How do the home food environment, parenting practices, health beliefs, and screen time affect the weight status of European children? The Feel4Diabetes Study.

Background: Childhood obesity remains one of the most significant challenges in public health globally.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the association between home food availability, parenting practices, health beliefs, screen time, and childhood overweight/obesity.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of 12 041 parent-child dyads from six European countries.

ARE THERE RELIABLE PREDICTORS FOR THE IMPAIRED QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH CUSHING'S SYNDROME?

Context: Patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS) of any etiology experience a number of physical and psychological symptoms which impact negatively on health-related quality of life (HRQoL).

Subjects And Methods: HRQoL was measured using CushingQoL questionnaire.

Results: The first part of our study was a cross-sectional analysis of 141 patients with CS over a 10-year period.

Thyroglossal duct cyst carcinoma.

Not required for Clinical Vignette.

European postgraduate curriculum in geriatric medicine developed using an international modified Delphi technique.

Background: the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS-GMS) recommendations for training in Geriatric Medicine were published in 1993. The practice of Geriatric Medicine has developed considerably since then and it has therefore become necessary to update these recommendations.

Methods: under the auspices of the UEMS-GMS, the European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS) and the European Academy of Medicine of Ageing (EAMA), a group of experts, representing all member states of the respective bodies developed a new framework for education and training of specialists in Geriatric Medicine using a modified Delphi technique.

Macroprolactinemia in patients with prolactinomas: prevalence and clinical significance.

Background: Data on the prevalence of macroprolactinemia in patients with prolactinomas is quite limited as the presence of high-molecular prolactin forms is suspected mainly in subjects with mild hyperprolactinemia and negative pituitary imaging.

Objective: The main objective of this observational case-control study was to assess the prevalence and clinical significance of macroprolactinemia among patients with prolactinomas.

Methods: The study population consisted of 239 subjects: 131 prolactinoma patients and 108 sex-, age- and ethnicity- matched healthy controls.

Macroprolactinemia in a patient with invasive macroprolactinoma: a case report and minireview.

Background. Macroprolactin, the high-molecular prolactin isoform, is considered to be an inactive in vivo product with extrapituitary origin. Patients with macroprolactinemia are usually asymptomatic, with negative pituitary imaging.

Influence of ageing and some lifestyle factors on male gonadal function: a study in Bulgaria.

There are few systematic studies on the relationship between blood testosterone concentrations and the symptoms of androgen deficiency in ageing males. To assess the changes in sex hormone levels with age in relation with some lifestyle factors, the serum levels of total testosterone (TT), sex-hormone binding globulin (SHBG), luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) were measured in 33 men, age range 40-89 years. In addition, free testosterone (FT) and the free androgen index (FAI) were calculated.

Inhibin B is a better marker of spermatogenesis than other hormones in the evaluation of male factor infertility.

Objective: To assess the role of inhibin B in the evaluation of male factor infertility.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: Reproductive endocrinology clinic.

Circadian blood pressure profile in patients with Cushing's syndrome before and after treatment.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the circadian blood pressure (BP) profiles in patients with two forms of Cushing's syndrome, and to compare them to those in patients with essential hypertension. The study included 100 patients with Cushing's syndrome (80 with pituitary adenomas and 20 with adrenal adenomas) and 40 with essential hypertension. Twenty-four-h ambulatory BP monitoring was performed before and after therapy.

Markers of vascular function in hypertension due to Cushing's syndrome.

Background: There are limited data regarding the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in arterial hypertension. The aim of the study was to determine some markers of vascular function, including VEGF, active renin and prostaglandin E (2) (PGE (2)) in patients with endocrine hypertension resulting from Cushing's syndrome.

Material And Methods: The study comprised 32 patients with active Cushing's syndrome, 22 patients with essential hypertension, and 24 healthy volunteers.

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and active renin in menopausal women treated with amlodipine and hormone replacement therapy.

The aim of this study was to follow up the effect of an 8-week treatment with amlodipine given alone or in combination with hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on blood pressure and active renin in postmenopausal women with mild to moderate arterial hypertension using both conventional clinical blood pressure measurements and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Twenty-nine hypertensive menopausal women were divided randomly into two groups according to the treatment regimens: amlodipine and amlodipine plus HRT. The combination with HRT led to normalization of 24-h and daytime systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

Role of 24-hour monitoring in assessing blood pressure changes in polycystic ovary syndrome.

Introduction: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases including higher incidence of hypertension later in life. Absence of circadian blood pressure fluctuations is considered as a marker of pre-hypertensive state and correlates highly with target organ damage in hypertension.

Aim: Characterization of the circadian blood pressure rhythms as well as comparison of the results from the clinical measurements and Holter-monitored blood pressure data in women with PCOS.

