Somatostatin analogues do not affect calcium metabolism in patients with acromegaly and primary hyperparathyroidism [corrected] due to MEN 1-like syndrome.

Patients with clinical features of MEN 1 without mutations in the menin gene fulfill the criteria of MEN1-like syndrome. Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) is the most frequent clinical finding in both syndromes and is usually treated by surgery. However, PHP has been reported to respond to somatostatin analogues (SSA) in MEN 1 patients.

Quantitative assessment of abdominal aortic aneurysm geometry.

Recent studies have shown that the maximum transverse diameter of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and expansion rate are not entirely reliable indicators of rupture potential. We hypothesize that aneurysm morphology and wall thickness are more predictive of rupture risk and can be the deciding factors in the clinical management of the disease. A non-invasive, image-based evaluation of AAA shape was implemented on a retrospective study of 10 ruptured and 66 unruptured aneurysms.

Changes in coagulation indexes and occurrence of venous thromboembolism in patients with Cushing's syndrome: results from a prospective study before and after surgery.

Objectives: To evaluate whether patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS) had i) changes in coagulative and fibrinolytic parameters associated with CS activity and ii) higher prevalence of venous thromboembolic events (VTE).

Design: Prospective study conducted on patients with CS evaluated at diagnosis and 12 months after surgery.

Patients And Methods: Forty patients with active CS (36 with Cushing's disease (CD) and 4 with an adrenal adenoma) were evaluated.

Vitamin D status may contribute to serum insulin-like growth factor I concentrations in healthy subjects.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate whether vitamin D [25-(OH) D3] status affects serum IGFI concentrations in healthy subjects.

Design And Patients: Two hundred and forty-one consecutive healthy subjects were included in the present study.

Measurements: Serum IGF-I and 25-(OH) D3 concentrations.

Effect of rosiglitazone on serum IGF-I concentrations in uncontrolled acromegalic patients under conventional medical therapy: results from a pilot phase 2 study.

Objective: Current therapies for acromegaly are unsatisfactory for some patients. High-dose thiazolidinediones have been reported to reduce serum GH levels in animal models of acromegaly. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of increasing doses of rosiglitazone on serum GH and IGF-I concentrations in acromegalic patients.

Sonotubometry with perfect sequences: First results in pathological ears.

Conclusion: Sonotubometry with perfect sequences (PSEQ) was able to detect eustachian tube (ET) openings in both normal and pathological ears. Impaired ears showed ET openings in almost all cases; however, these proved to be not only less frequent, but also with lower amplitude and shorter duration.

Objectives: To investigate the function of impaired ET under physiological conditions, using a novel kind of sound stimulus for sonotubometry – the PSEQ.

Cellular response of Fusarium oxysporum to crocidolite asbestos as revealed by a combined proteomic approach.

Cellular mechanisms of asbestos toxicity rely, at least in part, on the chemical composition of these minerals. Iron ions are directly involved in the accepted mechanism of fiber toxicity because they constitute active centers where release of free radicals and reactive oxygen species takes place. Although no current technology is available for the remediation of asbestos polluted sites, the soil fungus Fusarium oxysporum was found to be very effective in iron extraction from crocidolite asbestos in vitro, and to cause a significant reduction in asbestos surface reactivity and oxidative damage to naked DNA.

Approach to the patient with amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis.

Amiodarone, a benzofuranic iodine-rich antiarrhythmic drug, causes thyroid dysfunction in 15-20% of cases. Although amiodarone-induced hypothyroidism poses no particular problem, amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT) is a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. There are two main forms of AIT: type 1, a form of iodine-induced hyperthyroidism, and type 2, a drug-induced destructive thyroiditis.

FGFR3 mutation affects cell growth, apoptosis and attachment in keratinocytes.

FGFR3 mutations have recently been identified in several benign epidermal skin lesions such as seborrheic keratosis, epidermal nevus and solar lentigo. The functional consequences of these mutations in human skin are as yet unknown. In this study we analyzed the functional effects of the most common FGFR3 mutation in benign skin tumors, the R248C FGFR3 hotspot mutation, in human HaCaT keratinocytes.

Analysis of voice in patients with untreated active acromegaly.

Background: Voice changes are common clinical findings of acromegaly, although scanty data are available so far.

Objective: To analyze features and quantify changes of voice in patients with untreated active acromegaly.

Design And Methods: This was a pilot case-control study.

Effects of somatostatin analogues on acromegalic cardiomyopathy: results from a prospective study using cardiac magnetic resonance.

Objective: Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy is the main finding of patients with active acromegaly at cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). The aim of the study was to evaluate heart changes in acromegalic patients treated with somatostatin analogues (SMSA) using CMR.

Design And Patients: This was a prospective study.

Short- and long-term changes of quality of life in patients with acromegaly: results from a prospective study.

Quality of life (QoL) may be affected in acromegalic patients, although the role of disease activity is still unsettled. The aim of the study was to assess the QoL of acromegalic patients with a specific questionnaire (ACROQOL). ACROQOL was evaluated in a prospective study (at baseline, at 6 and 24 months) in 23 active untreated acromegalic patients.

Comparison of colonoscopy and fecal occult blood testing as a first-line screening of colonic lesions in patients with newly diagnosed acromegaly.

Content: Patients with acromegaly have frequently colonic neoplasms; however, how acromegalic patients should be screened for colonic lesions is still unsettled.

Aims: To compare fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) and colonoscopy in the screening program of patients with acromegaly.

Design: Colonoscopy and FOBT were performed at the first diagnosis of acromegaly.

Tinnitus sensation pre and post nutritional intervention in metabolic disorders.

Background: Different etiologies are related to tinnitus including metabolic disorders (blood glucose and lipids).

Aim: The aim of this study was compare tinnitus severity by self-report measures pre and post nutritional intervention, using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory.

Method: Participants of this study were twenty one male and female subjects, with ages ranging from 40 to 82 years.

Plasma non-cholesterol sterols: a useful diagnostic tool in pediatric hypercholesterolemia.

Current guidelines strongly recommend the identification of genetic forms of hypercholesterolemia (HC) during childhood.The usefulness of non-cholesterol sterols (NCS) in the diagnosis of genetic HC has not been fully explored. Plasma NCS were measured by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in 113 children with hypercholesterolemia affected by: autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia (ADH), familial combined hyperlipidemia(FCHL), polygenic hypercholesterolemia (PHC), and in 79 controls to evaluate: i) plasma NCS profile in different genetic HC and ii) the usefulness of NCS for the diagnosis of HC beyond current clinical criteria.

Impact of lithium on efficacy of radioactive iodine therapy for Graves' disease: a cohort study on cure rate, time to cure, and frequency of increased serum thyroxine after antithyroid drug withdrawal.

Context: Radioactive iodine (RAI) is a common therapy for hyperthyroidism due to Graves' disease. A small but significant proportion of patients have recurrence of hyperthyroidism after RAI therapy. Lithium might increase RAI effectiveness by increasing RAI retention in the thyroid.