Metformin: Its emerging role in oncology

Dragan Micic, Goran Cvijovic, Vladimir Trajkovic, Leonidas H. Duntas, Snezana Polovina

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Metformin is considered, in conjunction with lifestyle modification, as a first-line treatment modality for type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Recently, several clinical studies have reported reduced incidence of neoplastic diseases in DM type 2 patients treated with metformin, as compared to diet or other antidiabetic agents …

Restricted leptin antagonism as a therapeutic approach to treatment of autoimmune diseases

Arash Babaei, Sayyed Hamid Zarkesh-Esfahani, Ehsan Bahrami, Richard J. Ross

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Leptin, the adipocyte derived hormone, has a pivotal role in regulating energy homeostasis and appetite. Beyond this essential role in bodyweight control, leptin also regulates the immune responses. Leptin has pro-inflammatory effects on T cell populations, shifting the T helper balance towards a TH1 phenotype, through induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines and stimulation …

Molecular parameters linking thyroglobulin iodination with autoimmune thyroiditis

George Carayanniotis

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Increased iodide intake has been linked to the development of hypothyroidism and/or autoimmune thyroiditis in humans and animals, but the mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. Increased ingestion of iodide is likely to have pleiotropic effects on either metabolic or immunological processes. Within the latter domain, recent interest has been focused on two areas …

Time for the endocrinologists to expand their awareness of and contribution to the diagnosis and management of encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroid disease

Gianluca Tamagno, Gadintshware Gaoatswe

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Encephalopathy associated with autoimmune thyroid disease is a rare condition presenting in the setting of autoimmune thyroid disease and characterized by unspecific neurological and/or psychiatric symptoms. Bearing in mind the currently prevailing lack of consensus on the most appropriate nomenclature and diagnostic criteria for this condition and the implications …

Ghrelin and growth hormone serum levels during the clonidine test in children with short stature and variable growth hormone status

Charilaos Stylianou, Assimina Galli-Tsinopoulou, Maria G. Grammatikopoulou, George Koliakos, George Varlamis

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Objective: The exact role of ghrelin in the control of growth hormone (GH) secretion has not been completely clarified as yet. The aim of the present study was 1) to investigate the effect of a substance promoting GH secretion (clonidine) on ghrelin levels in children with short stature with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and normal growth hormone …

Insulin-like growth factor-1 restores dexamethasone-induced heart growth arrest in rats: the role of the ubiquitin pathway

Dionisios Chrysis, Andrei S. Chagin, Lars Savendahl

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OBJECTIVE: In skeletal muscle, glucocorticoids induce catabolism and proteolysis which is accomplished via the ubiquitin (Ub) proteolytic pathway. Cardiac muscle is a striated muscle which, compared to skeletal muscle, more abundantly expresses components of the Ub pathway, thus suggesting an important role for this pathway in heart physiology …

Low HDL-cholesterol among normal weight, normoglycemic offspring of individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Edavan P. Praveen, Bindu Kulshreshtha, Madan L. Khurana, Jayaprakash Sahoo, Nandita Gupta, Guresh Kumar, Ariachery C. Ammini, Rajech Knadgawat

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Objective: Offspring of type 2 diabetics have an increased risk of dyslipidemia, glucose intolerance and obesity. The aim of this study was to assess the lipid levels in the offspring of diabetics with normal glucose tolerance and normal body weight. Design: Normal weight offspring of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) who had normal glucose tolerance …

Seasonal variation of type 1 diabetes mellitus diagnosis in Greek children

Maria I. Kalliora, Andriani Vazeou, Dimitrios Delis, Evangelos Bozas, Ioanna Thymelli, Christos S. Bartsocas

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OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to investigate the seasonal variation of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) diagnosis in Greek children. DESIGN: The study group consisted of 1148 patients (604 males and 544 females) who were diagnosed with T1DM during the period 1978-2008. The mean age at diagnosis was 8.32±5.01 years …

A man with 47,XYY karyotype, prolactinoma and a history of first trimester recurrent miscarriages in his wife

Chrisanthi Zouli, Christos Tsametis, Ioannis Papadimas, Dimitrios G. Goulis

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The clinical and laboratory features as well as the diagnostic and therapeutic approach of men with XYY syndrome have not been fully described. A 41-year-old infertile man was diagnosed as having a 47,XYY karyotype and a micro-prolactinoma. His 32-year-old wife had a history of five spontaneous pregnancies, all resulting in first trimester miscarriages …

Adrenal cortical oncocytoma mimicking pheochromocytoma

Andreas Kiriakopoulos, Dimitrios Papaioannou, Dimitrios Linos

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Objective: Adrenal tumors present with clinical features and signs unique to their specific hormonal hypersecretion. However, there have been cases in which the clinical expression has been in conflict with the histologic features of the tumor. In this communication we report an unusual clinical presentation of an adrenal cortical tumor with histologic features …

The history of the parathyroid glands

Ilias-Dimitrios Kafetzis, Antonis Diamantopoulos, Ioannis Christakis, Basileios Leoutsakos

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Greep in 1963 as well as Pang and Epple in 1980 advanced the view that the parathyroids originally appeared 100 million years ago, in the context of the evolutionary development of amphibians. This coincided with the transition of life from the calcium-rich marine environment to the terrestrial or the aquatic environments …