Body composition and bone mineral density in women with Cushing's syndrome in remission and the association with common genetic variants influencing glucocorticoid sensitivity.

Objective: Adverse body compositional features and low bone mineral density (BMD) are the characteristic of patients with active Cushing's syndrome (CS). The aim of this study was to evaluate body composition and BMD in women with CS in long-term remission and the influence of polymorphisms in genes affecting glucocorticoid (GC) sensitivity on these end-points.

Design, Patients And Methods: This was a cross-sectional, case-controlled study, including 50 women previously treated for CS and 50 age and gender-matched controls.

Adrenal lesion frequency: A prospective, cross-sectional CT study in a defined region, including systematic re-evaluation.

Background: incidentally detected adrenal lesions have become a growing clinical problem.

Purpose: to prospectively estimate and validate the prevalence of incidentally detected adrenal lesions (adrenal incidentaloma) in patients with or without malignant disease undergoing CT.

Material And Methods: during 18 months all adult patients with incidentally discovered adrenal lesions detected at CT were prospectively reported from the radiology departments of all hospitals in Western Sweden (1.

[New service for laboratory investigation of problematic cases. Four patients illustrate the value of EQUALIS].

In 1996, the Endocrinology Group in EQUALIS, in collaboration with The Thyroid Unit at The Section of Endocrinology at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, introduced a "patient-related" quality assurance program. Serum samples from patients with established or suspected thyroid disorder and/or results from thyroid-related biochemical measurements which were at variance with the clinical presentation, were analyzed by the participants of an external quality assurance program in endocrinology. The results from this program were informative as regards capacity, in the individual laboratories, for the evaluation of analytical and/or biological factors causing unexpected results from the measurement of thyroid-related serum components.

High sustained response rate in patients with histologically mild (low grade and stage) chronic hepatitis C infection. A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial of interferon alpha-2b with and without ribavirin.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of therapy for patients with histologically mild hepatitis C virus (HCV) liver disease.

Design: A randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial of interferon alpha-2b with or without ribavirin.

Setting: Regional and university hospitals.

Long term experience after subtotal adrenalectomy for multiple endocrine neoplasia type IIa.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term results after subtotal adrenalectomy in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type IIa (MEN IIa).

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: University Hospital, Sweden.