Hypopitiutarism and replacement therapy: Medical education

Hypopituitarism refers to decreased secretion of pituitary hormones, which may result from diseases of the pituitary gland or from diseases of the hypothalamus, which cause diminished secretion of hypothalamic releasing hormones, thereby reducing secretion of the corresponding pituitary hormones. Clinical manifestations of hypopituitarism depend upon the cause as well as type and degree of hormonal insufficiency. Patients may be asymptomatic or present with symptoms related to hormone deficiency or a mass lesion, or with nonspecific symptoms. Diagnosis, clinical manifestations and treatment of hypopituitarism were discussed and reviewed separately here

The use of konjac glucomannan to lower serum thyroid hormones in hyperthyroidism

Objective: Patients with hyperthyroidism occasionally need rapid restoration to the euthyroid state. In wiew of the increased enterohepatic circulation of thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine T3) in thyrotoxicosis, and metabolic effects of konjac glucomannan in gastrointestinal system, we aimed to determine the activity of glucomannan in treatment of hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism in molar pregnancy: Rapid preoperative preparation by plasmapheresis and complete improvement after evacuation

Human chorionic gonadotropin bears structural homology to pituitary thyrotropin. The extremely elevated levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in patients with molar pregnancy or other trophoblastic diseases can lead to hyperthyroidism. We describe a patient with molar pregnancy who had secondary hyperthyroidism prepared rapidly by plasmapheresis for surgery. The clinical picture improved dramatically after the first plasmapheresis. Three subsequent plasmapheresis provided a 75.1% decrease in serum free T3 concentrations and 63.9 / free T4 concentrations and recovery after evacuation. This is the first use of plasmapheresis in rapid preparation of a patient who had secondary hyperthyroidism due to molar pregnancy. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd

Correlation between educational status and cardiovascular risk factors in an overweight and obese Turkish female population

Objective: The prevalence of obesity is rapidly increasing in Turkey as well as all over the world. Educational inequalities play an important role in the development of obesity. In this study, our aim is to evaluate how educational status affects obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese Turkish female population