There is an increase in maternal metabolic burden due to the rise in pregnancies complicated by obesity, gestational diabetes, type 2 diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome. Metabolic dysfunction during pregnancy is associated with increased risks of long-term morbidity and mortality for women and their offspring. Lifestyle interventions in pregnancy in women at risk of metabolic dysfunction have demonstrated short-term improvements such as reduced gestational weight gain and lowered risk of gestational diabetes. It is not known whether these interventions lead to sustained improvements in the metabolic health of the mother and baby. Pharmacological interventions have also shown benefits for the mother and baby in pregnancy, including improvements in glycaemic control, reduction in gestational weight gain and reduction in large for gestational age infants; however, there remains uncertainty over long-term outcomes for mother and child. Existing studies on interventions targeting metabolic health are limited to selected populations in the preconception and postpartum periods and lack follow-up beyond delivery of the intervention. The COVID-19 pandemic has refocused our attention on the effects of maternal metabolic ill-health that play a role in contributing to premature morbidity and mortality. There is an urgent need for strategies to accurately identify the growing number of women and offspring at risk of long-term adverse metabolic health. Strategies which focus on early identification and risk stratification using individualised risk scores in the pre and inter-conception periods must take priority if we are to target and improve the metabolic health of women and their offspring who are at highest risk.
Niamh-Maire McLennan, Jonathan Hazlehurst, Shakila Thangaratinam, and Rebecca M Reynolds
Laura E Dichtel, Melanie S Haines, Anu V Gerweck, Bryan Bollinger, Allison Kimball, David Schoenfeld, Miriam A Bredella, and Karen K Miller
Objective
Overweight/obesity is associated with relative growth hormone (GH) deficiency and increased fracture risk. We hypothesized that GH administration would improve bone endpoints in individuals with overweight/obesity.
Design
An 18-month, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of GH, followed by 6-month observation.
Methods
In this study, 77 adults (53% men), aged 18–65 years, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2, and BMD T- or Z-score ≤ −1.0 were randomized to daily subcutaneous GH or placebo, targeting IGF1 in the upper quartile of the age-appropriate normal range. Forty-nine completed 18 months. DXA, volumetric quantitative CT, and high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT were performed.
Results
Pre-treatment mean age (48 ± 12 years), BMI (33.1 ± 5.7 kg/m2), and BMD were similar between groups. P1NP, osteocalcin, and CTX increased (P < 0.005) and visceral adipose tissue decreased (P = 0.04) at 18 months in the GH vs placebo group. Hip and radius aBMD, spine and tibial vBMD, tibial cortical thickness, and radial and tibial failure load decreased in the GH vs placebo group (P < 0.05). Between 18 and 24 months (post-treatment observation period), radius aBMD and tibia cortical thickness increased in the GH vs placebo group. At 24 months, there were no differences between the GH and placebo groups in bone density, structure, or strength compared to baseline.
Conclusions
GH administration for 18 months increased bone turnover in adults with overweight/obesity. It also decreased some measures of BMD, bone microarchitecture, and bone strength, which all returned to pre-treatment levels 6 months post-therapy. Whether GH administration increases BMD with longer treatment duration, or after mineralization of an expanded remodeling space post-treatment, requires further investigation.
Massimo Terzolo and Martin Fassnacht
Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) accounts for a minority of all malignant tumors in adults. Surgery remains the most important therapeutic option for non-metastatic ACC. Whether a subset of patients with small ACC may benefit from minimally invasive surgery remains a debated issue, but we believe that surgeon’s expertise is more important than surgical technique to determine outcome. However, even a state-of-the-art surgery cannot prevent disease recurrence that is determined mainly by specific tumor characteristics. We consider that the concomitant presence of the following features characterizes a cohort of patients at low risk of recurrence, i) R0 resection (microscopically free margin), ii) localized disease (stage I-II ACC), and iii) low grade tumor (ki-67 <10%). After the ADIUVO study, we do not recommend adjuvant mitotane as a routine measure for such patients, who can be managed with active surveillance thus sparing a toxic treatment. Patients at average risk of recurrence should be treated with adjuvant mitotane. For patients at very high risk of recurrence, defined as the presence of at least one of the following: Ki67 >30%, large venous tumor thrombus, R1 resection or stage IV ACC, we increasingly recommend to combine mitotane with four cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy. However, patients at moderate-to-high risk of recurrence should be ideally enrolled in the ongoing ADIUVO2 trial. We do not use frequently adjuvant radiotherapy of the tumor bed at our institutions, and we select for this treatment patients with microscopically, or macroscopically, incomplete resection. On long-term, prospective multicenter trials are required to improve patient care.
