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D Dewailly

Publications and source records attributed to D Dewailly.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

[Pre-toxic adrenocortical adenoma ("pre-Cushing syndrome"): role of 17-hydroxyprogesterone dosage under ACTH analog stimulation. Apropos of a case].

We report on a case of a 63-year-old male patient who presented with an adrenal incidentaloma corresponding to a pre-toxic adrenocortical adenoma ("pre-Cushing's syndrome"). Nycthemeral cortisol cycle and free urinary cortisol were within the normal range. Basal ACTH and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels were decreased and the 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17OHP) response under ACTH stimulation (tetracosactide) was increased. The ACTh test appears mandatory in the incidentaloma work-up to order to identify the pre-toxic adenomas. Its elevation reflects likely intra-tumoral enzymatic defects. Pre-Cushing's syndrome therapeutic management is still debated. No surgery was performed in our patient. A 3-year follow-up did not show overt Cushing's syndrome features.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone↗

[Gonadotropic adenomas].

Since the advent of immunohistochemical and cell culture techniques, the role of gonadotroph adenomas in hypophyseal disorders appears more important than formerly. A large part of "nonfunctional" adenomas in fact correspond to gonadotroph adenomas in vitro. These adenomas raise many clinical and biological questions since their presentation is not univocal. In addition, diagnosis of these adenomas is important since their spontaneous development leads to neuro-opthalmological complications, which presently are still too often the revealing manifestations of these adenomas.

Adenoma↗

[Treatment of pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis using a GnRH agonist].

Pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis is a rare and exclusively female disease which is oestrogen dependent and has a serious prognosis. We present two cases of young women aged 30 and 33 with the same clinical history of renal angiomyolipomas and recurring pneumothoraces. The computerised tomographic scans of the lung were strongly suggestive of LAM (there were fine wall cysts which were disseminated throughout both lung fields). The histological proof was provided by lung biopsy which was carried out during a thoracotomy for pleurectomies. The first patient who is currently asymptomatic and in excellent general health, was treated for three months with tamoxifen (Nolvadex), then for 20 months with 3.75 mg per month of triptoline (Decapeptyl), an agonist of GnRH. The second patient received triptoline in the same dose. After 40 months of treatment this patient was asymptomatic with satisfactory lung function tests. Agonists of GnRH (gonadotropic release hormone) seem to provide a useful alternative in the treatment of LAM.

Adult↗

[Family of inhibins and activins: from endocrine to paracrine action].

Inhibins and activins are structurally-related dimeric proteins mainly produced by the gonads (Sertoli cells and granulosa cells) under the stimulation of pituitary FSH. Inhibins are 32-kD glycoproteins consisting of an alpha subunit and one of two beta subunits (beta A or beta B) leading to inhibin A or B, respectively. Activins are made of two beta subunits either identical (activin A or B) or not (activin AB). These regulatory peptides are involved in an endocrine feedback loop: inhibins decrease and activins stimulate the biosynthesis and release of pituitary FSH selectively. Beside their endocrine action that has led to the discovery of these peptides, we report main experimental data showing that activins and inhibins may act as paracrine and autocrine factors within the gonads on an antagonistic mode. Inhibins and activins seem to be involved in the regulation of spermatogenesis in males and in follicular maturation in females. Potential involvements of inhibins and activins in the pathophysiology of reproduction are discussed.

Activin Receptors↗

[Contribution of Doppler color ultrasonography to the screening and surveillance of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome].

Color and power Doppler producing ovarian vascular mapping allows to realize a new functional approach of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHS); local vascular factors (ovarian angiogenesis, increase in cappillary permeability) released by hCG injection (LH effect) have in fact an important part in this syndrome. Vaginal Doppler sonography allows: -before induction, to predict potential risk of hyperstimulation: polycystic ovaries, spontaneous stromal hypervascularization; -in monitoring of ovulation stimulation, to reduce risk of multiple pregnancy and to detect early hyperstimulation, decision of hCG injection depends on number of follicles able to be fertilized (> 15 mm) and luteinized (> 10 mm); -to assess severity of OHS and search complications: ascites, hydrothorax, ovarian torsion and deep venous thrombosis. So OHS prevention imposes a monitoring by Doppler sonography and estradiol assay of all cycles induced by gonadotropins.

Female↗

Ultrasound assessment of ovarian stroma hypertrophy in hyperandrogenism and ovulation disorders: visual analysis versus computerized quantification.

