ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Context. Different vitamin D analogs might have advantages over calcitriol. Objective. To evaluate the effects of paricalcitol vs. calcitriol based vitamin D receptor activators on calcium-phosphate metabolism and pulse wave velocity in hemodialysis patients. Design. Observational, cross-sectional and 1 year follow-up study. Subjects and Methods. 181 hemodialysis patients were enrolled in this study as divided in to 5 groups based on vitamin D therapy. Baseline and 12th month data on blood biochemistry, pulse wave velocity and cumulative dose of treatments were compared in each study group as well as in overall paricalcitol vs. calcitriol-based treatment groups. Results. From baseline to 12th month, significant improvement in pulse wave velocity and parathyroid hormone was shown in paricalcitol-based treatment group without a significant change in calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase. A significant increase in pulse wave velocity, serum phosphate levels, calcium x phosphate product and serum alkaline phosphatase levels were noted in calcitriolbased treatment group with no significant change in serum calcium and parathyroid hormone levels. Conclusion. Our findings revealed superiority of paricalcitol than calcitriol based vitamin D receptor activator therapy in terms of serum phosphate levels, CaxP product, dose requirement for vitamin D and the control of pulse wave velocity.

Context. The aim of this study was to explore the prognostic significance correlation between the endocrinopathy and the size of the pituitary adenoma with the sellar floor bone mineral density values using microfocus computerized tomography (μCT) analysis. Subjects and Methods. 16 consecutive patients with pituitary adenomas had full endocrinological and radiological work up prior to endoscopic transnasal transsphenoidal surgery. Multiple bony samples were collected from the sellar floor during surgery, and labeled and analyzed in a double blind fashion. Each bone sample was analyzed for bone mineral density (BMD) and Hounsfield units (HU) with microfocus CT. Results. There was no correlation between adenoma size and BMD values of sella floor but grade IV macroadenomas were found to have lower BMD levels. Statistical analysis showed that the level of correlation between grouped BMD (<1.0 and >1.0) data with ACTH (<46 and >46), IGF (<303 and >303), and PRL (<29.93 and >29.93) levels were insignificant (P=.569, P=.315, and P=1.00, respectively) Conclusion. We have found no clinical relationship between sellar floor BMD values and endocrinopathy and the size of the adenoma. However, it was found out that preoperative conventional CT evaluation seemed insufficient in predicting the sellar floor bone integrity and may mislead the surgeon.

Background. Patients with acromegaly (caused by growth-hormone-secreting pituitary adenomas) are at increased risk of hypopituitarism, in particular hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, before and after multimodal therapy. In affected women of reproductive age, fertility is impaired and complex fertility treatments are needed to achieve conception. C ase presentation. We present the case of a young woman with acromegaly caused by a GH-secreting macroadenoma with suprasellar and bilateral cavernous sinus extension; hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and secondary hypothyroidism were present from the initial evaluation. Neurosurgical intervention was repeatedly recommended but the patient refused it initially; also she was non-compliant to the medical treatment of acromegaly. Transsphenoidal tumor debulking with adjuvant gamma-knife radiotherapy was eventually performed. Following treatment persistent active acromegaly and hypogonadotropic hypogonadism were diagnosed. Under chronic estroprogestative replacement therapy, the patient conceived and delivered a full-term healthy newborn without any complications. Possible mechanisms are discussed. Conclusions. Secondary hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in pituitary patients, even when considered permanent (after surgery and radiotherapy), can exceptionally allow spontaneous conception and normal course of pregnancy.

Tuberculosis continues to be a universal health problem and recent studies showed an increased incidence of all forms of this disease. We report the case of a 81 year old female patient with a large left cervical tumour and cutaneous lesions that proved to be an unusual form of tuberculosis. The patient had a 2 years history of slowly increasing left cervical mass with no significant clinical manifestation. Medical assistance was requested mostly by the family, concerned about the large mass visible on the left side of the patient?s neck. Clinical and laboratory investigation revealed: a large left laterocervical tumour and the presence of erythematous, non pruriginous skin lesions. No significant changes were shown by routine blood tests. Thyroid function was in the normal range. Neck ultrasound revealed the presence of a 5/6 cm, well defined hypoechoic mass and the thyroid scan showed no accumulation of the radiotracer in the cervical tumour. Routine tuberculosis test was negative and the patient had no sign of pulmonary involvement. Histopathological examination after ablation of this tumour showed the presence of granulomatous lesions suggesting tuberculosis or sarcoidosis. The same aspect was seen after histopathological examination of the specimens from cutaneous biopsy. The diagnosis was certified by the PCR amplification of the DNA extracted from the skin lesions, which led to the identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The cutaneous lesions were clearly improved after tuberculostatic treatment, supporting the hypothesis of a rare form of cutaneous tuberculosis.

Context. Impaired flow mediated dilatation (FMD) and increased carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) are the antecedent forms of atherosclerosis. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate vascular structural and functional changes in patients with asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism (APHPT), and whether biochemical alterations, related with PHPT and oxidative stress marker serum advanced oxidation protein products (AOPPs), may have influence on vascular alterations. Design. This is a cross sectional clinical study. Subject and Methods: Thirty-four patients with APHPT and 29 sex- and age and cardiovascular risk factors matched control cases were included in this study. Endothelial function was evaluated by FMD of the brachial artery; CIMT was measured by ultrasonography; in addition serum AOPPs and biochemical parameters were determined. Results. Serum Ca levels were higher in the patient group [10.93±0.60mg/dL vs. 9.45±0.31; p<0.001]. FMD measurement was significantly lower in patients group [0.07 (0.01-0.26) % vs. 0.14 (0.04-0.22) %; p=0.01]. CIMT measurements were comparable between the groups [52 (35- 69) mm vs. 56 (38-70) mm; p=0.821]. AOPPs levels were significantly higher in the patients [136.43 (55.14-1352) mmol/L vs. 84 (53.18-595.48) mmol/L; p=0.026]. There were significant negative correlations between FMD and serum Ca (r=–0.339, p<0.001); and serum AOPPs levels (r=–0.275, p<0.005). Serum Ca (p=0.007, β=–0.353) and AOPPs (p=0.024, β=–0.243) levels and hyperlipidemia (p=0.024, β=–0.288) were the predictors of FMD. Conclusions. Vascular endothelial function is impaired in patients with APHPT. Hypercalcemia, increased oxidative stress and hyperlipidemia may have role in the pathogenesis of endothelial dysfunction in patients with APHPT.

Context. Patients with Cushing’s syndrome (CS) of any etiology experience a number of physical and psychological symptoms which impact negatively on healthrelated quality of life (HRQoL). Subjects and methods. HRQoL was measured using CushingQoL questionnaire. Results. The first part of our study was a crosssectional analysis of 141 patients with CS over a 10-year period. CushingQoL score was lower in pituitary CS compared to adrenal CS. Remission and older age were associated with better outcome on item 7 (physical appearance anxiety). In a multivariate regression analysis after adjustment for etiology, remission status, age, UFC, duration of hypercortisolism and presence of hypercortisolism-associated comorbidities the female gender was the only negative predictor associated with poorer outcome on each of the three scores. The presence of hypercortisolism-associated comorbidities independently predicted poorer outcome on the psychological and the global subscales. The second part of our research was a prospective study of 27 patients with adrenal adenoma. Achievement of remission independently predicted improvement of the total score of any patient. Conclusion. Studying in details and understanding the mechanisms of the impaired HRQoL in patients with CS is the only way to become aware of the problem and create methods that could help these patients.

Context. Atypical antipsychotics (AAs) are the first-line treatments for schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder. However, they are now extensively utilized as off label in a myriad of diseases despite their frequently serious metabolic side-effects and hyperprolactinemia. Objective. The purpose of our study was to observe long-term (one year) prolactin level change in first episode schizophrenia patients treated with one of the four AAs: olanzapine, quetiapine, amisulpride, ziprasidone. Design. This study is an analysis of the prolactin level associated with the atypical antipsychotics used in European First Episode Schizophrenia Trial (EUFEST) study. Subjects and Methods. Seventy-three first episode schizophrenia patients from the 113 patients, randomized to one of the four AAs treatment arms. Prolactin level was obtained at baseline, 6 and 12 months for all the four AAs. Analyses have been done for each antipsychotic separately for each sex. Results. For the male patients neither of the four antipsychotics have been associated with a statistically significant increase of prolactin level in the entire study (p>0.05). In case of the female patients, treatment with olanzapine (p=.021) and ziprasidone (p=.005) has been associated with a decrease of prolactin level in one year compared with baseline. Conclusions. In both men and women, the administration of these four AAs is not associated with the increase of prolactin levels, moreover, in women’s case, there is a reduction of prolactin values at administration of Olanzapine and Ziprasidone. These results are optimistic, suggesting that long term administration of these antipsychotics is safe regarding prolactin level.

