Maria P. Yavropoulou, Panagoulia Kollia, Dimitris Chatzidimitriou, Stavroula Samara, Lemonia Skoura, John G. Yovos
Osteoporosis is a common disease with a strong genetic component. Several studies have reported the vitamin D receptor (VDR), collagen type I (COL1A1), and LDL receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) genes as the most likely candidates. However, most of the studies have been carried out in postmenopausal women and older men and show inconsistent results …
Dohee Kim
OBJECTIVE: The association of low vitamin D status with autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD), which includes Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) and Graves’ disease (GD), is controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between vitamin D insufficiency and AITD, HT, and GD. DESIGN: Our cross-sectional study included patients …
Marios Papadakis, Natalie Meurer, Theodora Margariti, Anke Meyer, Norbert Weyerbrock, Cornelia Dotzenrath
OBJECTIVE: The coexistence of familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia (FHH) and primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is extremely rare. Genetic evidence has demonstrated a causal relationship between FHH and the presence of inactivating mutations in the calcium-sensing receptor gene …
Nick Kontodimopoulos, Anastasia Veniou, Nicholas Tentolouris, Dimitris Niakas
OBJECTIVE: Diabetic foot ulcer is a critical and costly complication of diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Greek version of the diabetic foot ulcer scale – short form (DFS-SF). DESIGN: A sample of patients with diabetic foot ulcer (N=110) was surveyed with the DFS-SF …
Monica Livia Gheorghiu, Simona Găloiu, Mădălina Vintilă, Mariana Purice, Dan Hortopan, Anda Dumitraşcu, Mihail Coculescu, Cătălina Poiană
BACKGROUND: Somatostatin analogs (SSA) are now considered standard therapy for acromegaly, as primary or adjunctive treatment after pituitary surgery. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of SSA and the effect of dose escalation in non-operated patients with acromegaly as compared to patients treated after pituitary surgery in a Romanian tertiary care center …
Konstantinos Toulis, Paschalia Iliadou, Stylianos Mandanas, Polyzo Kazila, Efterpi Margaritidou, Konstantinos Georgopoulos, Kalliopi Pazaitou-Panayiotou
Along with achieving a reduction in the incidence of osteoporotic fractures, denosumab (a human monoclonal antibody against the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) causes conformational changes in the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), leading to parathyroid hormone exocytosis …
Hidetoshi Ikeda, Masataka Kudo
Objective: We evaluated the long-term effects of growth hormone (GH) on markers of quality of life, glucose metabolism, and lipid metabolism to validate the adequacy of long-term GH replacement therapy for adult GH deficiency (AGHD). Design: Eighty-three of 100 sequentially followed patients who received GH therapy …
Stefano Stagi, Cristina Manoni, Perla Scalini, Francesco Chiarelli, Alberto Verrotti, Cecilia Cecchi, Elisabetta Lapi, Sabrina Giglio, Silvia Romano, Maurizio de Martino
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate bone mineral status and metabolism in a cohort of patients with Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS). PATIENTS: Thirty-one children (15 females, 16 males; mean age 9.6±2.74 years) and 10 young adults (6 females, 4 males; mean age 21.4±5.11 years) with WBS were cross-sectionally evaluated and compared with two age-, sex-, and body-size-matched paediatric …
Alessandro Sindoni, Fausto Famà, Maria Gioffre-Florio, Sergio Baldari
It was with great interest that we read the article titled “Neoadjuvant therapy for advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors: an emerging treatment modality?” by I. Perysinakis et al published in the first issue of 2016 of the Journal …
Spyridon N. Karras, William B.Grant, Declan P. Naughton, Kalliopi Kotsa
We read with interest the recent article by Katrinaki et al. The authors report on cross-sectional values of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations from a large Mediterranean cohort in Crete, Greece …
Christos Shammas, Stefania Byrou, Marie M. Phelan, Meropi Toumba, Charilaos Stylianou, Nicos Skordis, Vassos Neocleous, Leonidas A. Phylactou
OBJECTIVE: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an endocrine autosomal recessive disorder with various symptoms of diverse severity. Mild hyperandrogenemia is the most commonclinical feature in non-classic CAH patients and 95% of the cases are identified by mutations in the CYP21A2 gene. In the present study, the second most common cause for non-classic CAH (NC-CAH), 11β-hydroxylase deficiency due to mutations in the CYP11B1 gene, is investigated …
Efterpi Chouridou, Maria Lambropoulou, Maria Koureta, Christina Zarouchlioti, Ioanna Balgouranidou, Evangelia Nena, Nikolaos Papadopoulos, Ekaterini Chatzaki
OBJECTIVE: The corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) family consists of the neuropeptides CRF, Ucn I, II and III and the binding sites CRFR1, CRFR2 and CRF-BP. It regulates stress response and the homeostasis of an organism. In this study, we examined the presence of the CRF system in the human hearts of normal and pathological fetuses. DESIGN: Heart tissues from 40 archival human fetuses were divided …
