Endocrine response and outcome in 14 cats with insulin resistance and acromegaly treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (17 Gy)

OBJECTIVE To describe clinical outcomes in cats with insulin resistance and acromegaly treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). ANIMALS 14 client-owned cats. PROCEDURES Medical records of cats with insulin resistance and acromegaly treated with SRS (17 Gy) between August 2013 and November 2019 at a single institution were reviewed. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to evaluate overall survival time. RESULTS Acute adverse effects of SRS included somnolence (n = 2) and alopecia (1). Delayed adverse effects of SRS included unspecified neurologic complications (n = 1; 481 days), seizures (1; 1,541 days), and hypothyroidism (1; 64 days). Exogenous insulin requirements decreased in 10 of the 14 cats, with a median time to lowest insulin dose of 399 days (range, 42 to 879 days). Complete diabetic remission was achieved in 3 cats. The median overall survival time was 741 days (95% CI, 353 to 1,129 days). Six cats were still alive at the end of the study period, with a median follow-up time of 725 days. In 7 of the 8 cats that had died, death was presumptively attributed to acromegaly owing to continued insulin resistance, organ failure, or altered neurologic status. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The SRS protocol was well tolerated and associated with survival times similar to those reported previously. Most cats had decreased exogenous insulin requirements after SRS. Latency to an endocrine response was highly variable, emphasizing the need for careful ongoing diabetic monitoring of acromegalic cats after pituitary gland irradiation.

COVID-19 Outcome Relates With Circulating BDNF, According to Patient Adiposity and Age

Background and Aims: We evaluated adipose tissue-derived hormones, body composition, serum metabolic profile, levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and the association of these parameters with the clinical outcome in patients with COVID-19. We sought to examine whether obesity, sex, and age influence the adipose tissue endocrine response to the disease.Methods: This prospective study investigated 145 hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Patients were categorized based on their body mass index (BMI), sex and age, and were also classified regarding their outcome after hospitalization as: (a) Non-ICU: patients hospitalized who did not receive intensive care; (b) ICU-survivor: patients admitted to the intensive care unit and discharged; (c) ICU-death: patients who died. Blood samples were collected by the hospital staff between the first and third day of hospitalization. Serum leptin, adiponectin and BDNF concentrations, triglycerides, total cholesterol and cholesterol fractions were performed following the manufacturer's guidelines.Results: We demonstrate that BDNF levels predict intensive care (IC) need (p < 0.01). This association was found to be stronger in patients >60y (p = 0.026). Neither leptin nor adiponectin concentration was associated with IC requirement or with patient's outcome, while the BDNF/adiponectin ratio was closely associated with worsened outcomes (p < 0.01). BDNF concentration was similar between sexes, however tended to be lower in male patients (p = 0.023). In older patients, BDNF concentration was lower than that of younger patients (p = 0.020). These age and sex-specific differences should be considered when employing these potential markers for prognosis assessment. While appetite and body composition regulating hormones secreted by the white adipose tissue are not reliable predictors of disease severity, the ratio BDNF/adiponectin was indicative of patient status.Conclusion: Thus, we propose that serum BDNF content and BDNF/adiponectin ratio may serve as tools predicting worsened prognosis in COVID-19, especially for male patients.

Endocrine response of early-hatching Asian Short-toed Lark nestlings exposed to cold temperature in a high-latitude grassland habitat

Background In high latitude grassland habitats, altricial nestlings hatching in open-cup nests early in the breeding season must cope with cold temperature challenges. Thyroid hormones (triiodothyronine, T3 and thyroxine, T4) and corticosterone play a crucial role in avian thermoregulation response to cold. Investigating the endocrine response of altricial nestlings to temperature variation is important for understanding the adaptive mechanisms of individual variation in the timing of breeding in birds. Methods We compared nest temperature, ambient temperature, body temperature, plasma T3, T4 and corticosterone levels in Asian Short-toed Lark (Alaudala cheleensis) nestlings hatching in the early-, middle-, and late-stages of the breeding season in Hulunbuir grassland, northeast China. Results Mean nest temperature in the early-, middle- and late-stage groups was − 1.85, 3.81 and 10.23 °C, respectively, for the 3-day-old nestlings, and 6.83, 10.41 and 11.81 °C, respectively, for the 6-day-old nestlings. The nest temperature significantly correlated with body temperature, plasma T3, T4 and corticosterone concentrations of nestlings. Body temperature of 3-day-old nestlings in the early and middle groups was significantly lower than that of the late group, but there was no significant difference between the nestlings in the early and middle groups. The T4 and T3 concentrations and the ratio of T3/T4 of both 3- and 6-day-old nestlings in the early-stage group were significantly higher compared to the middle and late groups. The corticosterone levels of 3-day-old nestlings were significantly higher in the early-stage group compared to the middle- and late-stage groups. Conclusion Nestlings hatching early responded to cold temperature by increasing thyroid hormones and corticosterone levels even in the early days of post hatching development when the endothermy has not been established. These hormones may play a physiological role in neonatal nestlings coping with cold temperature challenges.

Immunoendocrine Dysregulation during Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: The Central Role of the Placenta

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is a transitory metabolic condition caused by dysregulation triggered by intolerance to carbohydrates, dysfunction of beta-pancreatic and endothelial cells, and insulin resistance during pregnancy. However, this disease includes not only changes related to metabolic distress but also placental immunoendocrine adaptations, resulting in harmful effects to the mother and fetus. In this review, we focus on the placenta as an immuno-endocrine organ that can recognize and respond to the hyperglycemic environment. It synthesizes diverse chemicals that play a role in inflammation, innate defense, endocrine response, oxidative stress, and angiogenesis, all associated with different perinatal outcomes.

Social dialogue triggers biobehavioral synchrony of partners' endocrine response via sex-specific, hormone-specific, attachment-specific mechanisms

Social contact is known to impact the partners' physiology and behavior but the mechanisms underpinning such inter-partner influences are far from clear. Guided by the biobehavioral synchrony conceptual frame, we examined how social dialogue shapes the partners' multi-system endocrine response as mediated by behavioral synchrony. To address sex-specific, hormone-specific, attachment-specific mechanisms, we recruited 82 man–woman pairs (N = 164 participants) in three attachment groups; long-term couples (n = 29), best friends (n = 26), and ingroup strangers (n = 27). We used salivary measures of oxytocin (OT), cortisol (CT), testosterone (T), and secretory immuglobolinA (s-IgA), biomarker of the immune system, before and after a 30-min social dialogue. Dialogue increased oxytocin and reduced cortisol and testosterone. Cross-person cross-hormone influences indicated that dialogue carries distinct effects on women and men as mediated by social behavior and attachment status. Men's baseline stress-related biomarkers showed both direct hormone-to-hormone associations and, via attachment status and behavioral synchrony, impacted women's post-dialogue biomarkers of stress, affiliation, and immunity. In contrast, women's baseline stress biomarkers linked with men's stress response only through the mediating role of behavioral synchrony. As to affiliation biomarkers, men's initial OT impacted women's OT response only through behavioral synchrony, whereas women's baseline OT was directly related to men's post-dialogue OT levels. Findings pinpoint the neuroendocrine advantage of social dialogue, suggest that women are more sensitive to signs of men's initial stress and social status, and describe behavior-based mechanisms by which human attachments create a coupled biology toward greater well-being and resilience.