ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

At the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus was identified as the cause of a cluster of pneumonia in China and it spread quickly to other countries. Although Covid-19 causes severe pneumonia, it is known that it can be associated with different diseases and prognosis of disease can be due to many of disorders such as hyponatremia. A 65-year-old female patient with sarcoidosis, cronic obstructive lung disease, hypertension and congestive heart failure presented to the emergency department with shortness of breath and fever. Oropharyngeal swab for Covid-19 PCR test was positive. After the initiation of treatment, the patient developed hyponatremia. This case is remarkable because there is no reported case of Covid-19 and inappropriate ADH syndrome coexistence and it demonstrates that there may be a correlation between Covid-19 infection prognosis and hyponatremia.

Context. On naked eye examination adrenal myelolipoma (AML) tissue appears to be an ectopic adrenal or renal tissue, based on the similarity to their external texture. This necessitates a histo-pathological study for confirming the origin of the tissue. Objective. To establish the origin and histological features of the incidental AML tissue found during cadaveric dissection and review the literature for similar findings with clinical picture and treatment description. Subjects and Methods. Unilateral adrenal gland obtained from cadaveric dissection was subjected to histological study by H & E staining of the slides prepared. The literature review was done from articles published in PubMed indexed journals. Case report. A case of an incidental finding of AML during cadaveric dissection is presented which on naked eye examination was appearing to be an ectopic adrenal or renal tissue, based on the similarity to their external texture. On histological examination, a thin rim of adrenocortical tissue, surrounding the mature adipose tissue, and attenuated by islets of myeloid, erythroid and megakaryocytic cell lines in varying proportions, resembling the mature bone marrow morphology, was observed. The literature review on PubMed explains similar incidental post-mortem autopsy findings due to the asymptomatic nature of the tumor. The incidence of AML varied between 0.08% and 0.2% in the last decade of the 20th century, which increased up to 10 – 15% of incidental adrenal masses due to the widespread use of non-invasive imaging modalities leading to an increase in the diagnosis of the pathology. Conclusion. Before considering the ectopic incidence of tissue during cadaveric dissection, a histopathological examination is mandatory for confirmation. Adreno-myelolipoma is an asymptomatic post-mortem finding in 10-15% of cases of adrenal tissue which mimics ectopic adrenal gland or renal tissue due to its external texture.

Paget’s disease is a disorder of aging bone which occurs in the setting of accelarated bone remodelling. In the presented case we discuss the difficulties in the diagnosis of Paget’s disease in a 77 year old patient with coexisting endometrium carcinoma. The patient was initially diagnosed with metastatic bone disease due to endometrium adenocarcinoma when she was admitted to oncology clinic with pelvic pain. Bone scintigraphy with Tc99 and (18) F fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT revealed an increased uptake on the bone lesions which were reported as metastatic bone involvement. Although the (18) F-FDG uptake was much higher than the levels that would generally be anticipated in a case with Paget’s disease, high levels of bone turnover markers indicated further evaluation in the differential diagnosis and the definitive diagnosis of Paget’s disease was established with the pathological evaluation of bone biopsy.

The eighth JNC committee raised the target of systolic blood pressure to less than 150 mmHg for patients older than 60 years. Recently, results from a randomized controlled trial from the SPRINT Research Group have shown that among non-diabetic people with hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors, reducing systolic blood pressure to less than 120 mmHg resulted in lower incidence of major cardiovascular events and deaths from any cause. In limited area of the human brain, insulin acts in modulation of body weight by food intake and modification of metabolism: hypothalamus (the central regulator of wholebody energy homeostasis and of food intake), prefrontal cortex (inhibitory control of eating), hippocampus (memory) and the fusiform gyrus (recognition of food, positive emotions, reward). Pregnancy, obesity, increasing age and also with some common genetic variants in the genes of IRS1, FTO, MC4R, CNR2, APOE are linked with insulin resistance in the brain.

The study comments unusual associations between thyroid and cutaneous autoimmunity: Graves-Basedow disease (GBD), vitiligo and alopecia areata (AA) starting from two cases. In the first case, a woman with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), data were recorded from 38 to 49 years as follows: vitiligo (at 38 ys), alopecia areata (4-6 months afterwards), SLE (after 2 ys) and then GBD (after 8 ys). After 3 years, hyperthyroidism has spontaneously vanished, but vitiligo, AA, leucothrichia, SLE, goiter and ophthalmopathy persisted. In the second case, a man, data were recorded from 26 to 70 years and the disease was associated with psoriasis. The sequence of diseases was: vitiligo (at 26 ys), AA and GBD (after 8 ys), followed by iatrogenic 131I hypothyroidism, and psoriasis (after 33 ys). Vitiligo and AA have spontaneously vanished before GBD began. These multiple immune syndrome associations bring up the question: ?Are these diseases multiple associations or a unique immune disease?? A possible point of view, related to immune network, suggests that these multiple associations represent in fact only one process, therefore they represent not many diseases, but different expressions in time (sequence) and space (organ-lesion) of the disease of the immune network.