Metabolic disturbances in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

The AIM of the study was to characterize the metabolic syndrome in lean and overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). The study included 142 premenopausal women distributed into 2 subgroups according to the body mass index: Group 1 with normal weight (n = 39) and Group 2 with overweight (n = 103). The following parameters were measured: basal and oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT)-induced glucose, insulin and triglycerides (TG1), glycated hemoglobin, total, HDL- and LDL-cholesterol; HOMA index and 2 indices of atherogenic risk (total/HDL-cholesterol and atherogenic index) were calculated.

Circulating vascular endothelial growth factor and active renin concentrations and prostaglandin E2 urinary excretion in patients with adrenal tumours.

Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) and active renin levels in patients with hormonally active adrenal tumours.

Design: The study was comprised of 16 patients with primary aldosteronism, 13 patients with active Cushing's syndrome due to adrenal adenomas, 8 patients with adrenal carcinomas, 19 patients with phaeochromocytoma and 19 healthy volunteers.

Methods: Active renin in plasma was determined by a two-site immunoradiometric assay.

Effect of amlodipine and hormone replacement therapy on blood pressure and bone markers in menopause.

The aim of this study was to observe the effect of an 8-week treatment with amlodipine, alone or in combination with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), on blood pressure (BP), serum osteocalcin, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (B-ALP) and urine deoxypiridinoline in postmenopausal osteoporotic women with mild-to-moderate arterial hypertension. Both conventional clinical BP measurements and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) were used. Twenty hypertensive menopausal women with osteoporosis were randomly divided in two groups according to the treatment regimens: amlodipine and amlodipine + HRT.

Effect of different hormone replacement therapy regimens on circadian blood pressure profile and active renin in postmenopausal women.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was considered as main prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in postmenopausal women. Mechanisms of vasoprotective effect of this treatment are complex. However, recent data give rise to some uncertainties about HRT benefits and risks.

Increased plasma endothelin levels in patients with male hypogonadism.

Endothelin has various paracrine and endocrine effects on the male reproductive system. Testosterone is probably responsible for the higher endothelin levels in males. In addition, there is much ambiguity about the relationship between gonadotrophic hormones and endothelin.

Effect of short-term losartan treatment in patients with primary aldosteronism and essential hypertension.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of short-term treatment with losartan, a selective and competitive angiotensin II (AngII) receptor blocker, on vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), active renin and kallikrein activity (KA) in patients with essential hypertension and primary aldosteronism. Nine patients with primary aldosteronism (5 with Conn adenoma and 4 with idiopathic hyperaldosteronism) and 9 patients with essential hypertension were included in the study. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased significantly after losartan treatment in both patient groups.

Sex differences and similarities of hormonal alterations in patients with anorexia nervosa.

The aim of the present study was to gain better insight into hormonal disturbances in male patients with anorexia nervosa. It included six men with anorexia nervosa aged 13-26 years, with a mean body weight of 42.83 +/- 8.

Trandolapril in Cushing's disease: short-term trandolapril treatment in patients with Cushing's disease and essential hypertension.

A study was performed on seven patients with Cushing's disease and seven age and sex matched patients with essential hypertension. The patients maintained their usual diet and sodium intake and received the ACE inhibitor trandolapril at a dose of 2 mg daily for 8 days. Trandolapril treatment resulted in an increase in the active renin and decrease in the urinary kallikrein activity in both study groups.

Prevalence of goitre in the southern mountainous regions of Bulgaria, 1986-1989.

Iodine supplementation programmes began in designated high risk mountainous districts in Bulgaria in 1958. The prevalence of goitre fell. But the programmes became less effective and by the mid 1980s there were strong indications that goitre was resurgent.

Factors related to sex hormone binding globulin concentrations in women with anorexia nervosa.

The published reports concerning serum levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) in women with anorexia nervosa are few in number and controversial. Indeed, very little is known of the factors influencing SHBG concentrations in these patients. In an attempt to clarify this problem we evaluated serum levels of SHBG, estradiol, testosterone, luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, triiodothyronine, thyroxine, their free fractions and insulin in 19 women with anorexia nervosa.

Effects of a single dose and short-term captopril treatment on some pressor and depressor humoral factors in healthy subjects.

14 healthy subjects (8 males and 6 females), aged 25-40 years, were studied before and after oral administration of a single dose of 50 mg captopril as well as after 3 d treatment with 100 mg captopril daily per os. We found that in addition to the well-known effects on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, captopril, after 3 d treatment, significantly increases plasma and urinary kallikrein activity, plasma vasopressin and urinary prostaglandin (PG) E2. Atrial natriuretic peptide did not change significantly after either the single dose or the short-term treatment.