Theodora Pappa, Labrini Papanastasiou, Athina Markou, Ioannis Androulakis, George Kontogeorgos, Andreas Seretis, George Piaditis
Journal Articles
Thyrotoxic hypokalemic periodic paralysis in a Turkish patient presenting with a U wave on ECG
Emre Gezer, Banu Şarer Yurekli, Gokçen Unal Kocabas
Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HPP) is a rare neuromuscular disorder caused by dysfunction of the ion channels in red muscle cells and which is characterized by painless episodes of muscle weakness generally after strenuous exertion or a high-carbohydrate meal …
Hypoglycaemia: Possible mediation by chromium salt medication
Shabana Valiji Bharmal, Veronica Moyes, Sahid Ahmed, Ashley Grossman
Drugs are the commonest cause of hypoglycaemia in patients without diabetes mellitus. However, in spite of this, a recent review highlighted the poor quality of evidence available supporting the association between numerous drugs and hypoglycaemia …
Association between TPO Asn698Thr and Thr725Pro gene polymorphisms and serum anti-TPO levels in Iranian patients with subclinical hypothyroidism
Amirhosein Khoshi, Alireza Sirghani, Mehran Ghazisaeedi, Ali Zarei Mahmudabadi, Amir Azimian
OBJECTIVE: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is defined as high levels of TSH in the presence of normal levels of serum FT4. Since thyroid peroxidase (TPO) plays a key role in thyroid hormone synthesis, variations in the TPO gene can change the enzyme structure and result in the production of anti-TPO antibodies. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the Asn698Thr (A2095C) and Thr725Pro (A2173C) polymorphisms of the TPO gene and anti-TPO levels in patients with SCH …
The history of the parathyroid glands
Ilias-Dimitrios Kafetzis, Antonis Diamantopoulos, Ioannis Christakis, Basileios Leoutsakos
Greep in 1963 as well as Pang and Epple in 1980 advanced the view that the parathyroids originally appeared 100 million years ago, in the context of the evolutionary development of amphibians. This coincided with the transition of life from the calcium-rich marine environment to the terrestrial or the aquatic environments …
Effects of a hops (Humulus lupulus L.) dry extract supplement on self-reported depression, anxiety and stress levels in apparently healthy young adults: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover pilot study
Ioannis Kyrou, Aimilia Christou, Demosthenes Panagiotakos, Charikleia Stefanaki, Katerina Skenderi, Konstantina Katsana, Constantine Tsigos
OBJECTIVE: The Humulus lupulus L. plant (hops) is used as a herbal medicinal product for anxiety/mood disorders. Our aim was to study the effects of a hops dry extract on self-reported depression, anxiety and stress levels in young adults. DESIGN: Apparently healthy young adults from our university completed the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and those reporting at least mild depression …
Parathyroid carcinoma in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1. Case report and review of the literature
Carlos del Pozo, Luis García-Pascual, Montserrat Balsells, María-José Barahona, Enrique Veloso, Clarisa González, Jordi Anglada-Barceló
Parathyroid carcinoma is an infrequent cause of primary hyperparathyroidism. Although hyperparathyroidism in multiple endocrine neoplasia 1 (MEN1) syndrome is the most common manifestation, parathyroid carcinoma is rare. We report a male patient who was diagnosed at 44 years of age with parathyroid carcinoma in the context of MEN1 syndrome coincident …
Pegvisomant-primed growth hormone (GH) stimulation test is useful in identifying true GH deficient children
Giorgio Radetti, Heba H. Elsedfy, Randa Khalaf, Cristina Meazza, Sara Pagani, Mohamed El Kholy, Riccardo Albertini, Anna Maria De Stefano, Antonella Navarra, Annalisa De Silvestri, Mauro Bozzola
OBJECTIVE: Provocative stimulation tests for growth hormone (GH) assessment have poor reproducibility and can often elicit false positive results in normal children. The aim of our study was to confirm the capability of pegvisomant as an enhancer of GH secretion in unmasking false-positive results in short children (height <-2.0 standard deviation score, SDS) undergoing GH testing ...
Letter to the Editor
Andres A. Roma
It was with great interest that we read the paper titled Adrenal cortical oncocytoma mimicking pheochromocytoma by Kiriakopoulos A. et al published in the first issue of 2011 of the Journal. A few months later, we were puzzled by a very similar case …
Medullary thyroid cancer, leukemia, mesothelioma and meningioma associated with germline APC and RASAL1 variants: a new syndrome?
