The incidence of gynaecomastia was evaluated in 954 healthy young men aged 18-26 years, and was correlated with several somatometric parameters (height, weight, testes size, eye colour, scalp hair colour, scalp hair density, acne, density and extent of body hair). Gynaecomastia (> 2 cm breast tissue) was found in 40.5% (bilateral 85%, left 7.8%, right 7.2%) of the subjects. Highly statistically significant differences were found between subjects with or without gynaecomastia in their weight (79.7 +/- 10.7 kg versus 69.1 +/- 7.8 kg respectively; p < 0.001) and in their body hair (subjects with gynaecomastia had more dense and extensive body hair than those without; p < 0.001). When the density and extent of body hair was analysed separately for each age, it was found that subjects with gynaecomastia had completed the development of body hair earlier, since 80% of them had completed their body hair by the age of 23 years versus only 45% of those without gynaecomastia. This observation leads to the assumption that obesity and/or an earlier maturation of the subjects with gynaecomastia may play a role in the development of breast tissue, although the possibility of an increased tissue sensitivity to hormonal action cannot be excluded.

Thyroid nodules with autoimmune thyroiditis are not more likely to be malignant than those without autoimmune thyroiditis. The coexistent autoimmune thyroiditis may be beneficial as a decreased incidence of lymph nodes involvement and distant metastasis was seen in those patients.

Background/aim: Previous studies have shown that there may be a diversity in the ultrasonographic (US) features discriminating a malignant from a benign thyroid nodule. We determined the reliability of the specific nodule shape in combination with other US features in predicting thyroid carcinomas. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective single-center study investigating the association of the morphological characteristics of nodular goiters from preoperative US and color Doppler images with malignancy based on pathology. Results: We evaluated 254 thyroid nodules (malignant, n=131) from 205 patients. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that taller-than-wide shape [odds ratio (OR)=25.3, 95% confidence interval (CI)=5.4-118.9; p<0.001], microcalcifications (OR=4.9, 95% CI=2.5-9.5; p<0.001), hypoechogenicity (OR=4.5; 95% CI=2-10.3; p<0.001) and size (OR=0.93; 95% CI=0.89-0.98; p=0.002) were independently associated with thyroid nodule malignancy. Additionally, we found a strong negative correlation between size and taller-than-wide shape of a thyroid nodule (r=−0.41, p<0.001). Conclusion: Among the important indicators of thyroid malignancy, taller-than-wide nodules with microcalcifications are most likely to be malignant.

beats/minute; P ϭ .05). The nondippers also presented greater end-systolic diameter (28.7 vs 25.9 mm; P ϭ .001) and left-ventricular end-diastolic diameter (47.8 vs 45.1 mm; P ϭ .040) and greater LVMI (90.2 vs 78.3 g/m 2 ; P ϭ .044) compared with the dippers. During stepwise multiple regression, the most important factors affecting LVMI were mean HR (day) (b ϭ Ϫ0.40; P ϭ .001), high-frequency variable of heart rate variability (b ϭ 0.38; P ϭ .016), and hemoglobin A1c: (b ϭ 0.67; P ϭ .001). CONCLUSIONS: A group of normotensive diabetic adolescents with abnormal nocturnal BP reduction and impaired heart rate variation also had impaired leftventricular function. Our findings suggest that an altered diurnal BP profile, as a result of autonomic dysfunction, may contribute to the development of left-ventricular hypertrophy in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus. ADIPONECTIN AND PEROXISOME PROLIFERATOR-ACTIVATED RECEPTOR ␥ EXPRESSION IN SUBCUTANEOUS AND OMENTAL ADIPOSE TISSUE IN CHILDREN Submitted by Xiaonan LiXiaonan Li, Susanne Lindquist, Gertrud Angsten, Torbjorn Myrnas, Jun Yi, Ronghua Chen, Stenlund Hans, Tommy Olsson, Olle Hernell INTRODUCTION:Adiponectin is an adipocyte-specific protein with insulin-sensitizing properties. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ␥ (PPAR␥) may be involved in its gene transcription. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the expression levels of the genes that encode adiponectin and PPAR␥ in subcutaneous and omental adipose tissue in children in relation to age and anthropometric variables. METHODS: Paired biopsies (from subcutaneous and omental adipose tissue) were obtained from 53 children (age: 0.2-14.0 years; BMI: 12.5-25.8 kg/m 2 ). Messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of adiponectin and PPAR␥ were measured by using reverse-transcription and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Adiponectin mRNA levels in adipose tissue were positively associated with PPAR␥ mRNA levels in children (subcutaneous adipose: r ϭ 0.73, P Ͻ .001; omental adipose: r ϭ 0.78, P Ͻ .001). In overweight children, the median adiponectin mRNA level was lower in omental adipose tissue (odds ratio: 0.51 [95% confidence interval: 0.1-2.17]) compared with subcutaneous adipose tissue (odds ratio: 1.29 [95% confidence interval: 0.16 -5.08]) (P ϭ .032) but not in normal-weight children (P ϭ .54), and the difference remained significant after adjustment for age (P ϭ .045). CONCLUSIONS:The close association between adiponectin and PPAR␥ expression supports the hypothesis that PPAR␥ is involved in adiponectin gene regulation. The fact that adiponectin expression was decreased in omental adipose tissue relative to subcutaneous adipose tissue in overweight children suggests that a risk of insulin resistance may be present in childhood, which allows such resistance to develop after a relatively short duration of overweight. EFFECT OF BODY WEIGHT ON BONE AGE AND HORMONAL PARAMETERS IN CHILDREN WITH PREMATURE ADRENARCHE Submitted by Asteroula PapathanasiouAsteroula Papathanasiou, Garyfallia Lekk...

Objective:The prevalence of autoimmune thyroiditis (AT) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is still controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of coexistence of PTC with AT versus that of the coexistence of benign nodules with AT. Materials and methods: This was a crosssectional retrospective study including patients operated on for thyroid nodules from January 2011, to April 2021. The frequency of papillary carcinomas cooccurring with AT was compared to that of benign nodules cooccurring with AT, which was assessed based on cytopathological diagnosis after thyroidectomy. Results: The study included 668 cases of benign nodules and 420 cases with PTC. No statistically significant difference was observed between cases of benign and PTC nodules regarding the presence of AT (25% vs. 28%, respectively, p = 0.177). The size of the PTC compared to that of the benign predominant nodules was significantly smaller both in the absence (0.96 ± 1.09 cm vs. 2.19 ± 1.06 cm, p < 0.05) and in the presence (0.77 ± 0.76 cm vs. 1.67 ± 1.08 cm, p < 0.01) of AT. In the binary logistic regression analysis of the PTC, the only variable associated with AT was multifocality (odds ratio: 1.750, 95% confidence intervals: 1.131-2.706, p = 0.013). The incidences of lymph node involvement and advanced stage PTC were very low both in the presence and absence of AT. Conclusion: The nodules present with PTC were not more likely to coexist with AT than benign nodules were. The small incidence of advanced PTC indicates a significant improvement in early-stage diagnosis.