Endokrynologia Polska 2010, tom 61, nr 1

During the last 22 years we observed 1790 patients with incidentally found adrenal tumours, so-called adrenal incidentalomas (AI). Our first publication on AI, in 1992, was based on an analysis of 64 patients observed at our department [1]. Since that time our group of patients with AI has grown and is worthy of evaluation...

Plurihormonality of pituitary adenomas can be defined as the ability of an adenoma to express more than one pituitary hormone. According to the recommendations of the WHO, the gonadotropinomas expressing both gonadotropins, i.e. FSH and LH, are not considered plurihormonal. The same concerns adenomas in patients with acromegaly, secreting prolactin in addition to GH [1]. Plurihormonal adenomas leading to the elevated concentrations of more than one pituitary hormone in blood are considered relatively rare...

Until recently, primary aldosteronism has been thought a minor cause of arterial hypertension (AH). In recent years an increasing number of cross-sectional and prospective clinical studies have suggested that primary aldosteronism (PA) is the cause of over 10% of AH [1–7]. In the case of forms of AH resistant to antihypertensive agents, the proportion of patients is higher and reaches 11–22% [4, 5]...

Angiogenesis is an important process involved in the growth of normal and neoplastic tissues [1]. New blood vessel formation depends on a dynamic balance between the activators and inhibitors of angiogenesis. The factors involved in this process are potential markers of tumour spread and consequently are possible targets for therapy...

Bones are a metabolically active tissue. Many hormones, most notably thyroid hormones, influence their growth, maturity, and metabolism. They accelerate remodelling of bone tissue by inducing bone resorption and formation [1]. Decreased growth and skeletal abnormalities in children with congenital hypothyroidism are one of the spectacular examples of thyroid hormoneimportance in bone mineral metabolism. In patients with hyperthyroidism, bone loss and increased levels of bone specific markers may occur [2]...

Ghrelin is a 28-aminoacid peptide secreted mainly by the stomach cells [1]. The highest plasma ghrelin concentration is usually detected in the fasting state [2, 3]. The decrease of plasma ghrelin concentration observed after feeding is not related to gastric distension but rather to the stimulation of the cholinergic nervous system via the vagus nerve, glucose absorption, and probably insulin release [4–7]...

Acromegaly is a rare chronic disease caused by increased secretion of growth hormone (hGH). Over 99% of cases of acromegaly result from the presence of pituitary adenoma developed from somatotrope cells which normally produce GH in the pituitary. The estimated prevalence of acromegaly ranges between 50–70 cases/million...

Obesity is a chronic disease that concerns over a billion adult people all over the world. It involves several complicationsand increases the risk of other diseases like metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus type 2, or coronary heart disease [1–3]. Lack of proper diet, lack of physical activity, and socio-cultural and genetic factors have been known as common causes of metabolic syndrome [4]...

Pheochromocytomas and other paragangliomas are derived from neural crest cells, which eventually differentiate into adrenal medulla and autonomic nervous system paraganglia. Depending on the localization and the ability of secretion and metabolisation of catecholamines, they are called pheochromocytomas or paragangliomas, and can be sympathetic or parasympathetic [1, 2]...

Diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes, which is strongly connected with visceral obesity and insulin resistance, has become an increasing global health problem in recent years. The perception of adipose tissue as a reservoir of fatty acids has been replaced in recent years by the assumption that adipose tissue plays a vital role in lipid and glucose metabolism and produces a large number of hormones and cytokines which generate insulin resistance [1]...