Publications by authors named "Julie L Sharpless"

Purpose: To assess long-term quality of life (QoL) in patients with sustained biochemical control of acromegaly, comparing those receiving vs not receiving pharmacotherapy (primary analysis); to assess change in QoL over time (secondary analysis).

Methods: Cross-sectional study, with a secondary longitudinal component, of 58 patients with biochemically controlled acromegaly. All had participated in studies assessing QoL years previously, after having undergone surgery ± radiotherapy.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: Acromegaly is associated with impaired quality of life (QoL). We investigated the effects of biochemical control of acromegaly by growth hormone receptor antagonism vs somatostatin analog therapy on QoL.

Design: Cross-sectional.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Context: Exogenous testosterone administration may affect blood clotting, polycythaemia, and may increase atherosclerosis, though any association with cardiovascular events is unclear. While the literature is inconclusive, some studies have suggested testosterone use may increase short-term risk of cardiovascular events and stroke, and injection testosterone may convey higher risks than other dosage forms.

Objective: We sought to evaluate the short-term cardiovascular risk of receiving injection testosterone.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

A 33-year-old male with a history of left testis Leydig cell tumor (LCT), 3-month status after left radical orchiectomy, presented with a rapidly enlarging (0.6 cm to 3.7 cm) right testicular mass.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Importance: Increases in testosterone use and mixed reports of adverse events have raised concerns about the cardiovascular safety of testosterone. Testosterone is available in several delivery mechanisms with varying pharmacokinetics; injections cause spikes in testosterone levels, and transdermal patches and gels cause more subtle but sustained increases. The comparative cardiovascular safety of gels, injections, and patches has not been studied.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Context: New formulations, increased marketing, and wider recognition of declining testosterone levels in older age may have contributed to wider testosterone testing and supplementation in many countries.

Objective: Our objective was to describe testosterone testing and testosterone treatment in men in the United Kingdom and United States.

Design: This was a retrospective incident user cohort.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Macroprolactin is a large, heterogeneous form of prolactin with limited bioavailability. Detection of macroprolactin by different immunoassays varies widely. The objectives of this study were to determine the immunoreactivity of macroprolactin by the Ortho Clinical Diagnostics Vitros((R)) ECi prolactin immunoassay, establish the most effective method for interpreting the prolactin concentration after PEG-precipitation, and correlate the clinical features of hyperprolactinemia with the presence of macroprolactin.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: With the advent of minimally invasive endoscopic pituitary surgery, there has been concern that the technique may be associated with higher rates of complications such as diabetes insipidus (DI) than traditional approaches, particularly early in a center's experience. We report the incidence and predictors of diabetes insipidus in patients after endoscopic transnasal resection (minimally invasive pituitary surgery) of pituitary lesions.

Methods: Data were collected from hospital and clinic records on the first 119 consecutive patients undergoing endoscopic pituitary surgery at our center.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Unlabelled: Studies of the effects of gonadal steroid negative feedback and age on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in postmenopausal women (PMW) have identified significant but inconsistent changes in gonadotropin dynamics. In the current study, we investigated the effect of gonadal steroid replacement and age on overall GnRH secretion estimated by using submaximal GnRH receptor blockade. Twenty-four healthy PMW, 45-55 yr (n = 13) and 70-80 yr (n = 11), were studied.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF