Standardized Map of Iodine Status in Europe

Background: Knowledge about the population's iodine status is important, because it allows adjustment of iodine supply and prevention of iodine deficiency. The validity and comparability of iodine-related population studies can be improved by standardization, which was one of the goals of the EUthyroid project. The aim of this study was to establish the first standardized map of iodine status in Europe by using standardized urinary iodine concentration (UIC) data. Materials and Methods: We established a gold-standard laboratory in Helsinki measuring UIC by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. A total of 40 studies from 23 European countries provided 75 urine samples covering the whole range of concentrations. Conversion formulas for UIC derived from the gold-standard values were established by linear regression models and were used to postharmonize the studies by standardizing the UIC data of the individual studies. Results: In comparison with the EUthyroid gold-standard, mean UIC measurements were higher in 11 laboratories and lower in 10 laboratories. The mean differences ranged from -36.6% to 49.5%. Of the 40 postharmonized studies providing data for the standardization, 16 were conducted in schoolchildren, 13 in adults, and 11 in pregnant women. Median standardized UIC was <100 μg/L in 1 out of 16 (6.3%) studies in schoolchildren, while in adults 7 out of 13 (53.8%) studies had a median standardized UIC <100 μg/L. Seven out of 11 (63.6%) studies in pregnant women revealed a median UIC <150 μg/L. Conclusions: We demonstrate that iodine deficiency is still present in Europe, using standardized data from a large number of studies. Adults and pregnant women, particularly, are at risk for iodine deficiency, which calls for action. For instance, a more uniform European legislation on iodine fortification is warranted to ensure that noniodized salt is replaced by iodized salt more often. In addition, further efforts should be put on harmonizing iodine-related studies and iodine measurements to improve the validity and comparability of results.

HORMONAL THERAPY IN WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS: AN UPDATE

Medical therapy of endometriosis is under continuous reevaluation. Hereby we updated the drugs currently available or under investigation for the hormonal treatment of endometriosis.

NEONATAL SCREENING FOR CONGENITAL HYPOTHYROIDISM IN ROMANIA: DATA FROM MEDILOG MEDICAL INFORMATION REGISTRY

Objective

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the common preventable causes of intellectual disability in neonates, by early detection through neonatal screening. We present the 8-year experience of the National Institute for Mother and Child Health (INSMC) in using MEDILOG national registry for the neonatal screening of CH.

Methods

Neonatal screening for CH, done by TSH measurement in dried blood spot, is organized in 5 regional centers, each with a reference laboratory.

Results

In 2018 80% of all the newborns, from 80% of the maternity hospitals, were registered in MEDILOG. After re-testing of TSH and T4/FT4 from venous blood in positive cases, the incidence of confirmed CH in 2018 was 1/3576 - 1/ 4746. In INSMC center (which includes 26 counties and Bucharest, out of 41 counties), in 2018 the incidence of positive CH cases at screening was 1/2094 (TSH cut-off ≥17 mIU/L) and of confirmed CH cases 1/3576 newborns. For positive screening cases, the median duration from birth to the INSMC laboratory result was 19 days: median of 9 days between screening and laboratory registration and 6 days between registration and test result.

Conclusion

MEDILOG registry is a practical instrument for monitoring the steps of neonatal CH screening, the incidence of CH, the evolution of the diagnosed cases, for evaluation of iodine deficiency (by neonatal TSH), and also for research, with the aim of improving early disease detection and treatment.

STEREOTACTIC RADIATION THERAPY IN PITUITARY ADENOMAS, IS IT BETTER THAN CONVENTIONAL RADIATION THERAPY?

Pituitary radiotherapy (RT) has undergone important progress in the last decades due to the development of new stereotactic techniques which provide more precise tumour targeting with less overall radiation received by the adjacent brain structures. Pituitary surgery is usually first-line therapy in most patients with nonfunctioning (NFPA) and functioning adenomas (except for prolactinomas and large growth hormone (GH) secreting adenomas), while RT is used as second or third-line therapy. The benefits of RT (tumour volume control and, in functional tumours, decreased hormonal secretion) are hampered by the long latency of the effect and the potential side effects. This review presents the updates in the efficacy and safety of the new stereotactic radiation techniques in patients with NFPA, GH-, ACTH- or PRL-secreting pituitary adenomas.

