Modern approach to bone comorbidity in prolactinoma.

Prolactinomas account for more than half of pituitary adenomas, and besides their clinical impact on fertility and gonadal function, they lead to detrimental effects on bone. Patients with prolactinoma are prone to deterioration of bone structure caused not only by prolactin (PRL) induced hypogonadism but also by its direct actions on bone cells and calcium metabolism. However, clinical studies have shown inconsistent evidence regarding whether PRL could have a deleterious effect independently from gonadal insufficiency on skeletal integrity.

Standards of care for medical management of acromegaly in pituitary tumor centers of excellence (PTCOE).

Purpose: A series of consensus guidelines on medical treatment of acromegaly have been produced in the last two decades. However, little information is available on their application in clinical practice. Furthermore, international standards of acromegaly care have not been published.

Clinical Pharmacology of Oral Octreotide Capsules for the Treatment of Acromegaly.

The primary goal of acromegaly treatment is to normalize biochemical parameters as it significantly reduces the risks of complications and comorbidities associated with the disease. First-line medical treatment is commonly represented by injectable somatostatin analogues (SRLs) after surgery. In June 2020, with the integration of Transient Permeation Enhancer® technology, oral octreotide capsules (OOCs) received regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for long-term maintenance treatment in patients with acromegaly who have responded to and tolerated treatment with octreotide or lanreotide.

High prevalence of morphometric vertebral fractures opportunistically detected on thoracic radiograms in patients with non-functioning pituitary adenoma.

Purpose: Vertebral fractures (VFs), the hallmark of skeletal fragility, have been reported as an emerging complication in patients with pituitary diseases associated with hormonal excess and/or deficiency, independently from bone mineral density. Non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA) is amongst the most frequent pituitary adenomas; however, skeletal health in this context has never been investigated. We aimed at assessing the prevalence and the determinants of morphometric VFs in patients with NFPA.

Pilot study to define criteria for Pituitary Tumors Centers of Excellence (PTCOE): results of an audit of leading international centers.

Purpose: The Pituitary Society established the concept and mostly qualitative parameters for defining uniform criteria for Pituitary Tumor Centers of Excellence (PTCOEs) based on expert consensus. Aim of the study was to validate those previously proposed criteria through collection and evaluation of self-reported activity of several internationally-recognized tertiary pituitary centers, thereby transforming the qualitative 2017 definition into a validated quantitative one, which could serve as the basis for future objective PTCOE accreditation.

Methods: An ad hoc prepared database was distributed to nine Pituitary Centers chosen by the Project Scientific Committee and comprising Centers of worldwide repute, which agreed to provide activity information derived from registries related to the years 2018-2020 and completing the database within 60 days.

The rate of force relaxation scaling factor is highly sensitive to detect upper and lower extremity motor deficiencies in mildly affected people with multiple sclerosis.

Background: The motor symptoms affecting upper and lower extremity functioning in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) are considered the cardinal symptoms of multiple sclerosis. There is still a need for outcome measures that can sensitively evaluate these symptoms. We aimed to investigate the sensitivity of the isometric outcomes (maximum force; Fmax, maximum rate of force development; RFDmax, rate of force development scaling factor; RFD-SF, and rate of force relaxation scaling factor; RFR-SF) and standard clinical tests (9-hole peg test; 9HPT and timed 25-feet walk test; T25FW) in detecting the upper and lower extremity motor deficiencies in PwMS and also in a subgroup of mildly affected PwMS whose performance in standard clinical tests were similar to controls.

Association of skin autofluorescence and carotid intima-media thickness in acromegaly patients.

Background: The Pituitary Tumors Centers of Excellence (PTCOE) concept was established to provide a multimodal approach with careful management of comorbidities. Acromegaly, one of the main concerns of PTCOE per se, leads to increased mortality rates of which cardiovascular disease is an important cause. Increased skin autofluorescence (SAF) was shown to be associated with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), a well-established marker of atherosclerosis, and consequently cardiovascular complications.

Subacute THYROiditis Related to SARS-CoV-2 VAccine and Covid-19 (THYROVAC Study): A Multicenter Nationwide Study.

Context: The aims of the study are to compare characteristics of subacute thyroiditis (SAT) related to different etiologies, and to identify predictors of recurrence of SAT and incident hypothyroidism.

Methods: This nationwide, multicenter, retrospective cohort study included 53 endocrinology centers in Turkey. The study participants were divided into either COVID-19-related SAT (Cov-SAT), SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-related SAT (Vac-SAT), or control SAT (Cont-SAT) groups.

New tools for bone health assessment in secreting pituitary adenomas.

Pituitary hormones regulate skeletal physiology, and excess levels affect bone remodeling and alter bone microstructure. Vertebral fractures (VFs) are an early phenomenon of impaired bone health in secreting pituitary adenomas. However, they are not accurately predicted by areal bone mineral density (BMD).

Low vitamin D levels predict outcomes of COVID-19 in patients with both severe and non-severe disease at hospitalization.

Purpose: Low vitamin D in COVID-19 have been related to worse outcomes. However, most of the studies conducted so far were not-controlled and retrospective, including biases potentially influencing this association. We evaluated 25(OH)vitamin D levels of patients with both severe and non-severe disease at hospital-admission, and in a cohort of control subjects.

Modern approach to resistant acromegaly.

