Marjan Jeddi

Hypoglycemia may result from multiple clinical conditions which are categorized based on clinical status. The first principal step in clinical diagnostic e

COVID-19 is associated with multiorgan dysfunction, including the endocrine system, and severe illness often involves endocrine-metabolic issues. We investigated hormonal axes in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in Iran and their correlation with disease severity, outcomes, and inflammatory biomarkers. We conducted a cross-sectional study with 200 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. An initial endocrinology panel assessed thyroid hormones, gonadal hormones, adrenal hormones, and prolactin levels. Disease severity was evaluated using the COVID-19 Severity Index. Of 183 patients analyzed, most had severe (21.7%) or critical (63.3%) infections. Abnormal hormone levels were common, with 26.8% having non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS), 30.1% suspected of adrenal insufficiency, and no patient with subacute thyroiditis. Additionally, 95.5% of males had hypogonadism, comprising 20.5% with primary and 75% with secondary disease. However, hormonal levels and diagnoses did not significantly correlate with COVID-19 severity (P > 0.05). Deceased patients had lower T3 levels and a higher NTIS diagnosis rate (P = 0.013 and 0.012, respectively). Moreover, C-reactive protein levels were significantly higher among COVID-19 patients with adrenal insufficiency likelihood (P = 0.005) and primary or secondary hypogonadism (P = 0.018). The ESR levels were significantly higher in COVID-19 patients with NTIS (P = 0.009) and significantly lower in patients with primary or secondary hypogonadism (P = 0.033). Hospitalized COVID-19 patients exhibit hormonal abnormalities, which were correlated with inflammatory biomarkers, but these do not significantly correlate with disease severity or outcome, except for lower T3 levels and a higher NTIS diagnosis rate in deceased patients.

Background: Hypercalcemia of malignancy, as a paraneoplastic syndrome, is the most common metabolic disorder that accounts for 30% of malignancies and usually has a poor prognosis. Neuroendocrine tumors are uncommon and arise from neuroendocrine cells throughout the body. Actually, paraneoplastic hypercalcemia in neuroendocrine tumors is unusual and mostly associated with parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) secretion. Case presentation: We report a 51-year-old Iranian man who presented with nausea, vomiting, and significant weight loss for 1 month. Laboratory data revealed calcium of 26 mg/dl, accompanied by low level of PTH. Octreotide scan revealed a large donut-shaped octreotide avid lesion in the epigastric region at the right side of the mid-abdomen, with multiple varying size foci of abnormally increased radiotracer uptake in the epigastric region and both lobes of the liver. Endoscopic ultrasonography demonstrated a large heterogeneous mass lesion with irregular outline and good demarcation in the body of the pancreas with diffuse foci of calcification. Percutaneous biopsy of the liver mass demonstrated a well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumor (low grade) confirmed by immunohistochemistry with strongly positive chromogranin and synaptophysin stain. Hypercalcemia was treated with hydration, few sessions of hemodialysis, calcitonin, and denosumab injection. However, the patient developed symptomatic hypocalcemia. Oncology consultation led to prescription of long-acting octreotide 30 mg monthly and everolimus daily. Conclusion: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor could lead to malignant hypercalcemia; secretion of PTHrP is the most common cause, and signs and symptoms are usually milder than paraneoplastic syndrome due to hematologic and solid tumor. Generally, survival is better; however, its treatment is challenging, and primary debulking surgery is often required. A team approach to management is important at all points.

Background: Melanoma develops in the cells that produce melanin; ocular melanoma accounts for 3–4% of all malignant melanomas. Thyroid tumors are the most common endocrine neoplasms, with more than 95% of cases arising from follicular cell origin. Previous studies have reported associations between malignant melanoma and a wide variety of malignancies. Case presentation: We report a 54-year-old Iranian woman who was diagnosed with ocular melanoma based on a mushroom-shaped filling defect with homogeneous echo pattern arising from the anterior third of the temporal side of the globe detected on ocular sonography during routine ophthalmological examination. She underwent right globe enucleation and implant replacement. During tumor surveillance, fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography scan showed low-grade metabolically active tumoral involvement in the anterolateral aspect of the right lobe of thyroid. The patient subsequently underwent thyroidectomy and submandibular lymphadenectomy. Pathologic report demonstrated micropapillary carcinoma (9 × 8 mm²), tall cell variant without lymphovascular or perineural invasion in the base of lymphocytic thyroiditis. Conclusion: This case illustrates the importance of precise active surveillance in case of papillary carcinoma of thyroid or malignant melanoma to avoid missing other associated pathologies and emphasizes the simultaneous treatment of two tumors.

Introduction: There is no data on the number as well as the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in the Fars province. Hence, we designed this study to analyze the latest data and the possible predictive factors on transient and permanent CH in this province. Method: This cross sectional study is based on the Fars province screening data from 2013 to 2016. A total of 294,214 newborns were screened with 938 confirmed cases of CH, which were included in this study. After recall and completion of the missing data, follow-up data for 642 CH cases with thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations and levothyroxine doses for ten outpatient visits and final transient vs. permanent CH diagnosis were included. Results: The incidence rate was 1:313.66, and out of the 642 CH cases, 66.04 % had permanent CH, while 33.96 % had transient CH. TSH level trend during the outpatient visits were not statistically different between the two groups (P = 0.312). A cutoff point of > 2.25 levothyroxine µg/kg (sensitivity: 76.11 %, specificity: 58.52 %) at the third year and a TSH concentration of > 43.35 mIU/L at the venous sampling (initial TSH) (sensitivity: 31.66 %, specificity: 90.32 %) were the predictive factors for permanent CH. Conclusion: Fars province has one of the highest incidence rate of CH in Iran. Levothyroxine dose at the 3rd year and the 1st venous TSH sample are the predictive factors for permanent CH in the Iranian population; however, TSH concentrations during follow ups are unreliable predictors.

Background: As the use of smartphones and mobile apps is increasing, mobile health (mHealth) can be used as a cost-effective option to provide behavioral interventions aimed at educating and promoting self-management for chronic diseases such as diabetes. Although many mobile software apps have been developed for this purpose, they usually lack a theoretical foundation and do not follow the guidelines suggested for evidence-based practice. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a theory-based self-management app for people with type 2 diabetes and provide an app based on a needs assessment analysis. Objective: This paper describes the development and usability evaluation of a cloud-based and mobile-based diabetes self-management app designed to help people with diabetes change their health behavior and also enable remote monitoring by health care providers. Methods: The development of this mHealth solution comprises 3 phases. Phase I: feature extraction of the Android apps that had a user rating of 4 stars or more and review of papers related to mHealth for diabetes self-management were performed followed by seeking expert opinions about the extracted features to determine the essential features of the app. Phase II: design and implementation included selecting which behavioral change and structural theories were to be applied the app and design of the website. Phase III: evaluation of the usability and user experience of the mobile app by people with diabetes and the portal by health care providers using the User Experience Questionnaire. Results: The developed mobile app includes modules that support several features. A person’s data were entered or collected and viewed in the form of graphs and tables. The theoretical foundation of behavioral intervention is the transtheoretical model. Users were able to receive customized messages based on the behavioral change preparation stage using the Kreuter algorithm. The clinician’s portal was used by health care providers to monitor the patients. The results of the usability evaluation revealed overall user satisfaction with the app. Conclusions: Mobile- and cloud-based systems may be an effective tool for facilitating the modification of self-management of chronic care. The results of this study showed that the usability of mobile- and cloud-based systems can be satisfactory and promising. Given that the study used a behavioral model, assessment of the effectiveness of behavior change over time requires further research with long-term follow-up.

Summary Peak bone mass is established during childhood. This study aimed to evaluate the associations of the components of overall body mass with areal bone mineral density Z-score in children. The findings of this study showed that children with greater overall body mass had higher aBMD Z-score. Purpose Peak bone mass is established during childhood and adolescence. One of the important factors influencing predicted bone mass tracking in childhood and adolescence is alteration in the body composition during this growth period. This study aimed to evaluate the associations of the components of overall body mass with areal bone mineral density Z-score in children and adolescents. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 478 healthy Iranian children and adolescents (237 girls and 241 boys) who had DXA measures participated. We evaluated the linearity of associations using generalized additive models. Results Children’s mean age was14 years with a range of 9–18 years, and 49.6% were girls. We found an increase in aBMD Z-score with increasing overall body mass (r = 0.25, p < 0.001). We observed this association with fat-free mass and total fat mass up to the 60th (~30 Kg) and 75th percentile (~12.5 Kg) [0.051 (95% CI, 0.027–0.075) increase in aBMD Z-score per 1 Kg increase in fat-free mass and 0.079 (95% CI, 0.044–0.114) increase in aBMD Z-score per 1 Kg increase in the total fat mass]. The correlation between Z-score of overall body mass and its components with aBMD Z-score was strongly positive. (P value < 0.001 for all) Conclusion The findings of this study showed that children with greater overall body mass had higher aBMD Z-score. In addition, this study adds to a growing literature, suggesting that the relationship between body composition and BMD may be influenced by the pattern of fat and fat-free mass distribution in population.

Introduction: There is no data on the number as well as the prevalence of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) in the Fars province. Hence, we designed this study to analyze the latest data and the possible predictive factors on transient and permanent CH in this province.Method: This cross sectional study is based on the Fars province screening data from 2013 till 2016. A total of 294,214 newborns were screened with 938 confirmed cases of CH, which were included in this study. After recall and completion of the missing data, follow-up data for 642 CH cases with thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations and levothyroxine doses for ten outpatient visits and final transient vs. permanent CH diagnosis were included.Results: The incidence rate was 1:313.66, and out of the 642 CH cases, 66.04% had permanent CH, while 33.96% had transient CH. TSH level trend during the outpatient visits were not statistically different between the two groups (P=0.312). A cutoff point of >2.25 levothyroxine µg/kg (sensitivity: 76.11%, specificity: 58.52%) at the third year and a TSH concentration of >43.35 mIU/L at the venous sampling (initial TSH) (sensitivity: 31.66%, specificity: 90.32%) were the predictive factors for permanent CH.Conclusion: Fars province has one of the highest incidence rate of CH in Iran. Levothyroxine dose at the 3rd year and the 1st venous TSH sample are the predictive factors for permanent CH in the Iranian population; however, TSH concentrations during follow ups are unreliable predictors.

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrinopathy among young women. Insulin resistance is a key feature in the pathogenesis of PCOS; also high molecular weight adiponectin is a marker of insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the insulin resistance, metabolic and androgenic profiles and high molecular weight adiponectin in obese and non-obese PCOS patients. Methods: In this cross-sectional study in outpatient endocrinology clinics of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, 80 women aged 17–43 years old with PCOS were enrolled. Biochemical and hormonal assay was done on fasting blood sample on the third day of follicular phase. Results: The individuals had a mean age of 28.39 ± 6.56 years, mean weight of 65.41 ± 12.59 Kg, mean BMI of 25.5 ± 4.9, and mean waist circumference of 88.0 ± 13.1 cm. Of all individuals 20% had frank insulin resistance with HOMA-IR > 3.8. Although the obese PCOS patients had lower levels of high molecular weight adiponectin (P = 0.03) than the normal weight PCOS individuals, the level of insulin and insulin resistance was not different in them (P = 0.13, 0.13). Patients with classic PCOS phenotype significantly had higher levels of insulin resistance and free androgen index (P < 0.001, 0.001). We found a significant correlation between the insulin level and free androgen index (correlation coefficient: 0.266 and P = 0.018) after adjusting for BMI. Conclusion: This cross-sectional study showed a high incidence of insulin resistance in PCOS patients independent of obesity, and determined BMI related lower level of high molecular weight adiponectin in obese PCOS individuals. More detailed studies are warranted for evaluation of insulin resistance and its pathophysiologic role in PCOS.

Objectives: Phosphate is essential for skeletal mineralization, which is regulated by parathyroid hormone, calcitriol and fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). Serum phosphate is physiologically higher in younger children, but factors that contribute to this physiological state are poorly understood. This study aimed to evaluate phosphate and its regulators in children compared with adults. Materials and methods: The participants were children aged 3–11 years and adults older than 20 years of age. Biochemical parameters including calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, FGF23, and vitamin D were measured. Fractional excretion of phosphate was calculated, using serum and urine phosphate and creatinine. Results: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 45 children (mean age: 9.0 ± 2.1) and 44 adults (mean age: 38.9 ± 11.1). The children had higher serum calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase, and FGF23 (p < 0.001), but fractional excretion of phosphate was greater in adults (14.1 ± 5.7, 11.4 ± 4.4, p = 0.019, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −0.7 to −0.2). Of all individuals, 61.8% had vitamin D deficiency. By multiple regression analysis, entering age, calcium, phosphate, and vitamin D level, the only independent predictor of FGF23 was 1, 25 dihydroxy-vitamin D3 (β: 0.78, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 0.5–1.1, R²: 0.59 for children, and β: 0.59, p < 0.001, 95% CI: 0.5–1.4, R²: 0.45 for adults). Conclusion: As far as we know, there is little information regarding the role of FGF23 in physiologic state. In this cross-sectional study no association was found between FGF23 and urinary phosphate excretion in growing children. Further studies with more detail are essential to evaluate phosphate homeostasis during childhood.