Joe Balmain, Meshal Jarebi, Abdallah Al-Salameh, Patrick Toussaint, Marine Timmerman, Louis Chenin, Jean-Marc Constans, and Rachel Desailloud
Objective: Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, several cases of pituitary apoplexy (PA) following a SARS-CoV-2 infection have been described in several countries. Here, we describe a case series of PA occurring in the aftermath of a SARS-CoV-2 infection to alert physicians about possible neuro-endocrinological damage caused by the virus that can lead to visual sequelae and hypopituitarism.
Design and Methods: We retrospectively identified all the adult patients treated at Amiens University Hospital between March 2020 and May 2021 for PA confirmed by cerebral imaging and following an RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Results: Eight cases (6 women, 2 men) occurred between March 2020 and May 2021 and were reviewed in this study. The mean age at diagnosis was 67.5 ± 9.8 years. Only one patient had a 'known' non-functional pituitary macroadenoma. The most common symptom of PA was a sudden headache. Brain imaging was typical in all cases. Only two patients required decompression surgery, whereas the others were managed conservatively. The clinical outcome was favorable for all patients but without recovery of their pituitary deficiencies. There was no diabetes insipidus.
Conclusion: This case series, the largest in the literature, reinforces the strength, consistency, and coherence of the association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and PA. Our study provides support for the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 may be a new precipitating factor for PA. It is essential that practitioners be alerted about possible pituitary disease due to the virus so that such patients are recognized and appropriately managed, hence improving their prognosis.
Fatma Dursun, Hulya Maras Genc, Ayse Mine Yilmaz, Ibrahim Tas, Metin Eser, Cemile Pehlivanoglu, Betul Karademir Yilmaz, and Tülay Güran
Background: Biallelic QRSL1 mutations cause mitochondrial “combined oxidative phosphorylation deficiency-40” (COXPD40). COXPD40 has been reported invariably lethal in infancy. Adrenal insufficiency was weakly reported and investigated among seven previously reported patients with COXPD40.
Objective: We report clinical, biochemical, molecular, and functional characteristics of a patient with adrenal insufficiency due to COXPD40.
Methods: The medical history and adrenal function tests were examined. Genetic analysis was performed using whole-exome sequencing. Mitochondrial function was tested using mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme assays.
Results: An 8-year-old boy was investigated for adrenal insufficiency. He had also mild developmental delay, sensorineural hearing loss, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, nephrocalcinosis, elevated parathyroid hormone and creatine kinase, and lactic acidosis.Biallelic novel QRSL1 variants (c.300T>A;Y100* and c.610G>A;G204R) were identified. Oxidative damage in mitochondria was shown by reduced MMP and SOD assays in the patient compared to controls (p<0.0001). Adrenal function tests revealed a “primary adrenal insufficiency other than congenital adrenal hyperplasia” (non-CAH PAI) with an isolated glucocorticoid deficiency. In the 8-year follow-up, having the longest survival of reported COXPD40 patients, he had preserved mineralocorticoid functions and gonadal steroidogenesis.
Conclusion: Biallelic QRSL1 mutations can cause non-CAH PAI. Adrenal functions should be monitored in mitochondrial disorders to improve clinical outcomes.
Takuyuki Katabami, Ren Matsuba, Hiroki Kobayashi, Tomoko Nakagawa, Isao Kurihara, Takamasa Ichijo, Mika Tsuiki, Norio Wada, Yoshihiro Ogawa, Masakatsu Sone, Nobuya Inagaki, Takanobu Yoshimoto, Katsutoshi Takahashi, Koichi Yamamoto, Shoichiro Izawa, Miki Kakutani, Akiyo Tanabe, Mitsuhide Naruse, and
Objective
In primary aldosteronism (PA), renal impairment has been identified as an important comorbidity. Excess cortisol production also may lead to renal damage; thus, concomitant mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS) may predispose PA patients to renal disorders. However, there is limited evidence to support this claim. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether the concurrence of MACS and PA increases the risk of renal complications.
Design
This study is a retrospective cross-sectional study.