OBJECTIVE: To extend our previous findings on the diagnostic validity of ovarian stroma hypertrophy in women with hyperandrogenic and/or menstrual disorders. DESIGN: Transvaginal ultrasonography was performed in 69 patients complaining of hyperandrogenism and/or menstrual disorders and in 48 normal ovulatory women in early follicular phase. To check the validity of stroma assessment by visual analysis, we used computer-assisted analysis, which allowed selective measurement of the stromal area on a longitudinal ovarian cut. Sensitivity and specificity of each method were estimated by using the normative data from the control group. RESULTS: Stromal area was considered to be increased using visual analysis and computer-assisted analysis in 74% and 61% patients, respectively. Specificity of this sign was 84% and 96% by visual analysis and computer-assisted analysis, respectively. In patients, the increase in stromal area correlated very significantly with the one of total ovarian area, whose upper normal limit was 5.5 cm2 per ovary. CONCLUSION: Visual assessment of stroma may be misleading in some cases, with the risk of overestimating its hypertrophy. An increased total ovarian area > 5.5 cm2 (which can easily be detected by carefully shaping a strict longitudinal ovarian cut) has the same diagnostic value as an increased stromal area by computerized measurement.

Adolescent↗

[Polycystic ovaries: an imprecise ultrasonographic definition].

In the absence of a precise definition, the terms "ovarian dystrophy" are often erroneously used. Therefore we propose a more modern terminology which allows to distinguish two types of ovarian follicle pathology: the microfollicular disease results from a follicular arrest of maturation, leading to an accumulation of immature microfollicles in the ovarian cortex. The clinical correlate is anovulation. This disease encompasses two aetiologic entities: polycystic ovarian disease (PCO) and the multifollicular ovaries (MFO), which were previously gathered under the label of "endocrinal ovarian dystrophy"; the macrofollicular disease results from the excessive growth of one or several follicles with or without luteinisation. Its clinical correlate is pelvic pain. It includes three main aetiologies: macropolycystic ovaries, functional cysts and LUF syndrome. These could also be termed "mechanical or local dystrophy". This new classification allows to consider two distinct anatomical entities which represent the whole of functional ovarian pathology.

Diagnosis, Differential↗

Pituitary microadenomas: experience with Gd-DOTA-enhanced MR imaging at 0.5 Telsa.

PURPOSE: We report our experience with magnetic resonance imaging at 0.5 Tesla in the radiological diagnosis of pituitary adenomas. METHODS: Over 2 years we performed a prospective study in 38 patients with pituitary microadenomas to assess the potential additional benefit of gadolinium in the detection of small intrasellar lesions. The protocol included three coronal T1-weighted sequences: precontrast, early postcontrast (obtained less than 2 min after injection) and late postcontrast (obtained 5 min after injection). For each sequence lesions were classified according to their visibility into three categories: definite lesion, probable lesion or absent lesion. RESULTS: Lesions were classified as well-defined in 55% of patients on the precontrast study, 89.5% on the early postcontrast study and 60.5% on the late postcontrast study. Of nine microadenomas not detected on the precontrast scans, all were clearly seen on the early post contrast scans; only four were well-defined on the late postcontrast study. Only one lesion was not seen on the early postcontrast study but was well-defined on precontrast study as a spontaneous high-intensity focal area: it was a hemorrhagic microadenoma. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the early postcontrast study is the most useful sequence for the detection of microadenomas. Precontrast image is necessary to detect hemorrhagic lesions; the late postcontrast sequence has a low additional diagnostic yield and seems unnecessary unless the other sequences are inconclusive.

Adenoma↗

Ovarian stromal hypertrophy in hyperandrogenic women.

