Abstract:
:Descent of the testis from an intra-abdominal site in foetal life to an extracorporeal location after birth is a mandatory developmental process to ensure that the mature testis promotes normal spermatogenesis. The two phases of transabdominal and inguinoscrotal descent occur approximately during the first and last thirds of gestation respectively. Key anatomical events to release the testis from its urogenital ridge location and to guide the free gonad into the scrotum are the degeneration of the cranio-suspensory ligament and a thickening of the gubernaculum. Androgens play a role in both these processes, particularly with respect to enabling the testis to traverse the inguinal canal in the final phase of descent. Experiments in animals suggest that androgens mediate this effect via the release of calcitonin gene-related peptide by the genitofemoral nerve, but direct evidence for such a mechanism is lacking in humans. The transabdominal phase of descent is under the control of insulin-like 3 (INSL3), a product of the Leydig cells. Definitive evidence of its role in rodent testis descent is illustrated by the phenotype of bilateral cryptorchidism in Insl3-/- null mice. Circulating levels of INSL3 are higher in boys at puberty, are undetectable in girls and are lower in boys with undescended testes. A minority also have a mutation either in the INSL3 gene or affecting its receptor gene, relaxin/insulin-like family peptide receptor 2 (LGRF8). Other factors that may play a role in testis descent include the anti-Mullerian hormone and members of the HOX gene family. Evidence that the prevalence of undescended testis may be increasing provides a phenotypic readout for the effects of postulated chemicals in the environment interfering in some way with the action of factors that control testis descent. Epidemiological studies point to profound geographical variations in prevalence in countries such as Denmark and Finland. Associations have been found with levels of chemicals labelled as endocrine disruptors being higher in breast milk samples from mothers with cryptorchid boys when compared with controls. The adverse effects of these compounds (e.g. bisphenol A) can be replicated in the offspring of dams exposed during pregnancy. A sensitive marker of an anti-androgen effect of a compound is a reduction in the anogenital distance, an anthropometric measurement that is significantly greater in males compared with females. The observation of an association between the anogenital distance in infant boys and the level of pesticides in the urine of their mothers in late gestation indicates that this has the potential to be a useful surrogate marker of the effects of environmental chemicals on testis descent in human population studies. The rightful place for the testis at birth is in the scrotum in order to provide the temperature differential essential for normal spermatogenesis. Appropriate screening programmes and early surgical intervention are the prerequisites to ensure optimal fertility in adulthood and a considerably lessened risk of testis cancer.
journal_name
Eur J Endocrinoljournal_title
European journal of endocrinologyauthors
Hughes IA,Acerini CLdoi
10.1530/EJE-08-0458subject
Has Abstractpub_date
2008-12-01 00:00:00pages
S75-82eissn
0804-4643issn
1479-683Xpii
EJE-08-0458journal_volume
159 Suppl 1pub_type
杂志文章,评审abstract::Nitric oxide mediates a wide array of cellular functions in many tissues. It is generated by three known isoforms of nitric oxide synthases (NOS). Recently, the endothelial isoform, NOSIII, was shown to be abundantly expressed in the rat thyroid gland and its expression increased in goitrous glands. In this study, we ...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1360649
更新日期:1997-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::We measured serum tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) as well as interleukin-1betta (IL-1beta) and GH concentrations in 15 children with isolated growth hormone deficiency (GHD), age range 5.1-13.9 years, before and 4 and 24h after the first GH injection (0.1 IU/kg s.c.). No differences were found in basal concen...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 临床试验,杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1380640
更新日期:1998-06-01 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:Anti-inflammatory glucocorticoid (GC) therapy often induces hyperglycemia due to insulin resistance and islet-cell dysfunction. Incretin-based therapies may preserve glucose tolerance and pancreatic islet-cell function. In this study, we hypothesized that concomitant administration of the dipeptidyl peptidase...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章,随机对照试验
doi:10.1530/EJE-13-0610
更新日期:2014-02-04 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:Congenital hypothyroidism (CH), the most common neonatal metabolic disorder, is characterized by impaired neurodevelopment. Although several candidate genes have been associated with CH, comprehensive screening of causative genes has been limited. DESIGN AND METHODS:One hundred ten patients with primary CH w...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/EJE-17-1017
更新日期:2018-06-01 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Individuals carrying a heterozygous inactivating PAX8 mutation are affected by congenital hypothyroidism (CH), although heterozygous Pax8 knockout mice are not. It has remained unclear whether CH in PAX8 mutation carriers is caused by haploinsufficiency or a dominant negative mechanism. OBJECTIVE:To report ...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/EJE-12-0410
