. normal lifespan was about 35 years, there are indications that the ancient Greeks lived longer. In a study of all men of renown, living in the 5th and 4th century in Greece …