Publications by authors named "Bensing S"

Cortisol is released upon activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, varies across the day, possesses an underlying diurnal rhythm and is responsive to stressors. The endogenous circadian peak of cortisol occurs in the morning, and increases in cortisol observed post-awakening have been named the cortisol awakening response (CAR) based on the belief that the act of waking up stimulates cortisol secretion. However, objective evidence that awakening induces cortisol secretion is limited.

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  • There is a significant delay in diagnosing acromegaly, leading to worse health outcomes, and voice changes are commonly observed in affected individuals due to changes in orofacial and laryngeal structures.
  • The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of digital voice analysis combined with machine learning as a method to identify acromegaly by analyzing voice recordings taken from patients and controls.
  • Results showed that the machine learning model was able to accurately detect acromegaly with an AUC of 0.84, outperforming experienced endocrinologists, and patients with acromegaly reported more voice-related issues compared to controls.
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  • Autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD) requires daily hormone replacement for cortisol and aldosterone, but current treatments often lead to unstable cortisol levels that may impact brain function.
  • A study compared working memory function in young adults with AAD to healthy controls, using MRI scans during cognitive tasks, and found no significant differences in performance or brain activity between the two groups.
  • The researchers acknowledge that variations in the AAD patient population could affect the results, suggesting the need for larger controlled studies to better understand the long-term impact of AAD on brain health.
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Autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD) is a rare but life-threatening endocrine disorder caused by an autoimmune destruction of the adrenal cortex. A previous genome-wide association study (GWAS) has shown that common variants near immune-related genes, which mostly encode proteins participating in the immune response, affect the risk of developing this condition. However, little is known about the contribution of copy number variations (CNVs) to AAD susceptibility.

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Type I interferons act as gatekeepers against viral infection, and autoantibodies that neutralize these signaling molecules have been associated with COVID-19 severity and adverse reactions to the live-attenuated yellow fever vaccine. On this background, we sought to examine whether autoantibodies against type I interferons were associated with adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination. Our nationwide analysis suggests that type I interferon autoantibodies were not associated with adverse events after mRNA or viral-vector COVID-19 vaccines.

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  • * While the infection rates of COVID-19 were similar between the two groups, AI patients had significantly higher rates of hospitalization (2.1% vs. 0.8%), intensive care admissions (0.3% vs. 0.1%), and deaths (0.8% vs. 0.2%).
  • * The study concluded that AI patients face over twice the risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes, highlighting the need for prioritized vaccinations and targeted treatments for these individuals.
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Context: Individuals with autoimmune Addison disease (AAD) take replacement medication for the lack of adrenal-derived glucocorticoid (GC) and mineralocorticoid hormones from diagnosis. The brain is highly sensitive to these hormones, but the consequence of having AAD for brain health has not been widely addressed.

Objective: The present study compared resting-state functional connectivity (rs-fc) of the brain between individuals with AAD and healthy controls.

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Objective: Increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease has been reported in autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD), but pathomechanisms are poorly understood.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: We compared serum levels of 177 cardiovascular and inflammatory biomarkers in 43 patients with AAD at >18-h glucocorticoid withdrawal and 43 matched controls, overall and stratified for sex.

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Objectives: In a recent study, we found increased antibody reactivity against the insulin receptor-A and insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor and their ligands in patients with schizophrenia or related psychosis, indicating that an autoimmune-mediated process may underlie development of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to supplement our previous study with analysing additional neuronal- and diabetes-associated autoantibodies of potential interest for schizophrenia in the same patients and controls as in the foregoing study.

Material And Methods: Analyses of neuronal (NMDAR, VGKC, AMPAR, GABABR, DPPX, GAD)- and voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC) autoantibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (12 patients, 11 controls) and of diabetes-associated (GAD, IA-2, ZnT8, insulin)- and VGCC autoantibodies in serum (17 patients, 11 controls) were done by standard methods.

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Objective: Autoantibodies against the adrenal enzyme 21-hydroxylase is a hallmark manifestation in autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD). Steroid 21-hydroxylase is encoded by CYP21A2, which is located in the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) region together with the highly similar pseudogene CYP21A1P. A high level of copy number variation is seen for the 2 genes, and therefore, we asked whether genetic variation of the CYP21 genes is associated with AAD.