Craniopharyngioma is part of a spectrum of suprasellar cystic neoplasms, with two distinct clinicopathological entities: most are adamantinomatous tumors occurring more\r\noften in children and young adults, and radiographically are calcified, while papillary form develops more often in adults, lacks calcification, and have a better outcome.\r\nIn this report we describe clinical, CT and MRI features, together with histopathological findings of an early recurrent papillary craniopharyngioma. Reviewing the\r\nCT and MRI findings and microscopic specimens of both the initial and the recurred craniopharyngioma, we identified the rapid relapse of the solid tumoral component and\r\ncorrelate it with low-grade basal cell dysplasia of the epithelial component that evolves from small patchy foci to more extensive areas in length and width. While low-grade basal cell dysplasia is not clearly malignant, once the pathologist sees these cellular changes in a papillary cranyopharyngioma, he must note them in his report as basal cell dysplasia could be the cause of an early tumoral recurrence. Although low-grade basal cell dysplasia in\r\nsquamo-papillary craniopharyngioma is uncommon, when such a diagnosis is established, the radiologist must pay attention to MRI characteristic findings of the solid part (maximum diameters, enhancing aspects, shape, and location) and compare them with those from the previous data.

Sustained exposure to high serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) levels is likely to play a role in the development of the thyroid tumor in acromegaly; however, there is no report that indicate a promoting effect on the secretion of hormones by the thyroid tumor. We report a case of acromegaly in a seventy-one-year-old female with primary subclinical hyperthyroidism. Autoantibodies including\r\nanti-thyroglobulin antibody, anti-thyroid peroxidase antibody and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor antibody were all negative. Ultrasonography of the thyroid\r\ndemonstrated a solid adenoma in the left thyroid lobe and Technetium-99m thyroid scintigraphy showed a high level of\r\naccumulation into the same lesion, indicating that toxic nodular goiter (TNG) was the cause of hyperthyroidism. Despite serum thyroid hormones remaining at normal levels,\r\nserum TSH levels went on decreasing gradually until transsphenoidal surgery to treat a growth hormone (GH) secreting pituitary adenoma. Interestingly, as IGF-I\r\nand GH levels normalized after operation, the serum TSH level increased and finally reached the normal level without\r\nintervention to the thyroid. Additionally, accumulation of Technetium-99m seen with thyroid scintigraphy slightly decreased. The evidence obtained from this case may\r\nsuggest a novel mechanism whereby excessive secretion of thyroid hormones from TNG in an acromegalic patient is\r\nregulated by IGF-I.

Cervical lymph nodes could be a starting sign for a complex diagnosis work-up. Depending on co-morbidities, medical unit and physician’s previous experience, the differential diagnosis includes thyroid malignancy, lymphoma, chronic infectious disorders, etc.

Thyroid isthmus agenesia (TIA) which is characterized by the absence of isthmus is one of these anomalies and its etiology is unclear. Marine Lenhart Syndrome (MLS), on the other hand, is defined as the coexistence of Graves disease and hyperactive nodules,although the diagnostic criteria are not clearly defined. Fifty five years old male patient with no concomitant disease had been diagnosed with MLS and accompanying subclinical hyperthyroidy for two years. He had dysphagia for a year. Neck ultrasound revealead retrosternal goiter with multiple hypoechoic nodules with the largest size of 33x30 mm. He had normal FT3 and FT4 levels with a decreased level of TSH. Scintigraphy revealed diffuse thyroid uptake with a hyperactive nodule of 16x11 mm on right upper lobe. Due to compressive sypmtoms and MLS he underwent surgery and diagnosed with thyroid isthmus agenesia peroperatively. MLS and TIA are rare thyroid pathologies and their etiopathogenesis has not been clarified yet. This case is thought to be the first case in which MLS and TIA coexistence was reported. Even though it is a rare disorder,having a basic knowledge about TIA can be an important step in establishing a treatment plan and avoiding possible complications. Especially in management of MLS, when surgery is considered the physician should be careful for presence of a TIA.

Pituitary apoplexy (PA) is a life-threatening clinical syndrome. Dopamine receptor agonists are the drugs of choice in the treatment of prolactinomas. The use of cabergoline is reported to cause an increased risk of PA, particularly in macroprolactinomas of cystic nature. In this report, we present a patient with a cystic macroprolactinoma who developed PA on the 16th week of cabergoline treatment.