Asymptomatic Empty Sella Syndrome: A "New" Hypothalamic Pathology or Paraphysiological Variant.

Introduction: The term empty sella refers to a shrunken or displaced (by a subarachnoid diverticulum) pituitary gland. It can be primary (genetically determined) or secondary (due to trauma/surgery/radiation). It has been reported that 50% of patients are asymptomatic, and others experience symptoms, such as headache, hypertension, or visual field defects.

Diabulimia and Type 1 Diabetes: An Unknown and Emerging Problem.

Background: T1DM patients have a higher prevalence of eating disorders than the general population, and up to 30-40% of young T1DM patients suffer from an eating disorder, including diabulimia. Eating disorders worsen glycemic control and make insulin therapy management more difficult. Closed loop systems (HCLS) allow major therapeutic flexibility; however, proper carbohydrate (CHO) counting remains a fundamental feature for insulin dose adjustments.

Vitamin D 25OH Deficiency and Mortality in Moderate to Severe COVID-19: A Multi-Center Prospective Observational Study.

Introduction: Several studies and meta-analyses suggested the role of vitamin D 25OH in preventing severe forms of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the evidence on the clinical benefits of vitamin D 25OH adequacy in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 remain conflicting and speculative. We aimed to investigate the association between vitamin D 25OH serum levels and mortality in hospitalized patients with moderate to severe COVID-19.

Nutraceuticals and Oral Supplements in Cancer Prevention: A Narrative Review.

Background: Epidemiological studies have shown that food is a compelling means of maintaining a state of well-being and preventing diseases. Many malignant diseases are related to nutrition, and the nutrient-organism interaction could define the balance between health and disease. Nutrients and dietary components influence epigenetic phenomena and modify drug response so that food-organism interactions may influence individual predisposition to disease and its potential therapeutic response.

Eating Disorders in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Perspective.

Background: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, current epidemiological conditions may exacerbate the risk of new-onset, recurrence and relapse of eating disorders. This perspective aims to better analyse the phenomenon.

Results: Some data suggest that new-onset and recurrence/relapse of eating disorders are increasing due to the pandemic.

Nutritional parameters associated with prognosis in non-critically ill hospitalized COVID-19 patients: The NUTRI-COVID19 study.

Background & Aims: To investigate the association between the parameters used in nutritional screening assessment (body mass index [BMI], unintentional weight loss [WL] and reduced food intake) and clinical outcomes in non-critically ill, hospitalized coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.

Methods: This was a prospective multicenter real-life study carried out during the first pandemic wave in 11 Italian Hospitals. In total, 1391 patients were included.

Functional characterization of wild-type and a mutated form of SLC26A4 identified in a patient with Pendred syndrome.

Background: Malfunction of the SLC26A4 protein leads to prelingual deafness often associated with mild thyroid dysfunction and goiter. It is assumed that SLC26A4 acts as a chloride/anion exchanger responsible for the iodide organification in the thyroid gland, and conditioning of the endolymphatic fluid in the inner ear.

Methods: Chloride uptake studies were made using HEK293-Phoenix cells expressing human wild type SLC26A4 (pendrin) and a mutant (SLC26A4(S28R)) we recently described in a patient with hypothyroidism, goiter and sensorineural hearing loss.

Highly sensitive serum thyroglobulin and circulating thyroglobulin mRNA evaluations in the management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer in apparent remission.

We studied the potential role of innovative diagnostic tools for the management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Several methods for the detection of the tumor marker thyroglobulin (Tg) have been employed in 36 patients in apparent remission at the moment of the study. All patients had negative anti-Tg antibodies and were evaluated during L-T(4) suppressive therapy before and after stimulation with recombinant human TSH (rhTSH).

Differential diagnosis between Pendred and pseudo-Pendred syndromes: clinical, radiologic, and molecular studies.

The disease gene for Pendred syndrome has been recently characterized and named PDS. It codes for a transmembrane protein called pendrin, which is highly expressed at the apical surface of the thyroid cell and functions as a transporter of chloride and iodide. Pendrin is also expressed at the inner ear level, where it appears to be involved in the maintenance of the endolymph homeostasis in the membranous labyrinth, and in the kidney, where it mediates chloride-formate exchange and bicarbonate secretion.