Gender differences in quality of life in adults with long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Background: To assess gender differences in Quality of life (QoL) and in sociodemographic, clinical and psychological factors associated with impaired QoL in adults with long-standing type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1).

Methods: Cross-sectional evaluation in a random cohort of DM1 adult patients from a tertiary care hospital. QoL was evaluated using translated and validated self-administered Diabetes QoL questionnaire (Es-DQoL), and results transformed into a 0-100 scale.

A clinical profile of memory impairment in humans due to endogenous glucocorticoid excess.

Objective: Glucocorticoid excess is commonly related to neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders, with memory impairment typically found among these disorders. The objective of this study is to offer a clinical profile of memory deficits resulting from exposure to chronic stress-level elevations of endogenous glucocorticoids in patients with Cushing's Syndrome (CS).

Study Subjects: Thirty female participants of matching age and education level were studied: 15 had untreated CS (mean age 38 +/- 14) and 15 were healthy.

Ghrelin is produced by and directly activates corticotrope cells from adrenocorticotropin-secreting adenomas.

Context: In Cushing's disease, ACTH hypersecretion by pituitary corticotrope adenoma cells and resulting hypercortisolism is accompanied by a severely blunted GH secretory response. Interestingly, in Cushing's disease, ghrelin markedly increases plasma ACTH, whereas its stimulatory action on GH secretion is reduced. Although the reported expression of ghrelin receptors (GHS-R) in corticotrope tumors offers a potential mechanism for ghrelin-induced ACTH hypersecretion, studies on the direct effects of synthetic GH secretagogues on corticotropinoma cells offered contradictory results.