Methods

A systematic review was performed using PubMed and articles/abstracts and reviews detailing RT in pituitary adenomas from 2000 to 2017 were included.

Results

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and fractionated stereotactic RT (FSRT) provide high rates of tumour control i.e. stable or decrease in tumour size, in all types of pituitary adenomas (median 92 - 98%) at 5 years. Endocrinological remission is however significantly lower: 44-52% in acromegaly, 54-64% in Cushing's disease and around 30% in prolactinomas at 5 years. The rate of new hypopituitarism varies from 10% to 50% at 5 years in all tumour types and as expected increases with the duration of follow-up (FU). The risk for other radiation-induced complications is usually low (0-5% for new visual deficits, cranial nerves damage or brain radionecrosis and extremely low for secondary brain tumours), however longer FU is needed to determine rates of secondary tumours. Notably, in acromegaly, there may be a higher risk for stroke with FSRT.

Conclusion

Stereotactic radiotherapy can be an effective treatment option for patients with persistent or recurrent pituitary adenomas after unsuccessful surgery (especially if residual tumour is enlarging) and/or resistance or unavailability of medical therapy. Comparison with conventional radiation therapy (CRT) is rather difficult, due to the substantial heterogeneity of the studies. In order to evaluate the potential brain-sparing effect of the new stereotactic techniques, suggested by the current data, long-term studies evaluating secondary morbidity and mortality are needed.

NEWS IN ACROMEGALY

Recent updates on the epidemiology, diagnosis, complications and therapy in acromegaly have been published in the 1^st 2017 issue of Pituitary journal. A review of 12 epidemiological studies published since 2004 shows that the prevalence of acromegaly ranges 2.8 - 13.7 cases per 100,000 people and the annual incidence rates range 0.2 - 1.1 cases/100,000 people. The median age at diagnosis ranges between 40.5 and 47 years. At the time of diagnosis, over 2/3 of the patients have macroadenomas. Acromegalic osteopathy is characterized by increase in bone turnover, alterations in bone microarchitecture and high risk of vertebral fractures, which occur in about 1/3 of acromegaly patients. Fractures may occur even in the presence of normal bone mineral density (BMD), in close relationship with male gender, hypogonadism, and active acromegaly. Following treatment for acromegaly in 48 patients, the mean trabecular bone score decreased by 3.0 (±7.0) %, whereas BMD at the lumbar spine increased by 3.2 (±4.9) % (both P<0.01). Alterations in trabecular bone architecture may explain the persistent fracture risk despite the increase in BMD after disease control. Stereotactic radiotherapy in acromegaly after surgery and/or during medical therapy provide tumor control in 93-100% of patients at 5-10 years and endocrinological remission in 40-60% of patients at 5 years, with a hypopituitarism rate of 10-50% at 5 years. Hypofractionated radiosurgery is an optimal option for tumors located near the optic structures, due to its lower toxicity for the optic nerves compared to single-dose radiosurgery. A dose-response model for visual pathway tolerance to SRS has been recently published.

Increased copeptin levels in metabolic syndrome from a Romanian population

Rationale: Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is secreted under conditions of water deprivation. Since AVP has a low half-life in the plasma, the C-terminal fragment of AVP-precursor (copeptin) was used to estimate the AVP levels. High copeptin levels increase the risk for the development of diabetes mellitus. Aim: This study was aimed to measure copeptin levels in the metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Romanians using a competitive enzyme immunoassay. Methods and results: Patients prone to present MetS (n = 63) were compared to controls (n = 42). In the MetS group, the syndrome was confirmed in 93.6%. Affected patients displayed 85.7% obesity and insulin resistance (HOMAIR of 4.9 ± 0.4 versus 1.1 ± 0.8 in controls). Low HDL-cholesterol was less represented (47.5%). Copeptin levels were 0.6 ± 0.0 in MetS versus 0.42 ± 0.0 ng/ mL in controls (P < 0.004). Higher copeptin (0.79 to 1.83 ng/ mL) was associated with MetS, P < 0.0018, OR 20, 95%CI [3.03 - 131.7]. In ANOVA, high copeptin was equally explained by MetS or obesity (P < 0.05,α = 3.8). The best correlation was found with high triglyceride levels (P < 0.013,α = 6.3) while the correlation with HOMAIR remained not significant. Discussion: These data indicated a concordant correlation between increased copeptin and MetS or its components. In the light of epidemiological data, indicating that more than 50% of the European population has a lower daily water intake and a fraction of 25% displaying high copeptin, our data further sustained that copeptin may be a good biomarker for MetS and/ or obesity, which should be further investigated with other members of the osmoregulation pathway at both pathogenesis and genetic levels.

