Publications by authors named "Irina Bancos"

Objective: To study pregnancy outcomes and complications in women with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH).

Methods: A retrospective multicenter study was conducted at tertiary reference centers in 5 countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, Sweden, USA), including 72 adult women with CAH (nonclassic [NC] n = 34, simple virilizing [SV] n = 21, salt wasting [SW] n = 17).

Results: A total of 133 pregnancies, 112 live births, and 25 abortions were documented.

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Context: Diagnosing adrenal insufficiency (AI) often requires complex testing which can be time consuming and expensive. Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) is a promising marker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function, however its diagnostic performance has not yet been evaluated in a large-scale study.

Objective: Evaluate the performance of DHEAS and baseline cortisol in assessing AI.

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Background And Purpose: Pituitary microadenomas can be challenging to see on MRI, particularly when they are small. The detection of microadenomas commonly relies on contrast-enhanced sequences, highlighting the adenoma that demonstrates hypoenhancement relative to the native pituitary on T1-weighted sequences. Detecting adenomas in patients with Cushing disease is crucial, as surgery is the standard of care treatment.

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Oncocytic adrenal neoplasms, defined by ≥90 % of oncocytic cells, are rare. The significance of oncocytic changes within an adrenal neoplasm remains unclear. A retrospective study of adults who underwent adrenalectomy at a large center identified pure oncocytic neoplasms on final pathology (1997-2022).

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Context: Guidelines suggest performing urine steroid profiling in patients with indeterminate adrenal tumors to make a noninvasive diagnosis of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). However, urine steroid profiling is not widely available.

Objective: To determine the accuracy of clinically available serum 11-deoxycortisol, 17OH-progesterone, and 17OH-pregnenolone in diagnosing ACC.

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Context: Data on giant pheochromocytomas (PHEO), defined based on size ≥ 10 cm, are scarce.

Objective: to compare presentation, management, and outcomes of patients with giant vs non-giant PHEOs.

Design: retrospective cohort study, 2000-2023.

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Objective: This white paper provides practical guidance for clinicians encountering bilateral adrenal masses.

Methods: A case-based approach to the evaluation and management of bilateral adrenal masses. Specific clinical scenarios presented here include cases of bilateral adrenal adenomas, hemorrhage, pheochromocytomas, metastatic disease, myelolipomas, as well as primary bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia.

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Article Synopsis
  • Mitotane is the only FDA-approved medicine for treating adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), a type of cancer.
  • It can be hard to give to patients and has some side effects, but doctors know how to manage them.
  • When used wisely, especially for patients with too many hormones, mitotane is very helpful in treating ACC.
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Introduction: Even with recent treatment advances, type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains poorly controlled for many patients, despite the best efforts to adhere to therapies and lifestyle modifications. Although estimates vary, studies indicate that in >10% of individuals with difficult-to-control T2D, hypercortisolism may be an underlying contributing cause. To better understand the prevalence of hypercortisolism and the impact of its treatment on T2D and associated comorbidities, we describe the two-part Hyper ortisolism in P ients with Difficult to Control Type 2 Di betes Despite Receiving Standard-of-Care Therapies: Preva ence and Treatment with Korl m (Mifepri one) (CATALYST) trial.

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Adrenal cysts are a rare benign adrenal pathology. Although the majority of adrenal cysts are asymptomatic, large cysts may present with debilitating symptoms of mass effect. Surgical adrenalectomy or cyst fenestration has been the primary mode of management for such symptomatic cysts, but these interventions can be associated with excessive morbidity, particularly when considered in the context of benign disease.

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Context: Mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS) is diagnosed based on post-dexamethasone cortisol>1.8 mcg/dL. Scarce evidence exists on steroid circadian secretion and steroid metabolome in MACS.

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Preclinical evidence demonstrates that senescent cells accumulate with aging and that senolytics delay multiple age-related morbidities, including bone loss. Thus, we conducted a phase 2 randomized controlled trial of intermittent administration of the senolytic combination dasatinib plus quercetin (D + Q) in postmenopausal women (n = 60 participants). The primary endpoint, percentage changes at 20 weeks in the bone resorption marker C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTx), did not differ between groups (median (interquartile range), D + Q -4.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study examines the link between clinical and imaging features with hormonal subtypes, growth, and surgical treatment of incidental adrenal cortical adenomas (ACAs) in a cohort of patients from 2000 to 2016.
  • Out of 1516 patients, various hormonal subtypes were identified, with factors like age, sex, and tumor size influencing these subtypes, while imaging measures like Hounsfield units (HU) were not significant predictors.
  • The findings indicate younger age, larger tumor size, and increased growth were associated with a higher likelihood of needing adrenalectomy, especially for patients with mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS) and nonfunctioning adenomas (NFAs).
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Context: Patients with nonfunctioning adenomas (NFAs), adenomas with mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS) and Cushing syndrome (CS) demonstrate an increased cardiovascular risk.

Objective: This work aimed to determine the extent of lipoprotein abnormalities in NFA, MACS, and CS.

Methods: We conducted a single-center, cross-sectional study of patients with NFA (n = 167), MACS (n = 213), CS (n = 142), and referent individuals (n = 202) between January 2015 and July 2022.

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Background: African Americans (AAs) face cardiovascular health (CVH) disparities linked to systemic racism. The 2020 police killing of Mr. George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated adverse psychosocial factors affecting CVH outcomes among AAs.

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Background: Adrenal insufficiency in patients with classic 21-hydroxylase deficiency congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is treated with glucocorticoid replacement therapy. Control of adrenal-derived androgen excess usually requires supraphysiologic glucocorticoid dosing, which predisposes patients to glucocorticoid-related complications. Crinecerfont, an oral corticotropin-releasing factor type 1 receptor antagonist, lowered androstenedione levels in phase 2 trials involving patients with CAH.

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Background And Objectives: To survey the applied definitions of 'cystic' among pituitary adenomas and evaluate whether postoperative outcomes differ relative to non-cystic counterparts.

Methods: A literature search and meta-analysis was performed using PRISMA guidelines. Studies were eligible if novel data were reported regarding the applied definition of 'cystic' and postoperative outcomes among cases of surgically treated pituitary adenomas.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Glucocorticoids are commonly used medications for inflammation and immune suppression, but over 1% of users may face a risk of adrenal insufficiency based on dosage, duration, and individual factors.
  • - Managing adrenal insufficiency can be complex, especially when trying to taper off glucocorticoids, as withdrawal symptoms can mimic those of adrenal insufficiency.
  • - A new joint guideline from the European Society of Endocrinology and Endocrine Society offers important recommendations for healthcare providers to effectively care for patients undergoing long-term glucocorticoid therapy.
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Article Synopsis
  • * The risk of developing this condition varies based on factors like dosage, duration, and individual responses, making patient education and management essential once adrenal insufficiency is suspected.
  • * Tapering glucocorticoids can be complicated by overlapping withdrawal symptoms; hence, guidelines suggest a faster taper from high doses followed by a slower reduction at lower, physiological levels.
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Objective: Nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs) present at a wide range of ages; it is possible that variable outcomes are based on patient age at presentation. This study aimed to explore long-term outcomes of patients with NFPAs following endonasal transsphenoidal surgery (ETS), considering age stratification.

Methods: This retrospective study included 228 patients with NFPAs who underwent ETS, with a median follow-up period of 63 months.

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The majority of incidentally discovered adrenal tumours are benign adrenocortical adenomas and the prevalence of adrenocortical adenomas is around 1-7% on cross-sectional abdominal imaging. These can be non-functioning adrenal tumours or they can be associated with autonomous cortisol secretion on a spectrum that ranges from rare clinically overt adrenal Cushing syndrome to the much more prevalent mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS) without signs of Cushing syndrome. MACS is diagnosed (based on an abnormal overnight dexamethasone suppression test) in 20-50% of patients with adrenal adenomas.

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Context: Patients with adrenal hormone excess demonstrate increased cardiovascular risk and mortality.

Objective: We aimed to determine the impact of adrenal disorders on the inflammation marker GlycA, total branched-chain amino acids (BCAA), ketone bodies and the gut microbiome-derived metabolites trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and betaine.

Methods: We conducted a single-center cross-sectional study of patients with nonfunctioning adenomas (NFA), mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS), primary aldosteronism (PA), Cushing syndrome (CS), pheochromocytoma/paragangliomas (PPGL), other benign or malignant adrenal masses, and adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) between January 2015 and July 2022 (n=802).

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Objective: To investigate the etiology, presentation, management, and outcomes of patients with adrenal hemorrhage (AH).

Patients And Methods: Longitudinal study of consecutive adult patients with radiologically confirmed AH (January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2021).

Results: Of the 363 patients with AH (median age, 62 years [interquartile range (IQR, 52-70 years]; 128 women [35%]), 338 (93%) had unilateral AH and 25 (7%) had bilateral AH.

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