Endocrine Journal

In papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients with mediastinal lymph nodes (LN) and lung metastases, adding preoperative computed tomography (CT) to ultrasound is useful for planning surgery. We identified risk factors (RFs) for mediastinal lymph node metastasis (MLNM) and lung metastasis in PTC patients. Frequencies of MLNM and lung metastases were compared in 478 patients. Relative risk (RR) was calculated based on RFs. MLNM and lung metastases were detected in 1.2% and 3.3% of patients, respectively. cT3-4, cN1, central LN metastasis, and lateral LN metastasis were RFs for MLNM in all patients (p < 0...

Dyslipidemia has been considered a risk factor for diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Proprotein convertase subtilisin-like/Kexin 9 inhibitor (PCSK9) inhibitors are a new type of lipid-lowering drug currently in clinical use. The role of PCSK9 in diabetic peripheral neuropathy is still unclear. In this study, the effect of alirocumab, a PCSK9 inhibitor, on the sciatic nerve in rats with diabetic peripheral neuropathy and its underlying mechanisms were investigated. The diabetic peripheral neuropathy rat model was established by using a high-fat diet combined with streptozotocin injection, and experimental subjects were divided into normal, diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and alirocumab groups...

Vertebrate animals often exhibit sexual dimorphism in body shape. In mammals, decreases in sex hormones caused by testicular castration can affect body shape and occasionally lead to pathologies such as obesity. Post-castration obesity can also be problematic for the health of companion animals, including non-mammals. In order to understand the mechanism of post-castration obesity in vertebrates other than mammals, experimental models are required. We examined whether the Iberian ribbed newt, which has recently become a popular experimental model for amphibian research, could serve as a model for analyzing changes in body shape after castration...

Plant-based diets that replace animal-based proteins with plant-based proteins have received increased attention for cardiovascular protection. Nitric oxide (NO) plays an essential role in the maintenance of endothelial function. However, under higher oxidative stress, NO generation produces peroxynitrite, a powerful oxidant and vasoconstrictor. Diet-replaced protein sources has been reported to decrease oxidative stress. However, the effects of plant-based protein on NO and peroxynitrite have not yet been clarified...

Accumulating evidence suggests that cellular heterogeneity in organs and cell-cell and tissue-tissue interactions are crucial for maintaining physical homeostasis and disease progression. Endocrine organs also exhibit cellular heterogeneity and comprise multiple cell types. For instance, the pituitary gland comprises five types of pituitary hormone-producing cells as well as non-hormone-producing supporting cells, such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and folliculostellate cells. However, the functional roles of the interactions between hormone-producing and non-producing cells in the pituitary gland remain incompletely understood...

The association between screen time (ST), including that for smartphones, and overweight/obesity in children was examined separately for boys and girls, considering the influence of lifestyle factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2,242 Japanese children (1,278 girls) aged 10-14 years. Overweight/obesity was defined by the International Obesity Task Force. Logistic regression analysis showed that only for girls, total ST (≥4 h), smartphone ST (≥3 h), and non-smartphone ST (≥2 h) were all independently and significantly associated with overweight/obesity compared to <2 h total ST, non-use of smartphones, and <1 h non-smartphone ST...

The aim of this study is to examine the correlation between aging, serum total testosterone and biomarkers of multiple organ functions in men. The participants consisted of 12,547 outpatients, whose serum testosterone level was measured. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to determine whether biomarkers including hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), albumin (ALB), creatinine (Cre), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), glucose (Glu), C-reactive protein (CRP), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) values were associated with serum total testosterone concentration...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Collision tumors involving the metastasis of malignant neoplasms to pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs) are extremely rare. We herein report a case involving a patient with lung adenocarcinoma metastasis within a PitNET who exhibited relatively rapid progression of neurological symptoms. A 75-year-old man who underwent tumor resection 36 and 18 years prior to presentation for bladder and colon cancer, respectively, without recurrence presented with bitemporal hemianopsia, ptosis, and diplopia of the right eye...