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  • Rhythms in endocrine systems are vital, and hormonal disruptions can occur early in diseases, highlighting the need for better measurement techniques beyond traditional single-time blood tests.
  • To address this, researchers employed microdialysis and advanced chromatography methods to analyze adrenal hormones over a 24-hour period, involving 214 healthy volunteers and ensuring minimal disruption to their daily lives.
  • The study revealed various fluctuations in adrenal steroids like cortisol and aldosterone, and established "dynamic markers" of normalcy based on sex, age, and BMI, which could help identify endocrine disorders.
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Purpose: Residual adrenocortical function, RAF, has recently been demonstrated in one-third of patients with autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD). Here, we set out to explore any influence of RAF on the levels of plasma metanephrines and any changes following stimulation with cosyntropin.

Methods: We included 50 patients with verified RAF and 20 patients without RAF who served as controls upon cosyntropin stimulation testing.

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Background: Autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD) is the most common cause of primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI). Despite its exceptionally high heritability, tools to estimate disease susceptibility in individual patients are lacking. We hypothesized that polygenic risk score (PRS) for AAD could help investigate PAI pathogenesis in pediatric patients.

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Objective: Autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD) entails a chronic adrenal insufficiency and is associated with an increased risk of severe infections. It is, however, unknown how patients with AAD were affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic of 2020-2021. This study was aimed at investigating the incidence of COVID-19 in patients with AAD in Sweden, the self-adjustment of medications during the disease, impact on social aspects, and treatment during hospitalization.

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Background: Undiagnosed congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) can cause adrenal incidentalomas, but the frequency is unclear.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of CAH in a population with adrenal incidentalomas and report the clinical characterization.

Material And Methods: This was a prospective study performed at a regional hospital from 2016 to 2021.

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Objective: Type 1 diabetes and Hashimoto's thyroiditis frequently cluster in individuals and in families, indicating shared origins. The objective of this study was to investigate familial co-aggregation of these diseases and to quantify shared genetic and environmental factors.

Design: This study is a twin cohort study.

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Long-term disturbances in cortisol levels might affect brain structure in individuals with autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD). This study investigated gray and white matter brain structure in a cohort of young adults with AAD. T1- and diffusion-weighted images were acquired for 52 individuals with AAD and 70 healthy controls, aged 19-43 years, using magnetic resonance imaging.

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Objectives: Sub-optimal replacement of glucocorticoids (GC) in autoimmune Addison's disease (AAD) may affect cognitive functioning. The present study therefore sought to investigate cognitive performance and self-reported problems with executive functions in a cohort of young adult patients with AAD.

Design And Methods: 67 patients with AAD (39 females), mean age 32 yrs.

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In the past decade, immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors has revolutionized the field of oncology. Checkpoint inhibitors have been approved for several types of cancer and thousands of patients in Sweden now receive oncological immunotherapy annually. Immune-related side effects are common and can occur in almost any organ.

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Objective: Rathke's cleft cysts are benign, embryological remnants in the pituitary gland. The majority of them are small and asymptomatic but a few may become large, and cause mass effects, pituitary hormone deficiencies and visual impairment. Recommendations for the follow-up of Rathke's cleft cysts vary since data on the natural history are sparse.

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Objectives: Evidence has accumulated that an autoimmune-mediated process in the central nervous system may underlie the development of schizophrenia. Various antibodies have also previously been detected in serum of patients with schizophrenia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze antibody reactivity against proteins, selected based on potential schizophrenia disease relevance, in both cerebrospinal fluid and serum of patients with schizophrenia.

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Purpose: Bilateral adrenalectomy (BA) still plays an important role in the management of Cushing's disease (CD). Nelson's syndrome (NS) is a severe complication of BA, but conflicting data on its prevalence and predicting factors have been reported. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of NS, and identify factors associated with its development.

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Purpose: The association between glucocorticoid replacement therapy for adrenal insufficiency (AI) and osteoporosis is unclear. Fracture is a major cause of morbidity in patients with osteoporosis. This study aims to determine if patients on glucocorticoid replacement therapy for AI have an increased rate of fractures compared to the general population.

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Adrenal insufficiency (AI) is a life-threatening condition requiring life-long glucocorticoid (GC) substitution therapy, as well as stress adaptation to prevent adrenal crises. The number of individuals with primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency in Europe is estimated to be 20-50/100.000.

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