更新日期:2012-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::This is a brief review of the normal changes in adolescent behaviour and the interplay between biology and social factors that occur at and around puberty, in an attempt to explain when this transition may become problematic The onset of puberty is a biological marker for an individual's transition from a non-reproduc...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1530/eje.0.151u151
更新日期:2004-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::Over the last 5 years, new actors involved in the pathogenesis of combined pituitary hormone deficiency in humans have been reported: they included a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily glycoprotein and ciliary G protein-coupled receptors, as well as new transcription factors and signalling molecules. New modes o...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1530/EJE-15-1095
更新日期:2016-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::Administration of growth hormone (GH) to patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) has beneficial effects, but so far has been employed only empirically. We have, therefore, investigated the dose-dependent effect of GH on target tissue by studying biochemical markers of bone and collagen turnover in GHD. Then pati...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1350666
更新日期:1996-12-01 00:00:00
abstract::The episodicity of 24 h GH release was studied in 18 patients with active acromegaly, 12 patients 7-10 days after pituitary surgery, 14 patients long after operation (3-17 years), and 21 healthy gender- and age-matched control subjects, using a recently introduced scale- and model-independent regularity statistic, app...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1380164
更新日期:1998-02-01 00:00:00
abstract::The control of prolactin (PRL) secretion by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and kainic acid (KA), agonists of NMDA and kainate receptors, and the interactions between NMDA and KA with nitric oxide (NO) were analysed in prepubertal female rats. For this purpose, serum PRL concentrations and hypothalamic and pituitary dopam...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1350464
更新日期:1996-10-01 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:Only a few studies have investigated variations of different markers for inflammatory processes during the physiological menstrual cycle. The results are conflicting, particularly concerning the correlation between the marker leptin and steroid hormones. The aim of the study was to investigate the inflammator...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.1.02178
更新日期:2006-07-01 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:Prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among children is increasing dramatically. It is unclear why some patients develop steatohepatitis (NASH), fibrosis and cirrhosis from steatosis, and others do not. A role for leptin has been claimed. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between ...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.1.02288
更新日期:2006-11-01 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:Various adjuvant therapies have been introduced along with intensive insulin therapy in patients with recent onset type 1 diabetes. Nicotinamide (NA), administered at diagnosis of the disease, can have beneficial effects on the clinical remission rate, improve metabolic control and preserve or slightly increa...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 临床试验,杂志文章,随机对照试验
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1500719
更新日期:2004-05-01 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Gastric carcinoid tumours type 1 (GCA1) originate from hyperplastic enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells secondary to hypergastrinaemia. Treatment with somatostatin analogues (SSA) might impede ECL-cell hyperplasia by suppressing gastrin secretion and/or by a direct anti-proliferative effect on ECL cells. We co...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 临床试验,杂志文章,多中心研究
doi:10.1530/EJE-08-0420
更新日期:2008-10-01 00:00:00
abstract::Glucocorticoids are potent osteopenic agents, producing negative calcium and bone balance via actions at many sites. The most significant adverse effects of glucocorticoid drugs on the skeleton are probably a direct inhibition of matrix synthesis by the osteoblast, reductions in calcium absorption in both the gut and ...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1370209
更新日期:1997-09-01 00:00:00
abstract::A 27-year-old woman with no previous personal or family history of thyroid disease was referred to us for the evaluation of thyroid nodule, five months postpartum. Thyroid scintigraphy demonstrated a left cold nodule. Fine needle aspiration cytology of the nodule showed a mixture of colloid, follicular cells and lymph...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1380562
更新日期:1998-05-01 00:00:00
abstract::Osteopetrosis is a rare metabolic bone disease characterized by a generalized increase in skeletal mass. It is inherited in a number of mammalian species, including man, and results from a congenital defect in the development or function of the osteoclasts. The consequent impairment of bone resorption prevents formati...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1340143
更新日期:1996-02-01 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:The acute decrease in iodide organification in the thyroid in response to excess iodide is termed the acute Wolff-Chaikoff effect and normal organification resumes in spite of continued high plasma iodide concentrations (escape from the acute Wolff-Chaikoff effect). We have recently reported that large doses ...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1440139