Endometriosis, a common gynecological disorder characterized by the growth of endometrial gland and stroma outside the uterus, causes several symptoms such as dysmenorrhea, hypermenorrhea, and chronic abdominal pain. 17β estradiol (E2) stimulates the growth of endometriotic lesions. Although estetrol (E4), produced by human fetal liver, is also a natural estrogen, it may have the opposite effects on endometriotic cells. We investigated different effects of E4 and E2 on the invasion and migration of immortalized human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs) and evaluated whether E4 affects the expression of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) family member 1 (WASF-1)...

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) develops as a result of unhealthy lifestyle but improves with laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG). The transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling pathway reportedly contributes to liver fibrosis, mainly in animal experiments. The aim of the present study was to evaluate changes in serum proteins before and after LSG by proteomic analysis and to investigate their association with NAFLD. This study enrolled 36 severely obese patients who underwent LSG at our hospital from January 2020 to April 2022...

To determine the normalization of postprandial blood glucose (PG) and triglyceride (TG) excursions in 30 morbidly obese patients with or without diabetes mellitus (DM) 1-year after they underwent a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) vs. their pre-surgery data, we administered the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and a meal tolerance test (MTT) using a 75-g glucose-equivalent carbohydrate- and fat-containing meal. The results were as follows; (i) Postoperative body-weight reduction was associated with DM remission and reduced multiple cardiometabolic risks...

In adrenal fasciculata cells stimulated by ACTH, Ca2+ and cAMP play indispensable roles as second messengers in cortisol production. However, whether their second messengers cooperatively or independently participate in steroid production remains unclear. We focused on the roles of Ca2+ and cAMP in cortisol production in bovine adrenal fasciculata cells stimulated by ACTH for a relatively short period (1 h). Incubation of the cells with 100 pM ACTH in Ca2+ -containing (normal) medium for 1 h increased cortisol production without affecting cAMP content...

11Beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1) is a key enzyme involved in metabolic syndrome. Transcript-specific epigenetic regulation of the gene encoding 11β-HSD1 (HSD11B1) has been reported. We examined the mRNA level and methylation status of the HSD11B1 promoter region in the adipose tissue of patients with primary aldosteronism (PA). We compared 10 tissue specimens from patients with PA caused by aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) with 8 adipose tissue specimens from patients with subclinical Cushing's syndrome (SCS) caused by cortisol-producing adenomas, 4 tissue specimens from patients with Cushing's adenoma (Cu), or 7 tissue specimens from patients with non-functioning adrenal adenoma (NFA)...

Maintenance of islet function after in vitro culture is crucial for both transplantation and research. Here we evaluated the effects of encapsulation in alginate fiber on the function of human islets which were distributed by the Alberta Islet Distribution Program. Encapsulated human islets from 15 deceased donors were cultured under 5.5 or 25 mM glucose conditions in vitro. The amounts of C-peptide and glucagon secreted from encapsulated islets into the culture media were measured periodically, and immunohistochemical studies were performed...

To identify those who might benefit from weight reduction within a large population of obese individuals, Japan Society for the Study of Obesity (JASSO) advocated the concept of "obesity disease." Here we summarize the definition, criteria, and core concepts for the management of obesity disease based on JASSO's latest guideline. JASSO defines obesity as excessive fat storage in adipose tissue associated with a BMI of ≥25 kg/m2 . The threshold BMI of obesity is low as compared to Western countries given that Japanese individuals tend to develop obesity-related health disorders at lower BMI...

The post-hoc study, derived from our previous prospective observational study, investigated the association between fasting serum proinsulin levels and hepatic steatosis in people with type 2 diabetes. The severity of hepatic steatosis was assessed using the fatty liver index. A total of 268 participants were divided into three groups: low (n = 110), moderate (n = 75), and high fatty liver index (n = 83). In both the crude and age/sex-adjusted analysis, logarithm-transformed proinsulin was significantly higher in the high fatty liver index group than in the low or moderate groups (all p < 0...