ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Background. Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) have a higher risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) compared to the general population. Our study aims to analyze the usefulness of the STOP-BANG score, tool which was not yet validated in patients with diabetets, as a tool that estimates the severity of OSA, in patients with T2DM. Methods. 120 patients, who answered the STOPBANG questionnaire and underwent polysomnography, were included in the study. The patients were divided into 3 groups, depending on the severity of OSA, defined by the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI). Results. A significant percentage of participants (42.1%) had a severe form of OSA (AHI ≥30) and a high percentage of subjects had a STOP-BANG score ≥5 (58.7%), equivalent to a severe form of the disease. The STOP-BANG score increased proportionally with AHI (p<0.001). The area under the ROC curve for the STOP-Bang score indicated an optimal cut-off value of 4.5, with a sensitivity of 88.2% and a specificity of 62.9% (p <0.001), STOP-BANG score ≥5 being an independent predictor for severe OSA in patients with T2DM. Conclusions. The STOP-BANG score can be used in patients with diabetes to detect severe OSA in order to establish appropriate therapeutic measures.

Context. Management of neuroendocrine tumors is highly dynamic, in both diagnosis and treatment. Objective. Surgical resection with lymph node approach offers excellent 5-years survival. Design. Between 2008 and 2011 we operated with radical intent 326 lung cancers. Patients and Methods. Cases without lymph node approach were excluded. We found 38 neuroendocrine malignancies: 12 typical carcinoids, 3 atypical carcinoids, 4 large cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNEC) and 10 small-cell lung cancers (SCLC). Limits of the study are: variable lymphadenectomy technique; absence of PET - CT and EBUS-TBNA (EndoBronchial UltraSound - TransBronchial Needle Aspiration) for staging; incomplete data for disease-free survival. Results. We performed 13 pneumonectomies, 22 lobectomies and 3 non-anatomical resections. There were 5 bronchoplasties. The 5-year survival difference between NSCLC (non-small-cell lung cancer - 42.9%) and SCLC (40.53% - one of the best from the literature) is not statistically significant (p=0.4780). Five-years survival was 100% for typical and atypical carcinoids – the best published. We found lymph node metastasis in 2 typical carcinoids, in 2 atypical carcinoids and in 6 SCLCs. Conclusions. For typical and atypical carcinoids, radical resection with lymphadenectomy offers 100% 5-years survival. Early-stage SCLC may benefit from radical resection; lymph node dissection is mandatory because of the well-known precocious lymphatic dissemination.

Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Aim. To estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk (CVR) categories in the adult population (aged 40-79 years) of Romania. Design. The present study was part of the epidemiological, cross-sectional PREDATORR study (PREvalence of DiAbeTes mellitus, prediabetes, overweight, Obesity, dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia and chronic kidney disease in Romania). Subjects and Methods. Exclusion criteria: age <40/ or>79 years old and diagnosis of ischemic vascular disease. The CVR was evaluated using charts developed by the World Health Organization/ International Society of Hypertension (WHO/ISH) available for Europe B (epidemiological subregion where Romania was included). The CVR was divided into 5 categories: <10%, 10-20%, 20-30%, 30-40%, > 40%. Results. A total of 1631 subjects (57.0±10.7 years, 45.1% males) were included in the present study. The age and sex-adjusted prevalence of CVR >40% was 2.9% (95%CI 2.8-3.1%), CVR 30-40% was 1.85% (95%CI 1.8-1.9%), CVR 20-30% was 5.8% (95%CI 5.6- 6.0%) and 13.0% (95%CI 12.8-13.3%) of the adult Romanian population has a 10-20% CVR, these CVR categories being more frequent in male and older age. Diabetes, overweight/ obesity and smoking were associated with high CVR categories. Conclusion. Romania is one of the countries with high CVR, requiring CVD prevention measures.

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis (TPP) is an uncommon complication of hyperthyroidism that is described more frequently in young Asian men. TPP represents an endocrine emergency that may be life-threatening if it is not promptly recognized. TPP is manifested as recurrent events of hypopotassemia and muscle weakness lasting a few hours. Definitive treatment is represented by the treatment of thyrotoxicosis. Case Report. We report a case of a 47 years old Caucasian male with hypokalemic periodic paralysis as initial sign of Basedow-Graves disease. The pathogenesis of TPP is multifactorial and has the final effect of activation of Na+/K+-ATPase pump. The numerous endocrine and genetic mechanisms of activation of Na+/K+-ATPase pump in TPP are discussed.

