ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Background. Saturated free fatty acids, such as palmitate, can cause pancreatic β-cell apoptosis. Although the toxicity of palmitate could be mediated partly through endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, the mechanism by which fatty acid over-accumulation led to lipoapoptosis in β-cells has not been fully understood. Recently, the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene is proved to be related to obesity and type 2 diabetes, but its function in β-cells remains largely unknown. Whether or not FTO could counteract palmitate induced β-cell apoptosis remains to be investigated. Methods. INS-1 cells were infected with FTO expression adenovirus and incubated with palmitate. Then, viability and induction of apoptosis were measured by MTT assay and Hoechst-staining, respectively. Western blot analyses were performed for unfolded protein response specific proteins and mRNA expression of target molecules was determined by real time-PCR. Results. Palmitate incubation led to β-cell apoptosis, whereas adenovirus-mediated FTO overexpression significantly ameliorated the effect of palmitate. Increased activation of X-box binding protein 1 (Xbp1) mRNA and phosphorylation of eIF2α were also observed after palmitate treatment, whereas FTO overexpression significantly ameliorated the effect of palmitate. The proapoptotic transcription factor CHOP was significantly enhanced by palmitate incubation. In contrast, in accordance with sustained cell survival, FTO overexpression resulted in notably decreased CHOP levels. Interestingly, mRNA expression of the chaperones Pdi, Calnexin and Grp94 was not altered by palmitate treatment, while FTO overexpression notably increased the expression of Bip. Conclusion. Our data showed that FTO overexpression could protect β-cells from palmitate-induced apoptosis partly through suppression of ER stress.

Background. It is important to protect recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) during thyroid surgery. Thus, intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) has got popularity. But, the half life of neuromuscular blocking agents used has a reverse correlation with reliability and effectiveness of IONM. This study aimed to research the effect of Sugammadex Sodium, a specific nemuromuscular blocking agent antagonist, on nerve conduction and IONM. Materials and methods. Twenty patients who underwent thyroidectomy under IONM followed an enhanced NMB recovery protocol-rocuronium 0.6 mg/kg at anesthesia induction and sugammadex 2 mg/kg at the beginning of operation. To prevent laryngeal nerve injury during the surgical procedures, all patients underwent intraoperative monitoring. At the same time, the measurement of TOFWatch acceleromyograph of the adductor pollicis muscle response to ulnar nerve stimulation was performed; recovery was defined as a train-of-four (TOF) ratio ≥ 0.9. Age, sex, recurrent laryngeal nerve transmission speeds prior to and after operation, BMI, duration of surgery, the change in nerve transmission after drug administration and complications were analyzed. Results. The mean age and the mean BMI were 47.6±11.82 years and 28.74±3.20, respectively. The mean operation duration was 52.65±5.51 minutes. There was no difference in either right or left RLN monitoring values before and after surgery. Following the drug injection, the TOF guard measurements on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th minutes were 23.5±4.90; 69.5±6.86; 88±4.1 and 135.9±10.62, respectively. Conclusion. Neuromuscular blocking antagonist use and monitoring nerve transmission speed with TOFguard can provide a safer resection.

Background. Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare group of neoplastic diseases resulting from Langerhans dendritic cells. The most common site (80%) is bones. Thyroid gland involvement is exceedingly rare and usually expected to be seen as a part of multisystemic disease. Case Report. We present a 45 year old male patient operated due to multinodular goiter and neck pain, and diagnosed with LCH in his postoperative pathologic examination. As a result of the systemic screening performed after the pathological diagnosis, the disease was interestingly localized to the thyroid gland. Systemic involvement did not develop in the two-year follow-up of the patient who did not receive additional chemotherapy treatment. Conclusion. It is difficult to diagnose LCH in the thyroid gland before surgery. Although surgical treatment with or without chemotherapy is recommended, surgery is not recommended alone since it is generally systemic involvement. However, in primary thyroid LCH cases limited to the thyroid gland, we recommend that only total thyroidectomy treatment should be kept in mind.

As men are aging, their testosterone levels decline, while the morbidity of atherosclerosis (AS) rises in accordance\r\nwith their age. Recent studies indicate that inflammation contributes to atherosclerosis. Whether hypogonadism in old men is associated with inflammation deserves to be\r\ninvestigated.\r\nBackground. To examine the relationship between free testosterone (FT) and inflammatory cytokines such as\r\npregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), interleukin-6 (IL-6), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), intracellular adhesion factor-1 (ICAM-1) in old men with\r\nacute coronary syndrome (ACS).\r\nMethods. Serum was collected from 107 men aged 60-86 years. Among them, 52 were patients with ACS. The relationships\r\nbetween FT and PAPP-A, IL-6, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 were examined respectively.\r\nResults. Levels of weight, body mass index, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride, PAPPA, IL-6, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 of old male\r\nACS patients were higher than those of controls; FT and high density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were lower than those of controls. FT level was inversely associated with PAPP-A, IL-6, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1.\r\nConclusions. FT level is inversely associated with inflammatory cytokines such as PAPP-A, IL-6, VCAM-1 and\r\nICAM-1 in old men with ACS. This might imply that low testosterone is associated with inflammation in old men with ACS.