Polyzois Makras, Antonios Galanos, Stavroula Rizou, Athanasios D. Anastasilakis, George P. Lyritis
OBJECTIVE: This article describes the development and validation of the osteoporosis treatment questionnaire (OSTREQ), which is a physician-reported outcome tool aiming to evaluate physicians’ criteria in the choice of osteoporosis treatment. DESIGN: The questionnaire –named OSTREQ– consisting of 17 questions that were divided into eight sections …
Alexandra Chrisoulidou
I read with great interest the article by Yazici et al. on TSH/Tg ratio in the prediction of thyroid cancer. The justification for thyroid surgery in patients with thyroid nodules has led to many interesting studies looking into predictive markers, albeit without as yet concrete results that could alter the current practice …
George Kontogeorgos, Eleni Thodou
OBJECTIVE: The term “null cell” adenoma was first proposed in 1980 to designate pituitary adenomas lacking clinical, biochemical and morphological markers to disclose their cell origin. DESIGN: The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of α- and β-gonadotropin subunits in clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumors …
Maryam Nasiri Aghdam, Mohammad Reza Abbaszadegan, Alireza Tafazoli, Mohammad Aslzare, Zohreh Mosavi
PURPOSE: Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2A (MEN2A) is a complex autosomal dominant inherited syndrome characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), pheochromocytoma and primary parathyroid hyperplasia. In patients with only one or two clinical features, identification of a germ line RET (REarranged in Transfection) mutation is required to make the diagnosis and initiate genetic counseling. METHODS: We analyzed blood DNA from three Iranian families with three generations …
Konstantinos Laios, Maria Zozolou, Konstantinos Markatos, Marianna Karamanou, George Androutsos
In 1886, Pierre Marie (1853-1940) published the first accurate scientific description of acromegaly while also coining the term that we now employ (acromegaly today being used when the disease appears in adulthood, and gigantism when it is seen in childhood) …
Efstathia Papageorgiou, Anastassios Philippou, Athanasios Armakolas, Panagiotis F. Christopoulos, Andreas Dimakakos, Michael Koutsilieris
OBJECTIVE: Preferential IGF-1Ec expression has been firmly associated with skeletal muscle repair mechanisms, post-infarction remodeling of the myocardium, the pathophysiology of endometriosis and prostate cancer biology. Therefore, we have studied the possible biological significance of synthetic Ec peptide, a putative cleavage product of IGF-1Ec in PC-3 cells and C2C12 myoblasts …
Ana Filipa Martins, João Martin Martins, Sónia do Vale, Teresa Dias, Catarina Silveira, Inês Rodrigues da Silva, Maria Carmo-Fonseca
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 2 (MEN2) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), pheochromocytoma and primary hyperparathyroidism. MEN2 is an autosomal dominant syndrome caused by mutations in the RET proto-oncogene …
Blair T. Crewther, Liam P. Kilduff, Charlie Finn, Phil Scott, Christian J. Cook
OBJECTIVE: To address the rapid influence of testosterone (T) on neuromuscular performance, we compared the T and physical performance responses of adults exposed to a physical and psychological stimulus. DESIGN: A group of healthy men (n=12) and women (n=14) each completed three treatments using a randomised, crossover design: exercise involving five × ten-second cycle sprints, viewing a video clip with aggressive content and a control session …
Pinar Yazici, Mehmet Mihmanli, Emre Bozkurt, Feyza Yener Ozturk, Mehmet Uludag
OBJECTIVE: Since documented incidence of thyroid cancer has been rising over time, in part due to incidental small papillary cancer, several studies have been carried out to investigate the role of possible serum markers of thyroid cancer prior to surgery. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. AIM: To investigate the role of thyroglobulin (Tg), thyrotropin (TSH) and the TSH:Tg, Tg:TSH ratio in the preoperative diagnosis of thyroid cancer …
Güven Barış Cansu, Bengür Taşkıran, Giampaolo Trivellin, Fabio R. Faucz, Constantine A. Stratakis
Familial isolated pituitary adenomas (FIPA) constitute 2-3% of pituitary tumours. AIP is the most commonly mutated gene in FIPA. We herein report a novel germline mutation of the AIP gene in a family with FIPA. We present two patients, a father and his 12-year-old daughter, diagnosed clinically and using laboratory measures with acromegaly-gigantism …
Niki Katsiki, Genovefa Kolovou
We read with interest the Pappas et al review on postprandial dysmetabolism. The authors describe evidence linking elevated levels of postprandial glucose and triglycerides (TGs) with cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality as well as with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) …
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 …
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” …