ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Iodine deficiency in a geographical area can be quantified, not only by urinary iodine\r\nexcretion, but also through the incidence of elevated TSH levels measured in newborns. We\r\nmeasured the TSH level in 3015 newborns, in a partial screening realized in Mures County\r\nduring the years 2001–2006. The law for the universal salt iodization with increased KIO3\r\nlevel (34 ? 8.5 mg/kg) was adopted in Romania in 2002, and implemented in practice\r\nstarting with December 2003. We compared TSH levels of 2,454 children born in the years\r\n2001-2003, before the universal salt iodization, with those of 561 children born in 2004-\r\n2006 after the implementation of the law of universal salt iodization. An elevated TSH\r\nlevels (over 10 mUI/L, according to the WHO criteria) was revealed in 8.23 %( 199/2,454)\r\nnewborns during 2001-2003, as compared to 9.62% (54/561) subjects born during 2004-\r\n2006 (p=NS). Based on both criteria and results, Mures County is a region with a\r\nmoderately mild iodine deficiency. However, the mean value of TSH levels (over 12\r\nmUI/L) obtained during 2001-2003, (19.81 ? 2.63 mUI/L, X ? SD, n= 145) significantly\r\ndecreased in the second period (15.63 ?7.35 mUI/L, n=34) (p= 0.02), i.e. a medium decrease\r\nwith 4.18 mUI/L. While the moderate increase of TSH levels (10-12 mUI/L) is an indicator\r\nof iodine deficiency, higher concentrations (>20 mUI/L) usually indicate the coexistence of\r\na hypothyroidism due to the low iodine supply. We observed an important decrease of the\r\nhypothyroidism induced by iodine deficiency: when during the first period its incidence was\r\n2.49%, in the second one it decreased to 1.46% (p=ns). In conclusion, after increasing the\r\niodine-content by universal salt iodization, the incidence of elevated TSH level (and the\r\ncorresponding hypothyroidism) did not decrease in newborns, but the mean value of higher\r\nthan normal TSH presented a statistically significant decrease, reflecting the improvement\r\nin iodine supplementation.

Background. Thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO), one of the most common orbital diseases in adults, seriously reduces patients’ quality of life. Although human tear proteomics identified many abnormal expressed proteins and proposed several pathogeneses of TAO, most of these studies focused on the active stage or mixed types in TAO. In this study we identified significantly changed proteins and preliminary revealed the potential signalling pathways and mechanisms of TAO with the late, inactive stage. Patients and Methods. Tears from TAO patients (n=6) with a CAS score < 3 and 6 control healthy subject were collected. The pooled tears were further fractionated using high pH reversed-phase chromatography, then submitted to LC-MS/MS and subsequent bioinformatic analysis. Results. Proteomic profiling identified 107 significantly changed proteins between the inactive stage of TAO patients and healthy cases. Among these proteins, 62 were upregulated, and 45 were downregulated in TAO cases compared to healthy individuals. Enrichment analysis revealed that the immune system, cell cycle, metabolism (carbohydrate metabolism and metabolism of cofactors and vitamins), protein synthesis and degradation might play a vital role in the progress of inactive TAO. The present investigation represents the first proteomic tear study of TAO patients in the inactive stage. Conclusion. The results shed light on the differences between inactive TAO patients and healthy cases, thus enabling us to understand better the molecular mechanisms and potential targets for the treatment of inactive TAO.

Background. Paget Disease (PD) is usually asymptomatic and discovered incidentally, it is known that it is exhibited low to high grade increased F-18 FDG uptake. Aim. In this study, we investigated the distinguishability of FDG PET/CT in incidental PD cases from other bone diseases and at different stages of the disease. Patients and Methods. In this cross-sectional, descriptive study, “Paget” identification associated with PET/ CT reports was found in 69 of 18,119 studies (~3.8%). Of the 45 patients (33 males and 12 females) eligible for inclusion in the study, 35.6% had monostotic and 64.4% had polyostotic disease (p>0.5). There was no statistically significant difference in biochemical parameters between groups. Results. According to the radiological appearance of the patients, 36 were in the mixed stage and 9 were in the blastic stage. Only the difference in ALP and creatinine values between the groups was statistically significant. SUVmax, SUVmean and HU values were found to be statistically significantly higher in pagetoid bones compared to control bone lesions. For SUVmax for PD bone lesion we found the 2.55 cutoff point with a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 84%. Conclusion. The specific radiological appearance of bone lesions and the evaluation of metabolic activity compared to normal bone seem to help differentiate PD from other lesions. Prospective studies are needed in the differentiation of FDG's disease stage and treatment response evaluation. The ability to differentiate between benign and malignant FDG avid bone lesions in oncological patients’ enables appropriate patient management, including avoiding unnecessary additional invasive procedures such as bone biopsy.