Background: Targets of acromegaly treatment are normalization of biochemical values, removal/reduction/stabilization of the pituitary mass, control of clinical activity and mortality with a multimodal/multidisciplinary approach. Despite significant technological and pharmacological progress, still several patients with acromegaly bear a resistant somatotroph adenoma and active disease may persist for many years with resultant poor clinical outcomes.

Aim: To review briefly definition and pathophysiology of resistance to acromegaly treatment and the options of medical treatment in this context, exploring the role of novel clinical and molecular biomarkers in the personalization of therapy and proposing updates to the currently available guidelines for the treatment of resistant GH-secreting adenomas.

Obesity is associated with IL-6 gene polymorphisms rs1800795 and rs1800796 but not SOCS3 rs4969170.

Background: An imbalance of inflammatory factors can stimulate obesity by inducing chronic inflammation in adipose tissue. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a cytokine with both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory functions. Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) acts as an inhibitor for a number of cytokine signals.

Clinical Impact of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Analogs on the Complications of Obesity.

Background: Obesity is a chronic disease associated with increased morbidity and mortality due to its complications. The aims of obesity treatment are primarily to accomplish weight loss, and prevention or treatment of its complications. Lifestyle changes along with behavioral therapy constitute the first-line treatment of obesity followed by pharmacotherapy.

The impact of postexercise blood flow restriction on local muscle endurance of a remote limb.

Background: Studies have examined the influence of postexercise blood flow restriction as a mechanism to activate muscle afferents and assess nonlocal muscle fatigue. Although these studies have assessed fatigue during maximal contractions, less is known about how these afferents may impact submaximal local muscle endurance, which was the purpose of the present study.

Methods: Individuals completed two testing visits which involved completing a set of elbow flexion exercises to volitional failure on the nondominant followed by the dominant arm.

Isometric tests to evaluate upper and lower extremity functioning in people with multiple sclerosis: reliability and validity.

Background: Both upper and lower extremity motor symptoms are common in people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) and there is a need to develop objective, reliable, and valid outcome measures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and external validity of the standard and novel isometric tests in the assessment of neuromuscular functioning in both upper (grip force; GF) and lower (knee extensors; KE) extremities in PwMS.

Methods: Twenty-nine relapsing-remitting PwMS (Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS)<6) completed isometric and functional tests in upper (grip force) and lower (knee extension) extremity in two separate visits.

Low serm Fibroblast Growth Factor-21 levels is not associated with Carotid intima-media thickness in acromegaly patients.

Introduction: Elevated fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) levels are related to carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), a well-established marker of atherosclerosis. Acromegaly has also been linked to increased CIMT. There has been no data considering the association between FGF-21 levels and atherosclerosis in acromegaly patients.

Protodesilylation of Arylsilanes by Visible-Light Photocatalysis.

The first visible-light-mediated photocatalytic, metal- and base-free protodesilylation of arylsilanes is presented. The C(sp)-Si bond cleavage process is catalyzed by a 5 mol % loading of a commercially available acridinium salt upon blue-light irradiation. Two simple approaches have been identified employing either aerobic or hydrogen atom transfer cocatalytic conditions, which enable the efficient and selective desilylation of a broad variety of simple and complex arylsilanes under mild conditions.

The Effect of Increasing Blood Flow Restriction Pressure When the Contractions Are Already Occlusive.

Context: Blood flow restricted exercise involves the use of external pressure to enhance fatigue and augment exercise adaptations. The mechanisms by which blood flow restricted exercise limits muscular endurance are not well understood.

Objective: To determine how increasing blood flow restriction pressure impacts local muscular endurance, discomfort, and force steadiness when the contractions are already occlusive.

Acceptability and effectiveness of a novel cycling training on the parkinsonian motor and psychiatric symptoms in individuals with schizophrenia: A pilot study.

Background: Recent evidence suggests that high-speed, low-resistance stationary cycling training (termed as speedwork) alleviates motor symptoms in people with Parkinson's disease. Similar motor symptoms commonly exist in people with schizophrenia (Sz); however, they were neglected in the previous literature.

Objectives: Our objective was to evaluate if speedwork could also be used as a strategy to improve parkinsonian motor symptoms in Sz.

The relationship between changes in distal tibiofibular joint congruence and clinical and functional results in the short-term follow-up of patients operated on for ankle fracture.

Background: The effects of changes in distal tibiofibular joint (DTFJ) congruence on clinical and functional outcomes are unclear in patients operated on for ankle fractures. The present study aims to evaluate the relationship between changes in DTFJ congruence and clinical and functional outcomes in the short-term follow-up of the patients operated on for ankle fractures.

Methods: In this study, hospital records of patients who were operated on for ankle fractures were retrospectively analyzed.

The utility of serum tumor markers CEA and CA 15-3 for breast cancer prognosis and their association with clinicopathological parameters.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the association of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) levels with clinicopathological parameters in patients with breast cancer (BC) and their efficiency for the prediction of recurrence.

Methods: The records of 482 female patients with breast cancer diagnosis followed in Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology clinics of Kartal Dr. Lutfu Kirdar Education and Research Hospital were evaluated retrospectively.

Prevalence of vertebral fractures and serum sclerostin levels in acromegaly.

Objective: An increased prevalence of vertebral fractures (VFs) has been reported in previous studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between bone mineral density (BMD), bone turnover markers, serum sclerostin levels, and vertebral fractures (VFs) in acromegaly patients. We also evaluated the effects of gonadal status, disease activity, treatment modality, age, sex, and body mass index (BMI) on skeletal endpoints.