ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Gangliocytomas are extremely rare tumors, accounting for 0.1-0.5% of all brain tumors. We present a 25 years old woman with several characteristics of restrictive anorexia nervosa in association with a gangliocytoma of pineal region. The patient has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus shortly after birth. A ventriculoperitoneal shunt was initially inserted. At the age of 19 she underwent 2 consecutive occipital craniotomies for a well-defined large mass in the pineal region. Histopathological examination of this tumor revealed a gangliocytoma. Our patient began to reduce her food intake due to the concept that ”the tumor must not be fed”. After an almost 30 kg weight loss over 5 years, the patient weighs 39 kg at 165 cm height (BMI 14.3 kg/sqm), associated with a 1 year history of secondary amenorrhea and a tumor remnant of 4 cm. The weight loss, amenorrhea and some other psychosocial traits are common for anorexia nervosa. We discuss the difficulty of the differential diagnosis between anorexia nervosa and a hypothalamic eating disorder induced by the pineal gangliocytoma.

This editorial discusses the context of thediscovery of GNRH 1 as a cause of congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism published last year by Bouligand et al in the New England Journal of Medicine

Introduction. Neuroendocrine renal carcinoma represents less than 1% of all primary neoplasia of the kidney. Most frequently poorly differentiated carcinoma is diagnosed in advanced stages and they have an aggressive evolution and limited survival rate. Neuroendocrine carcinomas that arise from the renal pelvis are frequently associated with squamous cell carcinoma or adenocarcinoma. Material and method. We present the case of a female patient, known for 3 years before with an undefined retroperitoneal lymph node metastasis, being diagnosed at present with a left large cell neuroendocrine renal carcinoma, who initially had lymph node metastasis. Results. Until now, 118 cases of primary neuroendocrine renal carcinomas have been reported. A limited number of poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas have been reported. Discussion. Due to the clinical and biological findings, the aggressive evolution with early metastasis of lung and bone, the patient is included in the group of poorly differentiated carcinomas. In these cases, multimodal treatment is a gold standard. After surgical treatment and palliative chemotherapy with platinum salts, we obtained a partial remission of the disease and the control of symptoms. Conclusions. Regarding large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma, the surgical treatment remains the treatment of choice. Chemotherapy can determine limited results, improve the quality of life and enhance the overall survival rate.

Noonan syndrome is an autosomal dominant, variably expressed, developmental disorder with unilateral or bilateral cryptorchidism in up to 80% of boys and usually delayed puberty. Thus, precocious puberty is unexpected and intriguing in such a patient. A 4.6 year old boy was found to have pubic hair, penile enlargement, increased height velocity, with advanced bone age, bilateral cryptorchidism, dysmorphic facial features typical for Noonan syndrome, pectus deformity, brachydactyly, clinodactyly, camptodactyly, hyperpigmentation, acne and hypertrichosis. Hormonal assessment revealed 21-hydroxylase deficiency - more than 100 fold increase of 17 hydroxyprogesterone level, normal hCG, estradiol, FSH, LH. This previously unreported association of Noonan syndrome and congenital adrenal hyperplasia is challenging regarding diagnosis and management.

Background. Ovarian Leydig cell tumour is a very rare steroid hormones producing mass, causing clinical and biochemical hyperandrogenism. Even if the level of evidence is based on case studies, many authors (but not all) agree that raised androgens increase the cardio-metabolic risk thus early diagnosis and treatment are necessary On the other hand, the endocrine features pointing an ovarian tumour source of testosterone do not indicate the specific histological finding which needs a post-operative conformation. Case presentation. We report a case of a 60-yearold woman with a 4-year history of progressive virilisation in association with hypertension, high number of red blood cells, impaired glucose tolerance and dyslipidemia. Total testosterone was 20 times above normal with suppressed gonadotropins, inadequate for menopause. Trans-vaginal ultrasound and pelvic and abdominal computerized axial tomography imaging revealed a right ovarian solid nodule, and no evidence of alteration in the adrenal glands. Total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry confirmed the diagnosis of Leydig cell tumour. After surgery, androgen levels returned to normal and the doses of anti-hypertensive drugs were reduced. Conclusions. The hyperandrogenic state with elevated plasma testosterone and progressive signs of virilization raises suspicion of an ovarian androgen-secreting tumor. For a postmenopausal patient with hyperandrogenism the diagnosis of Leydig cell tumour should be considered. However, the exact diagnosis is provided by post-operative histological exam. Prolonged exposure to hyperandrogenism may generate cardiovascular abnormalities and metabolic syndrome which after tumor excision and removal of the source of androgen hormones are expected to significantly improve.