OBJECTIVE: By using vaginal endosonography, ovarian stromal hypertrophy has been shown to be a strong diagnostic feature of polycystic ovarian syndrome and related states. However, this sign is difficult to quantify and to correlate with other findings because of its subjectivity. We have evaluated the use of computer assisted analysis of ultrasound scans to provide more objective measurements of ovarian structure and size. DESIGN: We used a computer assisted method for the reading of ultrasound scans. It allowed selective calculation of the stromal area by subtraction of the cyst area from the total ovarian area on a longitudinal ovarian section. PATIENTS: A consecutive series of 57 patients with hyperandrogenism (group 1), 17 patients with hypothalamic anovulation (group 2) and 20 normal women (group 3). RESULTS: By computerized measure, 75% patients from group 1 had a bilateral stromal area above the mean +2 SD (700 mm2) of women from group 3. All patients from group 2 were below this threshold. Serum LH level was above the normal range in 45% patients from group 1. The stromal area correlated positively with the serum delta 4-androstenedione (r = 0.47, P < 0.005) and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (r = 0.39, P < 0.005) levels, exclusively in group 1. It did not correlate with the basal serum testosterone, LH or insulin levels. The cyst area did not correlate with any hormonal parameter. CONCLUSION: Ovarian stromal hypertrophy is a frequent and specific feature of hyperandrogenism. It correlates with the ovarian androgenic dysfunction. Its presence is not always linked with elevated serum immunoreactive LH levels. Further data are needed to elucidate the role of insulin and ovarian growth factors.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone↗

Decreased expression of the two D2 dopamine receptor isoforms in bromocriptine-resistant prolactinomas.

Bromocriptine or other dopamine agonists are usually effective for the treatment of prolactin-secreting adenomas. Five to 18% of prolactinomas, however, do not respond to such therapy. We have shown previously that such resistance to bromocriptine correlates with reduced binding to the D2 receptor subtype of dopamine, the major PRL inhibiting factor. In the present work, we demonstrated that reduced binding actually corresponds to decreased expression of the gene coding for the D2 receptor in the pituitary from bromocriptine-resistant patients, as shown by 4-fold lower levels of the corresponding mRNAs compared to those coding for actin. The existence of two D2 receptor isoforms, D2S and D2L generated by alternative splicing, has been described in several tissues, including the pituitary. Both are negatively coupled to adenylyl cyclase and inhibit prolactin secretion, but, in addition, the shortest one (D2S) is more efficiently coupled to phospholipase C. Consequently, we also investigated whether expression of a particular D2 receptor isoform was preferentially affected in resistant adenomas. The proportion of messengers corresponding to the short receptor isoform (D2S) was lower in resistant compared to responsive adenomas: D2S/D2L = 0.74 +/- 0.08 and 1.00 +/- 0.07, respectively. In parallel, much lower levels of D2 receptor mRNAs were found in growth hormone-secreting adenomas, with a D2S/D2L ratio comparable to those of both normal human pituitary and bromocriptine-sensitive prolactinomas (1.05 +/- 0.11). Thus, resistance to bromocriptine therapy seems to involve defects in D2 dopamine receptor expression and possibly in posttranscriptional splicing.

Adenoma↗

[Does the endocrinal milieu influence the expression and/or the action of ovarian growth factors in polycystic ovary syndrome?].

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) results from endocrine, paracrine and autocrine dysfunction, affecting thecal and granulosa cells. The circulating insulin/IGF system is often dysregulated in PCOS. It could influence the local IGFs/IGF-BPs system, when granulosa, and more putatively thecal cells depend on. It is a new field of research about the physiopathology of PCOS, lying on clinical grounds. However, its practical interest is still limited.

Female↗

Interrelationship between ultrasonography and biology in the diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome.

In order to compare the diagnostic significance of hormonal and ultrasonic criteria of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the presence or the absence of ultrasonographic and hormonal features of PCOS were recorded in a heterogeneous population of 90 women presenting with hyperandrogenism and/or menstrual disorders. On clinical and hormonal grounds exclusively, these patients could be separated into five diagnostic subgroups: presumed cases of PCOS (n = 21), idiopathic hirsutism (IH) (n = 26), hypothalamic anovulation (HA) (n = 11), hyperprolactinemia (HPRL) (n = 9), and miscellaneous or undetermined diagnosis (n = 23). By the means of a computed automatic classification of patients (cluster analysis) using five hormonal and ultrasonic criteria of PCOS, four homogeneous clusters of patients were obtained. Cluster #1 (25 patients) had the most characteristic profile of PCOS. It included 15 cases of PCOS and 7 cases of IH. Cluster #4 (47 patients) had the less characteristic profile of PCOS. It included the majority of patients with HA and HPRL and the half of the patients with IH. Cluster #2 included only two hyperandrogenic patients, who were massively obese and in whom ultrasonography may have failed to detect PCOS. Cluster #3 (16 patients) included patients from each diagnostic group, who were gathered together because ultrasonographic and hormonal features were, respectively, present and absent in nearly all of them. With the same analysis, the criteria of PCOS could be graded according to their grouping potential. The presence of an abnormal ovarian stroma by ultrasonography appeared as the most potent criterion. Elevated serum testosterone and androstenedione levels and the polyfollicular pattern of ovaries gave intermediate results, while elevated basal LH level was a much weaker grouping parameter. In conclusion, the automatic classification of patients by cluster analysis using both hormonal and ultrasonographic criteria revealed that the classical diagnostic classification, relying upon hormonal data exclusively, may arbitrarily separate patients having the same disease; and that ultrasonography affords pertinent information that should help provide a better diagnostic definition of PCOS.

