Comments on gestational diabetes mellitus: from pathophysiology to clinical practice

Pavlos Poulakos, Gesthimani Mintziori, Efrosini Tsirou, Eleftheria Taousani, Dimitra Savvaki, Vikentia Harizopoulou, Dimitrios G. Goulis

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Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a topic of major interest, as it affects up to 16% of pregnant women and may lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes, which, however, are preventable by appropriate treatment. The aim of the present study was to discuss basic concepts and to critically appraise recent updates on practical issues …

Effect of maternal obesity on pregnancy outcomes and long-term metabolic consequences

Georgios Valsamakis, Evagelia L. Kyriazi, Zadalla Mouslech, Charalampos Siristatidis, George Mastorakos

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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) …

Beyond gut microbiota: understanding obesity and type 2 diabetes

Eva Lau, Davide Carvalho, Cidália Pina-Vaz, José-Adelino Barbosa, Paula Freitas

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Obesity and type 2 diabetes are metabolic diseases that have reached epidemic proportions worldwide. Although their etiology is complex, both result from interplay between behaviour, environment and genetic factors. Within ambient determinants, human overall gut bacteria have been identified as a crucial mediator …

The efficacy and safety of the naltrexone/bupropion combination for the treatment of obesity: an update

Georgios A. Christou, Dimitrios N. Kiortsis

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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 …

Study of common variants of the apolipoprotein E and lipoprotein lipase genes in patients with coronary heart disease and variable body mass index

Genovefa D. Kolovou, Vana Kolovou, Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos, Ioannis Vasiliadis, Vassiliki Giannakopoulou, Peggy M. Kostakou, Vassiliki Vartela, Sophie Mavrogeni

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OBJECTIVE: In the present study, we evaluated the influence of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and apolipoprotein (apo) E polymorphisms on lipid concentrations of 178 Greek men of similar age with coronary heart disease (CHD), but varying body mass index (BMI). DESIGN: Patients were divided according to their BMI …

Predictors of post-traumatic pituitary failure during long-term follow-up

Orsolya Nemes, Noemi Kovacs, Endre Czeiter, Peter Kenyeres, Zita Tarjanyi, Laszlo Bajnok, Andras Buki, Tamas Doczi, Emese Mezosi

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OBJECTIVE: There is increasing awareness among physicians of the risks of traumatic brain injury (TBI)-induced hypopituitarism. We have assessed the prevalence and risk factors of post-traumatic hypopituitarism by analyzing the TBI database of the University of Pecs …

Age and the metabolic syndrome affect salivary cortisol rhythm: data from a community sample

Filippo Ceccato, Mattia Barbot, Marialuisa Zilio, Sergio Ferasin, Paola De Lazzari, Laura Lizzul, Marco Boscaro and Carla Scaroni

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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 …

The effects of sleep and light at night on melatonin in adolescents

Caleb Hersh, Julia Sisti, Vincent Richiutti, Eva Schernhammer

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OBJECTIVE: The circadian hormone melatonin has wide-reaching effects on human physiology. In adolescents, the impact of nighttime light exposure and other modifiable behavioral factors on melatonin levels is poorly understood. DESIGN: We cross-sectionally examined the influence of nighttime behaviors …

Peculiarities of presentation and evolution over time of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis in children and adolescents with Down’s syndrome

Tommaso Aversa, Mariacarolina Salerno, Giorgio Radetti, Maria Felicia Faienza, Lorenzo Iughetti, Andrea Corrias, Barbara Predieri, Alessandro Mussa, Silvestro Mirabelli, Filippo De Luca, Malgorzata Wasniewska

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BACKGROUND: Studies concerning presentation and evolution over time of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) in children with Down’s syndrome (DS) are few, are based on limited study populations and do not include control HT groups without DS. The aim of this multicenter study was to shed further light on the relationships between DS and HT in childhood …

Evaluation of depressive symptoms in obese patients with or without acanthosis nigricans

Yueye Huang, Jiaqi Chen, Jie Yang, Kexiu Song, Xingchun Wang, Xiaoyun Cheng, Shen Qu

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OBJECTIVE: Acanthosis nigricans (AN) has been closely associated with obesity. Depression has also been shown to be disproportionally prevalent among obese people. However, there is still a paucity of studies on the relationship between depressive symptoms and AN in obese patients. This study examined the difference in metabolic disorders and depressive symptoms …

