Subclinical Cushing's syndrome (SCS) is increasingly being reported in incidentally discovered adrenal adenomas; its hallmark is mild autonomous cortisol hyperproduction without specific clinical signs of cortisol excess. Increased prevalence of hypertension, obesity, and impaired glucose tolerance have been described in SCS, but there is no specific study of the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. In this cross-sectional study we assessed the cardiovascular profile in 28 consecutive SCS patients (19 women and 9 men; aged 56 +/- 10.6 yr) compared with 100 controls matched for age, gender, and body mass index. Systolic (P < 0.001) and diastolic (P < 0.005) blood pressures were higher in patients, as were fasting glucose, insulin, total cholesterol, triglycerides (all P < 0.001), and fibrinogen (P < 0.05). Moreover, the insulin resistance index was increased in patients as was the waist to hip ratio and mean carotid artery intima-media thickness (all P < 0.001). Of the patients, 60.7% had arterial hypertension, 71.4% had lipid abnormalities, 28.6% had impaired glucose tolerance, 35.7% type 2 diabetes mellitus, and 53.6% had abnormalities in hemostatic parameters. Atherosclerotic plaques were more frequent in patients (P < 0.0001). Only 4 (14.3%) patients did not have multiple risk factors for cardiovascular events. Six (21.3%) had clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease; another 11 (39.3%) had cardiovascular abnormalities as revealed by ultrasound scanning of carotid arteries and/or electrocardiogram records. These results strongly suggest that an increased cardiovascular risk profile, similar to that described in overt Cushing's syndrome, is present in SCS subjects. This finding supports the concept that chronic mild endogenous cortisol excess may have important systemic effects on the human body.

PDFC has a more aggressive behavior than well-differentiated carcinomas; prognosis is related to indicators that are also relevant in patients with well-differentiated carcinomas.

Context: Although coronary flow reserve (CFR) is reduced in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SHypo), the endothelial response of coronary vasomotion has never been explored in this clinical setting. Objective: To investigate the endothelial response of coronary flow in young and middle-aged patients with SHypo, without associated cardiovascular risk factors compared with healthy control subjects. Patients and methods:The study population consisted of 20 women (mean age 38.4C12.1 years) with newly diagnosed, untreated and persistent SHypo due to Hashimoto's thyroiditis. A total of 15 volunteers served as controls. Age, gender, body surface area, glucose, insulin levels, heart rate, systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressure were similar in patients and controls. Body mass index was significantly higher in SHypo patients. Total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, despite not significant, tended to be higher, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol to be lower in SHypo. Coronary blood flow velocities were recorded in patients at rest and after the cold pressor test (CPT), a stimulus that can be considered totally endothelium-dependent. CFR was calculated as the ratio of hyperemic-to-resting diastolic peak velocities. Results: Coronary diastolic peak velocities at rest did not differ between the two groups but were significantly lower after CPT in patients with SHypo, thereby resulting in a lower CFR. The difference remained significant after adjusting resting and CPT velocities for the respective mean blood pressures. TSH was inversely correlated with CFR in the pooled population. Conclusion: Patients with SHypo without associated cardiovascular risk factors have a coronary endothelial dysfunction that appears in response to a physiological stimulus (the CPT).

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Photography has always been considered as a valid tool to acquire information about reality. Nowadays, its versatility, together with the development of new techniques and technologies, allows to use it in different fields of application. Particularly, in the digitization of built heritage, photography not only enables to understand and document historical and architectural artifacts but also to acquire morphological and geometrical data about them with automated digital photogrammetry. Nowadays, photogrammetry enables many tools to give virtual casts of reality by showing it in the way of point cloud. Although they can have metric reliability and visual quality, traditional instruments &amp;ndash; such as monoscopic cameras &amp;ndash; involve a careful planning of the campaign phase and a long acquisition and processing time. On the contrary, the most recent ones, based on the integration of different sensors and cameras, try to reduce the gap between time and results. The latter include some systems of indoor mapping who, thanks to 360&amp;deg; acquisitions and SLAM technology, reconstruct the original scene in real time in great detail and with a photorealistic rendering. This study is aimed at reporting a research evaluating metric reliability and the level of survey detail with a Matterport Pro2 3D motorized rotating camera, equipped with SLAM technology, whose results have been compared with point clouds obtained by image-based and range-based processes.</p>

The identification of patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease dictates accurate genetic counseling of family members, whereas screening for early detection of visceral and neurological involvement is usually performed by a combination of radiological and nuclear medicine techniques such as ultrasonography or contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the upper abdomen, magnetic resonance imaging of the central nervous system and 131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine-scintigraphy. The role of 111-indium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid [111In-DTPA0] octreotide scintigraphy in this clinical context has never been investigated. Here, we report imaging findings in a VHL patient and in 3 consecutive family members undergoing clinical and radiological screening that included [111In-DTPA0] octreotide scintigraphy in addition to the above-mentioned procedures. Somatostatin receptor expression was investigated in vitro by immunohistochemistry in pancreatic tumor sections. On the basis of in vivo and in vitro findings, octreotide long-acting release treatment followed by 90Y-1,4,7,10-Tetraazacyclododecane-N,N',N'',N'''-tetraacetic acid (DOTA0)-Tyr3-octreotide led to a lack of progression in this patient although this result is a possibility which needs to be proved by further investigation and longer follow-up. The results of this study suggest that [111In-DTPA0] octreotide scintigraphy may be helpful in the routine work-up of VHL patients for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.