Adolescent↗

Somatostatin receptors, adenylate cyclase activity, and growth hormone (GH) response to octreotide in GH-secreting adenomas.

To determine the cellular mechanism(s) of the variability in GH responsiveness to octreotide in acromegaly, somatostatin (SRIH) receptor status was studied in 37 GH-secreting adenomas. SRIH receptor binding was always present in all GH-secreting adenomas either in membrane preparations (Exp A; n = 17) or by quantitative autoradiography (Exp B; n = 20). In membranes, maximal binding capacities ranged from 83-2331 fmol/mg protein; affinity was in the nanomolar range (Kd, 1.3 +/- 0.2 nmol/L). By quantitative autoradiography, SRIH-14 and octreotide were equally active in displacing [125I]SRIH binding in tumors (Spearman correlation rho = 0.92). IC50 values ranged from 3-22 nmol/L (mean +/- SE, 8.0 +/- 1.3 nmol/L). In Exp A, basal adenylate cyclase (AC) activity was high in 7 tumors (841 +/- 306 pmol/L cAMP x 30 min/mg protein) compared to that in the other 10 (252 +/- 92 pmol/L cAMP x 30 min/mg protein). In these 7 tumors, GH-releasing hormone (0.1 mumol/L) stimulation of AC was lower (53 +/- 11% vs. 297 +/- 48%), whereas SRIH (1 mumol/L) inhibition was higher (52 +/- 5% vs. 34 +/- 5%). Similar results were obtained with Exp B tumors. In both experiments, no correlation was apparent between SRIH-binding capacity and inhibition of AC. In Exp B, a variable decrease in mean plasma GH levels was observed (> or = 80% in 5 patients, between 50-80% in 8 patients, and < or = 50% in 5 patients) after a single sc injection of octreotide (100 micrograms). A modest correlation was found between the GH response to octreotide and SRIH-binding capacity (rho = 0.48) or SRIH inhibition of AC (rho = 0.61). The IC50 values to displace SRIH binding were lower in poorly responsive patients than in highly responsive ones (IC50, 4.6 +/- 1.9 and 13.9 +/- 2.7 nmol/L, respectively). These data indicate that an absence of SRIH receptors cannot account for the weak response to SRIH therapy in 20-30% of acromegalic patients. Alternatively, the weak correlation between either SRIH binding or SRIH inhibition of AC with octreotide inhibition of plasma GH levels might reflect the heterogeneity of SRIH receptor subtypes in GH-secreting adenomas.

Adenoma↗

[Searching for prolactin microadenoma: scanner or MRI?].

Thirty three hyperprolactinemic women, aged 16-46 years, have been investigated by pituitary CT and MRI scans, searching for a microadenoma. The MRI scan with Gadolinium injection (MRI G+) appeared more efficient than the CT scan to detect a picture highly suggestive of a microprolactinoma (30/33 positive scans vs 21/33, respectively, p = 0.06). However, when the CT scan was performed optimaly (i.e. thin cuts, sequential imaging after iode injection, no artefact), its diagnostic potenty was close to the one of MRI G+, missing only 17.6% of lesions. All these were less than 5 mm in diameter. The indirect signs of microadenoma (focal convexity of the superior surface of pituitary, tilting of pituitary stalk, focal sella floor erosion or destruction) had a minimal value. Their sensitivity was 66.6% and 63.3 for convexity, and 63.3 and 46.6% for tilting of pituitary stalk, by MRI and CT scans, respectively. Therefore, they did not afford any help in our experience. Considering the cost and the limited accessibility of MRI, at least in our country, we advise to use CT scan as the primary morphologic means to detect a microadenoma.

Adolescent↗