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Despite remarkable progress in the diagnosis and treatment of primary adrenal insufficiency, patients still suffer from delayed diagnosis, impaired well-being and the risk of life-threatening adrenal crisis. This Case Study highlights the need to evaluate individuals with chronic hyponatremia or unexplained weight loss and lack of energy for adrenal insufficiency.
Circadian rhythms make a critical contribution to endocrine functions that involve adipose tissue at the systemic, organ and stem cell levels. This Review examines the data that link circadian biology to adipose tissue and its related metabolic organs, such as the liver and pancreas. These findings might affect clinical practice in the coming years.
The relationships between fetal cell microchimerism and human physiology and pathology represent an interesting and novel research field. This Review provides an overview of the role of fetal microchimeric cells in autoimmune and nonautoimmune diseases. Moreover, the mechanisms by which fetal cell microchimerism is believed to modulate the protection against cancer or tumor progression will be discussed, together with future research directions.
The growing incidence in thyroid cancer results mainly from the detection of small or very small papillary thyroid carcinomas. The management of patients with such small tumors represents a major clinical challenge. Could evaluation of the BRAF status of such tumors aid risk stratification and patient management?
This Review summarizes the role of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress in diabetes mellitus and in the pathogenesis of endothelial cell dysfunction and diabetic nephropathy. Furthermore, the authors explore possible therapeutic interventions to reduce oxidative stress and endothelial cell dysfunction and retard the progression of diabetic nephropathy.
Research into ciliopathies could cast new light on endocrine signaling pathways, which might lead to the development of novel treatments for patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. This Review discusses how research into the extremely rare Alström syndrome could provide insights into the cellular pathways that are important in insulin secretion and other endocrine functions.
Stress is a state of physiological or psychological strain caused by adverse stimuli. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), acting through its four receptor subtypes (EP1, EP2, EP3, and EP4), is involved in stress responses. This Review discusses how PGE2orchestrates a range of stress responses via the EPs.
The treatment of testicular germ cell tumors has been called one of the success stories of modern medicine, with sustained response to treatment in >90% of cases, regardless of clinical stage. This Review discusses pathology, diagnostic procedures and treatment of testicular germ cell tumors, and highlights the importance of individual therapeutic management within a multidisciplinary approach according to the risk of short-term and long-term toxic effects.