Background. Warthin-like papillary thyroid carcinoma (WLPTC) is an uncommon variant of thyroid papillary carcinoma. To date, only 104 cases have been reported in the English literature. Case report. We present a case of WLPTC in a 72-year-old female and we review of the literature on the topic. Clinical evaluation revealed nontoxic multinodular goiter. A total thyroidectomy was performed and pathology examination showed WLPTC, a relatively rare variant of PTC occurring predominantly in older women. It is important to differentiate it from other variants of PTC, particularly from Hürthle cell carcinoma and tall cell carcinoma because the latter two carry a worse prognosis. Conclusion. Treatment, clinical course and prognosis of WLPTC is similar to that of classical PTC.

Context. GLP-1 is a peptide hormone highly conserved among mammals that derives from a tissue specific post-translational processing of the proglucagon gene. It is known to be produced in the intestinal L-cells as a consequence of pro-hormone convertase PC 1/3 cleavage of major proglucagon fragment. It has a role as “incretin” stimulating postprandial insulin synthesis and secretion, somatostatin release and inhibiting glucagon secretion. Recently a role has been assigned in embryological processes and in the differentiation of the pancreatic β-cells. Objective. The aim of this study was to describe GLP-1 distribution in the canine embryo. Methods. Paraffin sections obtained from 6 thirtydays canine embryos collected from two different mothers during hysterectomy were used in the present study. Immunolocalization of GLP-1 and Chromogranin-A was performed by using the peroxidase method. Colocalization studies were also accomplished by immunofluorescence. Results. We detected GLP-1 only in the developing primordial of pancreas where it did colocalize sometimes with Chromogranin-A. Intestinal presence of GLP-1 was not detected. Chromogranin-A was very seldom observed in the developing duodenum. Conclusions. Our results suggest an embryologic role of GLP-1 in pancreas organogenesis. This speculation is further corroborated by the recent literature data on the potential role of the α-cells in stimulating either the generation (embryos) or the re-generation of β-cells together with the GLP-1 ability to modulate different pathways involved in tissue morphogenesis and differentiation.

Objective. Both obesity and periodontal diseases are significant diseases that affect the quality of life. Recent studies have focused on the relationship between obesity and periodontal disease. The aim of this study is to determine the pathophysiological relationship between obesity and periodontal disease by evaluating the clinical periodontal parameters and oxidative status. Subjects and Methods. The study included 80 individuals divided into four groups including 20 individuals in each group as following; periodontally healthy patients with normal weight, (NH), patients with chronic periodontitis and normal weight (NCP), periodontally healthy patients with obesity (OH) and patients with chronic periodontitis and obesity (OCP). Clinical periodontal parameters were recorded, and serum, saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) samples were obtained. Local and systemic levels of total antioxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), oxidative stress index (OSI) were assessed biochemically. Results. No statistically significant difference was found among the groups regarding TAS, TOS and OSI values in serum and saliva samples (p>0.05). GCF-TAS values in NH group were statistically significantly higher compared with other groups (p<0,05) . GCF TOS values increased in obese groups (OH, OCP) compared with non-obese groups (NH, NCP) (p<0.05). Our results suggest that obesity and chronic periodontitis do not effect oxidant/antioxidant levels in serum and saliva. Conclusions. Many factors such as daily living conditions of the individual, stress and nutritional habits TAS and TOS levels of the individual may affect oxidative stress parameters. However, these factors could not be standardized in the study.