Clinical endocrinology
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Clinical endocrinology · Oct 2008
Serum testosterone and bioavailable testosterone correlate with age and body size in hypogonadal men treated with testosterone undecanoate (1000 mg IM--Nebido).
To investigate the loading regimen for intramuscular (IM) testosterone undecanoate (Nebido) to determine whether testosterone and bioavailable testosterone levels achieved correlate with age or body size of subjects studied. ⋯ This starting regimen is simple and provides the majority of men with a TT within the reference range. Age and baseline TT are independent variables of the increase in TT with IM testosterone undecanoate. At week 18 age and body size correlated with the cBioT and TT and this may then be used to estimate dosing frequency for this therapy.
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Clinical endocrinology · Oct 2008
Long-term basal and dynamic evaluation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in acromegalic patients.
Long-term effects of trans-naso-sphenoidal surgery (TNS) or long-acting somatostatin analogs (SSA) on the function of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have been poorly investigated. Aim of this study was to evaluate HPA axis integrity during the follow-up in patients with GH-secreting pituitary adenomas and preserved HPA function post-TNS or prior SSA. ⋯ The HPA axis function must be carefully monitored over the time by dynamic testing in all acromegalic patients, independently from the type of treatment.
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Clinical endocrinology · Oct 2008
Thyroglobulin measurement before rhTSH-aided 131I ablation in detecting metastases from differentiated thyroid carcinoma.
Thyroidectomy followed by administration of large activities of 131-iodine ((131)I) is the treatment of choice for differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC). The serum thyroglobulin (Tg) measurement during hypothyroidism (offT4-Tg), just before radioiodine thyroid ablation, has proved to be effective for predicting persistent/recurrent disease. However, the Tg measurement cannot be used as a corresponding value for pre-ablative offT4-Tg when recombinant human TSH (rhTSH) is used as stimulus before treatment. The present study was undertaken to evaluate if post-thyroidectomy Tg values, measured before rhTSH-stimulated radioiodine ablation is of prognostic value in patients affected by DTC. ⋯ Based on our data we conclude that pre-ablative onT4-Tg is a prognostic marker and should be used instead of pre-ablative TSH-stimulated Tg measurement when rhTSH-aided radioiodine ablation is done.