更新日期:2001-02-01 00:00:00
abstract::In recent years, 2-[(18)F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) has emerged as an important tool for the postoperative management of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) and it is widely used in selected clinical situations. The most valuable role that FDG...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1530/EJE-15-0066
更新日期:2015-09-01 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:Both animal and human studies have associated the endocannabinoid system with obesity and markers of metabolic dysfunction. Blockade of the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) caused weight loss and reduction in waist size in both obese and type II diabetics. Recent studies on common variants of the CB1 receptor gen...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章,随机对照试验
doi:10.1530/EJE-10-0192
更新日期:2010-09-01 00:00:00
abstract:CONTEXT:The late presentation of steroid 5α-reductase-2 (SRD5A2) deficiency in females is poorly characterised. The ratios of 5α/5β-reduced metabolites of adrenal steroids in a urine steroid profile (USP) can give an indication of SRD5A2 deficiency, although the diagnostic cut-off for 5α/5β ratios are not clearly defin...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/EJE-10-0930
更新日期:2011-06-01 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:In order to characterize urinary gonadotropin peptide (UGP) as an acute phase reactant, we focused on the UGP levels after surgical operation. DESIGN:Fifty cases of gastrointestinal cancer, 4 cases of cancers of other organs and 13 cases of benign digestive diseases were enrolled into this study. METHODS:UG...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 临床试验,杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1400555
更新日期:1999-06-01 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVES:The purpose of this population-based prospective cohort study was to examine the effect of hormone therapy (HT) on incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM). DESIGN AND METHODS:Eight thousand four hundred and eighty-three DM-free post-menopausal women aged 52-62 from the population-based Kuopio osteoporosis risk ...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/EJE-09-0151
更新日期:2009-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::Male age-related bone loss is caused, at least in part, by hypogonadism that occurs with advancing age. The study of the effects of sex steroids on bone physiology in men has recently highlighted the central role of estrogens on bone pathophysiology. This review focuses on particular aspects of bone physiology and pat...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1530/eje.1.02088
更新日期:2006-02-01 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:In female adrenal insufficiency, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) secretion is impaired and circulating androgen levels are severely reduced. We wanted to analyse the acute effects of physiological DHEA substitution on substrate metabolism. DESIGN:We studied nine females with adrenal insufficiency after 9 days ...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 临床试验,杂志文章,随机对照试验
doi:10.1530/eje.1.01810
更新日期:2005-01-01 00:00:00
abstract:Background:Autosomal dominant neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus (adNDI) is caused by arginine vasopressin (AVP) deficiency resulting from mutations in the AVP-NPII gene encoding the AVP preprohormone. Aim:To describe the clinical and molecular features of Italian unrelated families with central diabetes insipidus. ...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/EJE-19-0299
更新日期:2019-09-01 00:00:00
abstract::In addition to the classical hormones, the production of numerous polypeptide growth factors, cytokines, vasogenic substances and neuropeptides by pituitary cells has been demonstrated. Expression of the corresponding receptors on pituitary cells enables these factors to influence growth and function of the pituitary ...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1530/eje.0.1350515
更新日期:1996-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::Patients with pituitary tumours, ensuing hormonal abnormalities and mass effects are usually followed in multidisciplinary pituitary clinics and can represent a management challenge even during the times of non-pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has put on hold routine medical care for hundreds of millions of patients ar...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/EJE-20-0473
更新日期:2020-07-01 00:00:00
abstract:BACKGROUND:Lithium, clinically used in the treatment of bipolar disorders, is well known to induce thyroid growth. However, the mechanism involved is only incompletely characterized. Although it is conventionally believed that thyroid proliferation depends on the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)/cAMP/cAMP response ele...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/eje.1.02038
更新日期:2005-12-01 00:00:00
abstract:OBJECTIVE:Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis is the most frequent cause of secondary osteoporosis. Nevertheless, limited data are available on bone status in patients with endogenous cortisol excess. This study is aimed at investigating the role of sex steroids and severity of hypercortisolism on bone mineral density ...
journal_title:European journal of endocrinology
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1530/EJE-07-0137
更新日期:2007-09-01 00:00:00