EUROPEAN ENDOCRINOLOGY – VOLUME 11 ISSUE 2 – AUTUMN 2015

Welcome to the latest edition of European Endocrinology, which features a wide range of topical articles covering several areas of endocrinology that have relevance to the wider biomedical community. This issue begins with an interview with Bernard Zinman, who discussed the forthcoming International World Diabetes Congress 2015. This issue also features a critical evaluation of […]

Bernard Zinman, Programme Committee Chair of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) World Diabetes Congress 2015, talks about the scientific programme highlights, the experience of attending the Congress and his involvement in diabetes care and research. Bernard Zinman is Director of the Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes and holds the Sam and Judy Pencer Family Chair […]

The global incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is rapidly increasing. In 2014, 387 million people were living with diabetes representing one in 12 of the population and this number is estimated to increase by 205 million by 2035. There were 4.9 million deaths of people living with diabetes in 2014 equivalent to one person dying […]

In type 2 diabetes (T2D), the addition of basal insulin is an option when oral therapy does not maintain acceptable glycaemic control. For the 50–60 % of patients who become refractory to basal insulin therapy alone1,2 treatment intensification requires the addition of prandial insulin to target control of post-prandial hyperglycaemias. The resulting regimen of multiple […]

Acute illness is typically associated with the so-called ‘stress-induced hyperglycaemia’, defined as a transient hyperglycaemia in patients without previous evidence of diabetes.1 The strong relationship between stress hyperglycaemia and poor outcome is largely established and actually validates hyperglycaemia as a marker of illness severity. The correction of a moderate stress hyperglycaemia may improve the prognosis. […]

Basal insulin therapy is recommended as a first-line injectable therapy in persons with type 2 diabetes who do not respond to metformin monotherapy. Insulin works to control fasting glycaemia, and it is expected that metformin (with or without other drugs) will suffice apropos post-prandial euglycaemia. In many patients, however, basal insulin is unable to achieve […]

Diabetes-related macro- and microvascular complications contribute significantly to the increased morbidity, mortality, worsened quality of life and social and financial burden observed in patients with diabetes.1–5 Hence, reducing the development and/or the progression of these complications is one of the main aims of treatment in patients with diabetes. Over the last 2 decades, strategies resulting […]

Ghrelin is a 28-amino-acid peptide predominantly secreted in the stomach and stimulates appetite and growth hormone (GH) release. The name ghrelin is based on ‘ghre’ a word root in Proto-Indo-European languages meaning ‘grow’ in reference to its ability to stimulate GH release. In 1976, Bowers and co-workers discovered opioid peptide derivatives that did not exhibit […]

Craniopharyngiomas are large tumours that extend beyond the sella and suprasellar region into the hypothalamus.1 Every case series has indicated a higher mortality in craniopharyngioma than has been reported in pituitary adenoma series or in other cases of hypopituitarism. There is now a better understanding of the factors that contribute to both the morbidity and […]

The five surgical tenets of endocrine surgery were set out in the 1980s:1 Confirm the diagnosis; Render the patient safe; Consider localisation studies; Decide if surgery is indicated; and Decide which surgical approach to adopt. Confirmation of the diagnosis is based exclusively on biochemical tests and the surgeon should be able to interpret the results […]

The diagnosis of Turner syndrome (TS) is based on a complete or partial absence of the second X chromosome. Structural anomalies of the sex chromosome include isoXq (duplication of the long arm to form an isochromosome), rX (ring formation) and Xp-/Xq- (deletion of the short/long arm). Some individuals can present a mosaic karyotype (45,X/46,XX), also […]

Case Presentation Sometimes the worst has to happen before seeking medical attention. This was the case of a 42-year-old man who arrived to the emergency room with altered mental status characterised by lethargy and confusion. His sister referred a long-standing history of gout that was diagnosed 8 years earlier and that was treated irregularly with […]

The growing prevalence of obesity is a global health concern. In 2009 to 2010, more than one-third of adults and 17 % of youth in the US were obese, as defined by body mass index (BMI). Obesity is associated with numerous health risks such as hypertension,1 cardiovascular disease (CVD),2 diabetes,3,4 stroke,5 and various cancers.6 Obesity […]

In 1971, Omran described the concept of epidemiologic transition to improve the understanding of patterns of disease in opposition of single disease epidemiology across the world and to provide better forecast and societal response to disease patterns.1 Although three main types of transition were described, including the classic transition experienced by most developed countries, the […]

Rationale for Development of a New Discipline Lifestyle medicine is a nascent discipline that has recently emerged as a systematized approach for management of chronic disease. The individual elements and skillsets that define lifestyle medicine are determined, in large part, by the primary contributors to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Unhealthful lifestyle behaviors are among the leading […]