Background. There are scarce data about prevalence of mineral metabolism (MM) disorders in Romanian predialysis patients, so we assessed their occurrence and relationships in mild to severe chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods. One hundred fifteen non-dialysis CKD (eGFR 31, 95% CI 29-35mL/min) and 33 matched non-CKD subjects entered this multicentric, cross-sectional study. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), phosphate (PO4), total calcium (tCa) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) were measured, along with demographic and past medical history data. Results. Hypovitaminosis D was equally prevalent in Controls and CKD (91% vs. 96% had 25OHD<30ng/mL). Increasing proportions of hyperparathyroidism (33% - stage 2 to 100% - stage 5; p<0.001) and hyperphosphatemia (2% - stage 3 to 38% - stage 5; p<0.001) were found. Hypocalcemia was more prevalent in stage 5 (25% vs. 6% in stage 4, none in stage 3 and Controls, p<0.001). Mineral metabolism parameters correlated with eGFR. In addition, iPTH was directly associated with PO4, AP, and urinary albumin-tocreatinine ratio (ACR), but inversely with tCa and 25OHD, while negative correlation of 25OHD with age, AP, ACR, and C-reactive protein emerged. In multiple regression, eGFR was the only predictor of iPTH (Beta -0.68, 95%CI -1.35 to -0.90, R2 0.46, p<0.001), whereas age and ACR were the determinants of 25OHD (a model which explained 14% of its variation). Conclusions. Hypovitaminosis D was very common irrespective of CKD presence and severity, and it seems worsened by older age and higher albuminuria. Hyperparathyroidism preceded hyperphosphatemia and hypocalcemia, and it seems mostly dependent on kidney function decline

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.

Context. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has gained popularity as a metabolic procedure, but its longterm effectiveness for Romanian patients remains unclear. Objectives. To assess the long-term efficacy of SG for Romanian patients and to evaluate the differences between 5 years and 1 year follow-up. Design. A longitudinal, prospective analysis of collected data from 68 patients undergoing SG between 2009 and 2014 was performed. Long-term outcomes at 5 years were analyzed in terms of total weight loss (%TWL), excess weight loss (%EWL), body composition and glucose homeostasis. Subjects and Methods. All patients meeting the standard criteria for SG before inclusion were prospectively enrolled in the study. Of the 68 patients, eight were lost to follow-up, therefore, 60 patients (41.7±12.5 years, baseline body mass index [BMI] 44.6±9.9Kg/m2) were analyzed. Results. The BMI decreased at 12 months with 30.7% from the preoperative BMI (p<0.001) and subsequently stabilized at 5 years. TWL and EWL were 30.6% and 83.1%, respectively at 1 year, with a slightly increase at 5 years. Therapeutic success rate (%EWL≥50) and diabetes remission rate (Buchwald criteria) were 93.3% and respectively 63.6% at 5 years. Insulin sensitivity index and metabolic clearance rate of glucose increased with 92.5% and 60.1% respectively, in the third month from baseline (p<0.001), while estimated second phase of insulin secretion decreased with 7.9% in the first month postoperatively (p=0.04), remaining stable afterwards. Conclusions. SG was effective in terms of %EWL, body composition and glucose homeostasis improvement for Romanian patients, the outcomes stabilizing after 1 year follow-up.

Context. Benefits of vitamin D therapies in chronic kidney disease (CKD) are debated. Objective. To compare the effects of medium-term native (VitD) and active (VDRA) vitamin D on parameters of mineral metabolism and arterial function in non-dialysis CKD. Design. Open-label, active comparator, randomized study. Subjects and Methods. Forty-eight adult patients, vitamin D naïve, CKD stage 3 to 5 with increased parathyroid hormone (iPTH) were randomized to receive either oral cholecalciferol 1000UI/day (n=24) or paricalcitol 1mcg/day (n=24) for 6 months. Median changes at end of study vs. baseline in serum calcidiol, iPTH, total alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI) were the efficacy parameters. Results. Higher increase in calcidiol (15.5 [95%CI 13.3; 17.2] vs. 0.4 [95%CI −6.1; 3.7]ng/mL, p<0.001) were found in VitD group. Conversely, the decline of iPTH (−35.2 [95%CI −83; 9] vs. 13.3 [95%CI −8.1; 35]pg/mL, p=0.008) and ALP (−34 [95%CI −58; −11] vs. −10 [95%CI −23; −2] U/L, p=0.02) were greater after paricalcitol. More subjects experienced iPTH decrease in VDRA group (71% vs. 39%, p=0.03). The variation in CAVI and the incidence of hypercalcemia and hyperphosphatemia were similar. Conclusions. It seems that secondary hyperparathyroidism was more efficiently treated by VDRA, whereas cholecalciferol better corrected the calcidiol deficiency in non-dialysis CKD.