Auxologic parameters and response to 2-year therapy with recombinant human growth hormone in growth hormone deficient children with an ectopic posterior pituitary

Maria Kalina, Barbara Kalina-Faska, Katarzyna Gruszczyńska, Jan Baron, Anita Cisowska, Karolina Morawiec, Paulina Biel-Lewandowska, Ewa Małecka-Tendera

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BACKGROUND: Structural defects of the hypothalamic-pituitary area in MRI are suggested as being a more accurate marker of growth hormone deficiency (GHD) than laboratory assays. OBJECTIVE: To compare auxological characteristics in GHD children with normal pituitary (NP) function and with ectopic posterior pituitary (EPP) …

Associations of menstrual cycle irregularities with age, obesity and phenotype in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

Dimitrios Panidis, Konstantinos Tziomalos, Efstathios Papadakis, Panagiotis Chatzis, Eleni A. Kandaraki, Elena A. Tsourdi, Djuro Macut, Jelica Bjekic-Macut, Apostolos Marthopoulos, Ilias Katsikis

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OBJECTIVE: Limited data suggest that menstrual cycle abnormalities are more pronounced in younger and more obese patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). We aimed to evaluate the association between menstrual cycle pattern and age, obesity and PCOS phenotype in a large population of women with PCOS …

Severe resistant hypoglycemia in a patient with a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor on sunitinib treatment

Athanasios Fountas, Stelios Tigas, Zoe Giotaki, Dimitrios Petrakis, George Pentheroudakis, Agathocles Tsatsoulis

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OBJECTIVE: Sunitinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor used in the therapy of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs), metastatic renal cancer and gastrointestinal stromal tumors. We describe a patient with PNET who presented with severe hypoglycemia following sunitinib administration …

Identification of an AVP-NPII mutation within the AVP moiety in a family with neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus: review of the literature

Costas Koufaris, Angelos Alexandrou, Carolina Sismani, Nicos Skordis

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Familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus (FNDI) is a disorder characterized by excess excretion of diluted urine (polyuria) and increased uptake of fluids (polydipsia). The disorder is caused by mutations affecting the AVP-NPII gene, resulting in absent or deficient secretion of the antidiuretic hormone arginine vasopressin …

McCune Albright syndrome and bilateral adrenal hyperplasia: the GNAS mutation may only be present in adrenal tissue

Anna Angelousi, Filip Fencl, Fabio R. Faucz, Jana Malikova, Zdenek Sumnik, Jan Lebl, Constantine A. Stratakis

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OBJECTIVE: Corticotropin (ACTH)-independent hypercortisolism due to bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia (BAH) in infancy is an extremely rare condition that is often caused by McCune Albright syndrome (MAS). MAS is caused by an activating mutation of the GNAS gene which leads to increased cyclic (c) adenosine monophosphate (AMP) signaling …

Thyroid hemiagenesis, Graves’ disease and differentiated thyroid cancer: a very rare association: case report and review of literature

Alfredo Campennì, Salvatore Giovinazzo, Lorenzo Curtò, Ernesto Giordano, Maria Trovato, Rosaria M. Ruggeri, Sergio Baldari

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OBJECTIVE: Thyroid hemiagenesis is a rare congenital disorder characterized by the absence of a lobe and/or of isthmus. Studies on the association between thyroid hemiagenesis, Graves’ disease and differentiated thyroid cancer are rare …

Callo: The first known case of ambiguous genitalia to be surgically repaired in the history of Medicine, described by Diodorus Siculus

Georgios K. Markantes, Efthimios Deligeoroglou, Anastasia K. Armeni, Vasiliki Vasileiou, Christina Damoulari, Angelina Mandrapilia, Fotini Kosmopoulou, Varvara Keramisanou, Danai Georgakopoulou, George Creatsas, Neoklis A. Georgopoulos

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Diodorus Siculus (Diodoros Sikeliotes) was a Greek historian and writer who lived in the 1st century B.C. He is renowned for his universal history, “Bibliotheca Historica” (Historical Library), in which cases of sexual reassignment occurring around his time were included …