Context. Mutations in the androgen receptor (AR) gene result in androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS). In milder forms of AIS, male infertility appears as primary or even sole symptom. Identification of such mutations is fundamental for accurate diagnosis and for appropriate genetic counseling.\r\nObjectives. To determine the prevalence of known point mutations in the AR gene causing male infertility in Syrian\r\nazoospermic men.\r\nDesign. 15 known point mutations in the AR gene were screened in a cohort of 110 Syrian infertile men.\r\nSubjects and methods. The study involved 173 Syrian infertile men suffering from non-obstructive azoospermia.\r\nChromosome aberrations and Y microdeletions were excluded in 110 patients, which were further tested for point mutations in the AR gene by real time PCR or DNA sequencing.\r\nResults. The prevalence of AR mutations in our cohort was 3.6% (4/110). We found two patients with the Ala474Val\r\nmutation and one patient bearing the Pro390Ser mutation. Furthermore, one patient had a new mutation, del 57Leu,\r\ndescribed for the first time in an infertile man. None of the 50 fertile Syrian men had this mutation, indicating that it is not a sequence polymorphism in the Syrian population.\r\nConclusion. The del 57Leu mutation in the AR gene is a possible cause of idiopathic male infertility. Furthermore, the Ala474Val and Pro390Ser mutations (previously found in several infertile men in Italy) might be significant markers for male infertility in Mediterranean populations.

Background. Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a potentially life-threatening complication of the luteal\r\nphase or early pregnancy after ovulation induction or ovarian stimulation. The late OHSS form presents an onset more than 10 days after ovulation triggering and is\r\ninfluenced by pregnancy-related HCG secretion.\r\nReport. This paper presents three cases of pregnancy-related OHSS after IVF/ICSI cycles discussing risk factors and management according to European Guidelines.\r\nResults. Individual risk factors are identified such as low BMI, high antral follicle count at the beginning of the ovarian stimulation, high estradiol over 3000 pg/ml.\r\nPatients had moderate OHSS (case 2) and severe OHSS (case 1 and 3). In-patient treatment was 3-14 days. OHSS resolved in\r\nall cases, without manifestations of the critical form.\r\nConclusion. The duration of OHSS is longer in the late form, is pregnancy-related and should be monitored for adverse\r\npregnancy outcomes. However the incidence of fatal risks is low and the treatment is successful.

Context. The prevalence of both heart failure and vitamin D deficiency increases with age and is associated with poor outcome in the elderly. Objectives. We aimed to investigate the relationship between all-cause mortality and vitamin D deficiency in elderly patients with chronic heart failure. Design. It is a retrospective, observational crosssectional study. Median follow-up time was 497 days. Subjects and Methods. 302 patients aged ≥65 years heart failure patients was categorized into tertiles based on the 25-hydroxy-vitamin D levels. Clinical and laboratory parameters were evaluated according to tertiles. Hospitalization rates and overall survival were compared between tertiles. Independent predictors of all cause mortality were defined. Results. Patients with low vitamin D tertile were mostly women (p=0.001), and had a worse NYHA functional class (p=0.005). During follow-up, deaths were more frequent in the first tertile (p = 0.001). All-cause mortality increased significantly with decreasing vitamin D tertiles (from third tertile 7.9%, to 11.9%, to 26%; log rank test p=0.003). No significant difference was observed at the composite endpoint of mortality or HF hospitalizations (P=0.451). Multivariate analysis supported that low vitamin D concentration was an independent predictor of all causes of mortality (HR 0.93; 95% CI 0.89-0.97; p=0.004). Conclusions. Low vitamin D levels were independent predictors of all-cause mortality in the elderly population with chronic heart failure.

Aim: to evaluate the type of surgery performed in pulmonary carcinoids.\r\nMethods. Retrospective study on database of 2282 cases of surgical patients operated\r\nin the Clinic of Thoracic Surgery between 1994 and 2004, in which 92 cases of bronchopulmonary\r\ncarcinoid tumors were included, representing 4% of lung cancers. From these 92\r\ncases, 32 were typical and 60 were atypical carcinoids, 29 women and 63 men.\r\nResults. The mean age was 39.2?18 for typical carcinoid and 51.9?13 for atypical\r\ncarcinoid. More than half of the carcinoid tumors were in 1B stage - 48 cases; the rest of the\r\ntumors were staged as: stage 3A - 20 cases, stage 2B - 12 cases, stage 4 - 5 cases, stage 3B\r\n- 4 cases and stage 1A - 3 cases.\r\nAs surgical interventions, there were performed: 63 classical lung resections, 23\r\nbronchoplastic lung resections, 5 bronchial resections without lung parenchyma and 2\r\nbiopsies: 1 lung biopsy by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and 1 pleural biopsy by\r\nthoracoscopy. In 9 cases of atypical carcinoids, associated surgical procedures were\r\nimposed by the tumoral extension or by the associated disorders.\r\nConclusions. The bronchoplastic and bronchoanastomotic procedures have the major\r\nrole of preserving the most of the functional pulmonary parenchyma in case of low-grade\r\nmalignancies, such as carcinoid tumors. Along the pulmonary resection, the authors consider\r\nthat mediastinal lymphadenectomy is mandatory, even in case of typical carcinoid tumors.