IODINE STATUS IN PREGNANT WOMEN AFTER A DECADE OF UNIVERSAL SALT IODIZATION IN ROMANIA

Objective

To assess iodine status (median urinary iodine concentration) in 118 pregnant women during the third trimester from endemic or non-endemic areas, a decade after implementation of Universal Salt Iodization in Romania.

Subjects and methods

One hundred and eighteen pregnant women in the third trimester were included in the study group (age range: 16 - 46 years, mean age: 28.78 years). Median urinary iodine concentration (UIC) and body mass index (BMI) were evaluated. Data regarding region of provenance, smoking habits during pregnancy, education level, iodized salt intake, bread intake, iodine supplements, comorbidities (iron deficiency anemia) and birth weight were assessed. Morning urine was collected to measure median UIC. The study was approved by the Local Ethics Committee.

Results

Median UIC in the study group was 206 mcg/L, reflecting iodine sufficiency during pregnancy. There is a statistically significant difference between pregnant women with and without iodine supplements from rural areas (281.5 versus 196.1 mcg/L, respectively, p=0.023). In the subgroup without iodine supplementation, there was a significant difference between overweight and obese subjects vs. normal weight subjects (232.5 versus 194 mcg/L, p=0.012). Only in the subgroup with a daily intake of less than 5 slices of bread (usually containing iodized salt) we found significant differences between those with and without iodine supplements (245.2 versus 128.3 mcg/L). Iron deficiency anemia was found in 29.66% and 19.49% were current smokers during pregnancy.

Conclusions

Median UIC in the study group was 206 mcg/L, reflecting iodine sufficiency during pregnancy. The difference between the subgroup with iodine supplements and the subgroup without iodine supplements was not statistically significant, probably due to the excessive consumption of bread and other bakery products which is traditional in Romania.

THYROID METASTASIS FROM CLEAR CELL CARCINOMA OF THE KIDNEY 16 YEARS AFTER NEPHRECTOMY

The thyroid gland is one of the most vascularized organs in the body. However, metastatic disease to the thyroid gland is rare. When it does occur kidney is the most common primary tumor site, followed by melanoma, lung, breast, esophagus, uterus and colon carcinoma. We describe the case of an isolated thyroid metastasis from clear cell renal carcinoma occurring 16 years after nephrectomy. An 82 years-old woman presented for the recent growth of a right thyroid nodule, diagnosed 3 years before, when a fine needle aspiration biopsy found a benign cytology suggesting a well-differentiated follicular thyroid adenoma. Her medical history included type 2 diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation and a right nephrectomy for a clear cell renal carcinoma done 16 years before. The patient has lost weight but she was otherwise asymptomatic. The right lobe goiter was painless, firm, and mobile with deglutition, without signs of local compression or latero-cervical lymphadenopathy. Thyroid ultrasonography revealed an enlarged (9.9 cm) macronodular right lobe, with multiple cystic areas, with normal left lobe and a thrombus in the right internal jugular vein. Thyroid function tests were normal. The patient was suspected of thyroid carcinoma and underwent a near total thyroidectomy. Histopathological examination revealed a metastasis of clear cell renal carcinoma in the right thyroid gland lobe (8.5/5/5 cm). Further imaging showed no primary tumor or other metastases. Metastatic renal carcinoma to the thyroid should be considered in any patient presenting with a thyroid mass and a medical history of operated renal cell carcinoma, since it can occur up to 25 years after nephrectomy.