Anna Angelousi, Nikolaos Settas, Fabio R. Faucz, Charalampos Lyssikatos, Martha Quezado, Narjes Nasiri-Ansari, Constantine A. Stratakis, Eva Kassi
Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a neuroendocrine tumor hereditary in 35% of cases. The most common syndromic form is in the context of the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2) syndromes in association with other tumors and due to germline RET mutations. We describe a 57-year-old female patient diagnosed with sporadic MTC …
Use of the FRAX calculator with and without bone mineral density in Greek women
Ioannis Ilias, Filio Spanoudi, Eftychia Koukkou, Stamatina C. Nikopoulou
The creators of the FRAX fracture risk calculator for countries with no national reference values (such as Greece) suggest the use of FRAX from a neighboring country. For Greeks (considered to run a high risk for osteoporotic fractures) …
More on the management of lateral neck ectopic thyroid tissue
Rafael Denadai, Luίs Ricardo Martinhão Souto
We read with interest the review article by Ibrahim and Fadeyibi and have the following comments regarding the evaluation of lesions in ectopic thyroid. Although the authors point out that fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is important when malignancy is suspected …
45,X/46,XY mosaicism: a cause of short stature in males
Alexandra Efthymiadou, Eunice G. Stefanou, Dionisios Chrysis
45,X/46,XY mosaicism is associated with a broad spectrum of phenotypes ranging from apparently normal male development to individuals with incomplete sexual differentiation and clinical signs of Turner syndrome in both males and females. The most common presentation among individuals …
Highlights from the history of hormonal cytology
Aristidis Diamantis, George Androutsos
In 1847 Felix-Archimede Pouchet effectively launched the study of the physiology of cytology. Now 160 years later, the authors briefly trace the development of hormonal cytology to our present knowledge and practice. In the course of the paper the contribution of George Papanicolaou is stressed because of his monumental contribution to a major segment of medical practice of great emotive import …
A prismatic case: A 31-year old man who did not miss his pituitary
Stefanie Petzold, Alexandra Keller, Eberhardt Keller, Christof Meigen, Wolfgang Hirsch, Jürgen Kratzsch, Wieland Kiess, Roland Pfäffle
Combined pituitary hormone deficiency (CPHD) is a rare disorder resulting from impaired production of several pituitary hormones. This report describes the 30-year history of a patient who has apparently lived without a pituitary …
Metastatic bronchial neuroendocrine tumor to the pineal gland: A unique manifestation of a rare disease
Simona Grozinsky-Glasberg, Susana Fichman, Ilan Shimon
Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumor (NET) to the pineal gland is a unique manifestation previously unreported in the literature. We describe an unusual case of metastatic bronchial NET to the pineal gland in a 71-year-old male patient. His primary NET had been resected six years previously and there was no indication of the presence of disseminated metastatic disease at that time …
Oskar Minkowski (1858-1931). An outstanding master of diabetes research
Victor Jörgens
Oskar Minkowski, a physician of many talents, was an outstanding clinical scientist, a brilliant experimental investigator and a prolific medical writer. His name is connected with highly important clinical studies and experimental probes, all of which significantly contributed to our understanding of the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus after removal of the pancreas (experimental pancreatectomy).
Craniopharyngiomas. Historical aspects of their management
Eleanor Roderick, Niki Karavitaki, John AH Wass
The history of the management of craniopharyngiomas offers a comprehensive review of the exciting progress in neurosurgery, neuroimaging, neuroendocrinology and radiation oncology during the last century. In this historical note, we present the evolution in management of these most challenging of brain tumours, which, despite the substantial knowledge and expertise gained since the first attempt of surgical removal, remains a subject of considerable debate…
When genotype prevails: sexual female-to-male transformation in Classical Antiquity, recorded by Gaius Plinius Secundus and Phlegon
Anastasia K. Armeni, Vasiliki Vasileiou, Neoklis A. Georgopoulos
Cases of sexual reassignment in classical antiquity, namely a female-to-male gender change occurring after childhood, are described in the literature. Textual evidence concerning these cases of androgynism and their symbolism as well as a comprehensive scholar analysis is provided in the present study …
Apollinaire Bouchardat (1806-1886): founder of modern Diabetology
Marianna Karamanou, Michael Koutsilieris, Konstantinos Laios, Filio Marineli, George Androutsos
Apollinaire Bouchardat is regarded as the founder of the field of Diabetology. His contributions to the field include the first known recommendations for specific diets for the management of Diabetes Mellitus and his emphasis on patient education and self-monitoring. He was moreover a great pharmacist as well as a distinguished physician and biochemist …
Cognitive function in Hashimoto’s thyroiditis under levothyroxine treatment
Vaitsa Giannouli, Konstantinos A. Toulis, Nikolaos Syrmos
ΟBJECTIVE: Although overt hypothyroidism has been documented as exerting detrimental effects on cognition and behavior, it remains controversial whether subclinical hypothyroidism or euthyroid patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) under levothyroxine (LT4) treatment …
Βones, stones and androgen deprivation therapy
Miguel Ángel Arrabal-Polo, María del Carmen Cano-García, Miguel Arrabal-Martín
It is well known that patients with recurrent calcium nephrolithiasis present bone mineral density loss manifesting as osteopenia or osteoporosis in the lumbar spine and/or hip. Moreover, it has been observed that in patients with calcium stones and idiopathic hypercalciuria …
A complicated case of primary hypophysitis with bilateral intracavernous carotid artery occlusion
Pinelopi Katsiveli, Maria Sfakiotaki, Nikolaos Voulgaris, Labrini Papanastasiou, Theodora Kounadi, Konstantinos Lymperopoulos, George Piaditis
Primary hypophysitis (PH) is a rare clinical entity characterized by inflammatory infiltration of the pituitary gland with various degrees of pituitary dysfunction. OBJECTIVE: To present a complicated case of aggressive PH with bilateral cavernous sinuses infiltration, successfully treated with azathioprine after failure of corticosteroid treatment. METHODS AND RESULTS: A 48-year-old woman presented with episodes of recurrent headache …
Sarcopenia: From definition to treatment
Yannis Dionyssiotis, Athina Kapsokoulou, Eleni Samlidi, Antonios G. Angoules, Jannis Papathanasiou, Efstathios Chronopoulos, Ifigenia Kostoglou-Athanassiou, Georgios Trovas
Over the last few decades, worldwide average life expectancy has grown significantly and therefore the percentage of the elderly has correspondingly increased. As a result, clinical medicine has focused much interest on the latter age group and their health problems. During the 20th century, the typical elderly patient was a person with an acute or chronic disease …
More on the acute transient thyroid swelling following needle biopsy
Konstantinos Ziambaras
In response to the very interesting article that was published in Hormones 2012, 11(2): 147-150 “Acute transient thyroid swelling following needle biopsy: An update”, I would like to share our experiences regarding this phenomenon …