Graves&#8217; disease is an autoimmune disorder characterized by various degrees of thyroid gland, eye and skin affection. We present the case of a 36 years old woman diagnosed with Graves&#8217; disease and infiltrative ophthalmopathy class IV according to Werner classification, non-responsive to Methylprednisolone antiinflammatory therapy and to irradiation. From anamnesis we mention Graves&#8217; disease&#8217;s debut approximately one year ago, manifested by thyrotoxicosis features without evident ophthalmopathy. Antithyroid drug therapy was started at debut and maintained for eleven months. One month after antithyroid drug therapy cessation, the patient developed diplopia, periorbital edema, and proptosis. At that moment we decided to initiate intravenous Methylprednisolone therapy using a total dose of 3 grams, followed by oral corticotherapy in association with antithyroid drug therapy. One month later, when bilateral fat tissue hernia appeared in the external orbital angle, we decided to add orbital radiotherapy. In the absence of any evident clinical improvement, immunosuppressive treatment with Cyclosporine 5 mg/kg/day was chosen. Consequently, ,we obtained a significant reduction of eye proptosis, 4 mm at the right eye, and 3 mm at the left eye, a significant reduction of bilateral orbital fat tissue hernia, and no more diplopia.

Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRONJ) has been a rarely recognized condition. As the prescription of\r\noral bisphosphonates is universalized and the number of people treated with bisphosphonates is increasing, an accurate understanding and proper management of BRONJ are required.\r\nAim. Our aim was to describe the clinical features, treatments and prognosis of patients with oral bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws.\r\nMaterials and Methods. In our study BRONJ is reported in 20 consecutive patients who received BP therapy for osteoporosis with different drug schedules. The length of therapy was 7-73 months before osteonecrosis was observed; in 16 patients BRONJ involved the mandible and in 4 the maxilla. Systemic co-morbidities were present in seven patients, namely, rheumatoid arthritis (20), diabetes mellitus type 2 (10%) and chronic anemia (5%).\r\nResults. Nine of the 14 patients who did not suspend BP therapy demonstrated decreased pain and a clinically significant improvement in function. By using the authors? case series of 20 patients, which are reported in the article and the authors? clinical orientation to evaluation and treatment of oral bisphosphonate-related\r\nosteonecrosis of the jaws are presented.

Introduction. The presence of Hürthle cells (HC) in fine needle thyroid biopsy (FNAB) is a real concern for a cytologist and also for an endocrinologist. We aimed to demonstrate if the presence of HC is associated with specific cytological features in FNAB results. Material and Methods. This retrospective study analyzed 89 patients diagnosed with thyroid nodules, with FNAB; were two groups of patients: the study group A (HC+) (22 patients) with HC and control group B (HC-) (67 patients) with no HC; for both groups we analyzed the presence of 9 cytomorphologic features: overall cellularity, background colloid, lymphocyte infiltration, chronic inflammation, large nucleoli, small nucleoli, syncytial infiltration, nuclear pleomorphism/atypia, cellular pleomorphism. Results. We found no statistical differences between age and gender. Nodules with diameter greater than 2 cm were present, more frequently in the group without HC, 43 (64.18%). The presence of HC is correlated with cellular pleomorphism (p=0.042) and nuclear pleomorphism (p < 0.0001) with no correlation between the other investigated parameters. The presence of colloid was correlated with the absence of HC (p= 0.014). In group with HC was a positive correlation with cellular pleomorphism and fibrosis. In the presence of fibrosis, HC was correlated with nuclear pleomorphism (p=0.03). In the group with HC without fibrosis there are more characteristic the sets with positive nuclear pleomorphism, positive large nucleoli and negative small nucleoli (p= 0.002). Conclusions. The presence of HC in FNAB results is associated with colloid in small amounts, associated with nodules smaller than 2 cm, correlated with cellular pleomorphism and nuclear pleomorphism. Fibrosis can be a protective feature against malignancy because cellular parameters were not significantly associated with HC except the cellular pleomorphism.