Methods
A total of 1310 patients with PA were stratified into two groups according to 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test (DST) results (cut-off post-DST serum cortisol 1.8 µg/dL): MACS (n = 340) and non-MACS (n = 970). The prevalence of renal complications was compared between the group. We also performed multiple logistic regression analysis to determine factors that increase the risk for renal complications.
Results
The prevalence of lowered estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and proteinuria was nearly twice higher in the MACS group than in the non-MACS group. Not only plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) but also the presence of MACS was selected as independent factors that were associated with the two renal outcomes. The risk of lower eGFR or proteinuria in patients who had MACS and higher levels PAC was several folds higher than in those who had an absence of MACS and lower levels of PAC.
Conclusions
MACS is an independent risk factor for renal complications in patients with PA, and MACS concomitant with higher aldosterone secretion in PA patients causes an increase in the risk of developing renal complications.
A Nordenström, S F Ahmed, E van den Akker, J Blair, M Bonomi, C Brachet, L H A Broersen, H L Claahsen-van der Grinten, A B Dessens, A Gawlik, C H Gravholt, A Juul, C Krausz, T Raivio, A Smyth, P Touraine, D Vitali, and O M Dekkers
An Endo-European Reference Network guideline initiative was launched including 16 clinicians experienced in endocrinology, pediatric and adult and 2 patient representatives. The guideline was endorsed by the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology, the European Society for Endocrinology and the European Academy of Andrology. The aim was to create practice guidelines for clinical assessment and puberty induction in individuals with congenital pituitary or gonadal hormone deficiency. A systematic literature search was conducted, and the evidence was graded according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system. If the evidence was insufficient or lacking, then the conclusions were based on expert opinion. The guideline includes recommendations for puberty induction with oestrogen or testosterone. Publications on the induction of puberty with follicle-stimulation hormone and human chorionic gonadotrophin in hypogonadotropic hypogonadism are reviewed. Specific issues in individuals with Klinefelter syndrome or androgen insensitivity syndrome are considered. The expert panel recommends that pubertal induction or sex hormone replacement to sustain puberty should be cared for by a multidisciplinary team. Children with a known condition should be followed from the age of 8 years for girls and 9 years for boys. Puberty induction should be individualised but considered at 11 years in girls and 12 years in boys. Psychological aspects of puberty and fertility issues are especially important to address in individuals with sex development disorders or congenital pituitary deficiencies. The transition of these young adults highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach, to discuss both medical issues and social and psychological issues that arise in the context of these chronic conditions.
Kim Huynh, Marianne Klose, Kim Krogsgaard, Jørgen Drejer, Sarah Byberg, Sten Madsbad, Faidon Magkos, Abdellatif Aharaz, Berit Edsberg, Jacob Tfelt-Hansen, Arne Vernon Astrup, and Ulla Feldt-Rasmussen
Context
Hypothalamic injury often leads to rapid, intractable weight gain causing hypothalamic obesity, which is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular and metabolic morbidity and mortality. There are no approved or effective pharmacological treatments for hypothalamic obesity, and conventional lifestyle management remains ineffective.
Objective
To investigate the safety and efficacy of Tesomet (0.5 mg tesofensine/50 mg metoprolol) in adults with hypothalamic obesity.
Methods
Twenty-one adults with hypothalamic obesity (16 females) were randomized to Tesomet (0.5 mg/50 mg) or placebo for 24 weeks. Patients also received diet/lifestyle counselling. The primary endpoint was safety; secondary endpoints included measures of body weight, appetite scores, quality of life, and metabolic profile.
Results
Eighteen patients completed 24 weeks. Consent withdrawal, eligibility, and serious adverse events (SAE) unrelated to treatment resulted in dropouts. One patient experienced a Tesomet-related SAE of exacerbated pre-existing anxiety leading to treatment discontinuation. Tesomet-related adverse events were otherwise mostly mild and included sleep disturbances (Tesomet 50%, placebo 13%), dry mouth (Tesomet 43%, placebo 0%), and headache (Tesomet 36%, placebo 0%). No significant differences in heart rate or blood pressure were observed between groups. Compared to placebo, Tesomet resulted in additional mean (95% CI) weight change of −6.3% ((−11.3; −1.3); P = 0.017), increased the number of patients achieving ≥5% weight loss (Tesomet 8/13, placebo 1/8; P = 0.046), and tended to augment the reduction in waist circumference by 5.7 cm ((−0.1; 11.5); P = 0.054).
Conclusion
Tesomet was welltolerated, did not affect heart rate or blood pressure, and resulted in significant reductions in body weight compared to placebo in adults with hypothalamic obesity.
Jiwon Kim, Yoon-a Hwang, Yae Won Park, Ju Hyung Moon, Eui Hyun Kim, Jae Won Hong, Eun Jig Lee, and Cheol Ryong Ku
Objective
Over the past decade, the growth hormone (GH) nadir cut-off during the oral glucose tolerance test for remission in patients with acromegaly was changed from 0.4 to 1.0 μg/L due to the limited use of ultrasensitive detection kits to measure GH levels. However, the optimal cut-off level for GH nadir remains unclear. This retrospective study aimed to investigate the association between different GH nadir cut-offs and prognosis in patients with acromegaly.
Design and methods
A total of 285 patients with acromegaly with a glucose-suppressed GH nadir <1 μg/L at 3–6 months after trans-sphenoidal adenomectomy were divided into two groups according to the glucose-suppressed GH nadir levels at 3–6 months post-operatively (group A: <0.4 μg/L; group B: 0.4–1.0 μg/L). GH levels were measured using an ultrasensitive IRMA. The clinical, hormonal, metabolic, and neuroradiological data of the two groups were compared.
Results
Female sex, as well as confirmed macroadenomas, was significantly overrepresented in group B. The 5-year rate of patients who achieved nadir GH < 1.0 μg/L and age- and sex-matched normal IGF-1 was significantly higher in group A than that in group B. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in metabolic parameters at 12 months post-operatively.
Conclusion
Different GH nadir cut-offs were associated with different 5-year rates of patients who achieved nadir GH <1.0 μg/L and age- and sex-matched normal IGF-1, suggesting that a strict GH nadir threshold of 0.4 μg/L correlates better with remission.
Margaret C S Boguszewski, Cesar L Boguszewski, Wassim Chemaitilly, Laurie E Cohen, Judith Gebauer, Claire Higham, Andrew R Hoffman, Michel Polak, Kevin C J Yuen, Nathalie Alos, Zoltan Antal, Martin Bidlingmaier, Beverley M K Biller, George Brabant, Catherine S Y Choong, Stefano Cianfarani, Peter E Clayton, Regis Coutant, Adriane A Cardoso-Demartini, Alberto Fernandez, Adda Grimberg, Kolbeinn Guðmundsson, Jaime Guevara-Aguirre, Ken K Y Ho, Reiko Horikawa, Andrea M Isidori, Jens Otto Lunde Jørgensen, Peter Kamenicky, Niki Karavitaki, John J Kopchick, Maya Lodish, Xiaoping Luo, Ann I McCormack, Lillian Meacham, Shlomo Melmed, Sogol Mostoufi Moab, Hermann L Müller, Sebastian J C M M Neggers, Manoel H Aguiar Oliveira, Keiichi Ozono, Patricia A Pennisi, Vera Popovic, Sally Radovick, Lars Savendahl, Philippe Touraine, Hanneke M van Santen, and Gudmundur Johannsson
Growth hormone (GH) has been used for over 35 years, and its safety and efficacy has been studied extensively. Experimental studies showing the permissive role of GH/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) in carcinogenesis have raised concerns regarding the safety of GH replacement in children and adults who have received treatment for cancer and those with intracranial and pituitary tumours. A consensus statement was produced to guide decision-making on GH replacement in children and adult survivors of cancer, in those treated for intracranial and pituitary tumours and in patients with increased cancer risk. With the support of the European Society of Endocrinology, the Growth Hormone Research Society convened a Workshop, where 55 international key opinion leaders representing 10 professional societies were invited to participate. This consensus statement utilized: (1) a critical review paper produced before the Workshop, (2) five plenary talks, (3) evidence-based comments from four breakout groups, and (4) discussions during report-back sessions. Current evidence reviewed from the proceedings from the Workshop does not support an association between GH replacement and primary tumour or cancer recurrence. The effect of GH replacement on secondary neoplasia risk is minor compared to host- and tumour treatment-related factors. There is no evidence for an association between GH replacement and increased mortality from cancer amongst GH-deficient childhood cancer survivors. Patients with pituitary tumour or craniopharyngioma remnants receiving GH replacement do not need to be treated or monitored differently than those not receiving GH. GH replacement might be considered in GH-deficient adult cancer survivors in remission after careful individual risk/benefit analysis. In children with cancer predisposition syndromes, GH treatment is generally contraindicated but may be considered cautiously in select patients.