PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

E Georgiadis

Publications and source records attributed to E Georgiadis.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

The influence of smoking habits on thyroid gland volume: an ultrasonic approach.

The effects of smoking habits on thyroid function, echo-texture (nodules and/or cysts) and thyroid gland volume were determined by using ultrasound and measuring serum Thyroxin (T4), Triiodothyronine (T3), Thyrotropin (TSH) and TPO antibodies (ab-TPO) in 189 healthy smokers and non-smokers, randomly selected (111 females and 78 males) among the employees of our hospital and their relatives. When the entire group of subjects was considered the mean ratio of thyroid gland volume/body weight was found to be significantly higher in male (P < 0.05) and female (P < 0.05) smokers compared with non-smokers. In female smokers, mean serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) was lower (P < 0.05) and the degree of smoking was positively correlated with the ratio of thyroid gland volume/body weight (P < 0.05). However, when the subjects with a family history of goitre in first degree relatives were excluded from our study (14 females and 9 males), no significant differences in mean ratio of thyroid volume/weight or TSH between the remaining smokers and non-smokers were detected. In both sexes, the correlation between the degree of smoking and thyroid volume, although positive, did not reach statistical significance. No difference in prevalence of abnormal echogenicity and echo-texture (nodules and cysts) between smokers and non-smokers was detected. It is concluded that smoking habits present a goitrogenic effect only in subjects with a family history of goitre but have no influence on thyroid gland texture.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

24-hour secretion of growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factors-I and -II (IGF-I, -II), prolactin (PRL) and thyrotropin (TSH) in young adults of normal and tall stature.

Studies of the growth hormone (GH) secretory dynamics of children with normal and idiopathic short stature (ISS) have revealed that the regulation of the GH-somatomedin (GHS) axis can differ significantly among normal individuals. Information on the GH secretion in idiopathic tall stature (ITS) is scarce. We previously showed that the GH response to stimulation with GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) in male, late adolescents and young adults with ITS is significantly greater than that of their sex and age-matched controls of average height. In the present study, we studied the 24-hour (hr) GH, insulin-like growth factor-I and -II (IGF-I and -II), prolactin (PRL) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) secretion by every 30 minutes (min) sampling in 12 young, healthy male Greek army recruits. Group I [n = 6, age 22 + 1.4 years (y.), mean + standard deviation (SD)] had a height of 198.5 + 4.2cm, at least 3 SD's above the mean of the Greek male population. Group II (n = 6, age 20.5 + 1.05 y.) had a height of 169.2 + 3.4cm, within 2SD's of the normal mean. Serum IGF-I levels were determined in both unextracted and extracted samples. Our results indicated that the number of secretory bursts and the circadian panel of GH, IGF-I and -II, PRL and TSH were similar in the two groups. Both the amplitude of the secretory GH peaks (5.08 + 3.07 vs. 3.3 + 0.8 ng/ml, p = 0.19,) and the area under the curve (AUC) of the 24-hour GH secretion (9.8 + 5.5 vs. 6.6 + 1.3 ng/ml/hr, p = 0.2) were higher in group I than in group II, but the difference was not significant. A significant nocturnal increase of both IGF-I and -II levels was found only in extracted human plasma (p < 0.001), whereas measurements of IGF-I in unextracted samples failed to reveal circadian variation (p < 0.1). We conclude that no significant differences were found in this pilot study of the neurosecretory regulation of the GHS axis between individuals of tall and normal stature. A tendency for greater amount of GH secretion per secretory peak was found in persons with tall stature; however, this finding needs to be confirmed in a larger study. IGF-I and -II levels had a significant circadian variation with a large nocturnal surge, when measured in extracted plasma. The latter, might be explained by circadian variation of the circulating IGF-binding proteins and its detection appears to be method of extraction-dependent.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Increased GH response to GHRH in normal tall men.

The importance of growth hormone secretion to the growth of an individual raises the question of the role that the secretory capacity of this hormone may play in defining the variations of height within the population. To investigate this problem we studied the response of GH to GHRH in 20 normal tall (mean +/- SD height 190.8 +/- 2.4 cm, range 187-196 cm) adult males of the third decade and in 17 age-matched controls of average height (mean +/- SD height 173.8 +/- 1.6 cm, range 171-177 cm). Synthetic GHRH (1-29) NH2 (Kabi, Vitrum, Sweden) was administered at 0800 h after an overnight fast and blood was drawn for GH assay. In the tall subjects basal GH concentrations at -15 and 0 min were not significantly different from those of the controls. However, the tendency to higher basal GH levels and spontaneous peaks was evident in tall individuals. Only three basal GH values were below 1 micrograms/l (0.8-0.9 micrograms/l; 1 microgram/l = 2mU/l) in the tall individuals while 24 of 33 basal GH values in the controls ranged between 0.25 and 0.87 micrograms/l. At +15 and +30 min after GHRH the rise in GH was significantly greater in the tall subjects. Moreover, the integrated area under the response curves was significantly greater in the tall subjects than the controls (P less than 0.01). No differences in the mean serum testosterone and prolactin levels were found in the two groups. It is postulated that if this enhanced pituitary responsiveness is constant and chronic in tall individuals a definite relation of their stature to the GH secretion is to be anticipated.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Incidence of gynaecomastia in 954 young males and its relationship to somatometric parameters.

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.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Adult height and menarcheal age of young women in Greece.

Several factors contribute to the attainment of adult height, including genetic and environmental variables. To assess the relationship between menarcheal age and adult height, measured height was regressed on recalled menarcheal age in 286 young women, 18-24 years old, candidates for recruitment in the Greek army. Height was significantly associated with menarcheal age (b = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.04-1.00, p = 0.03). Joint evaluation of age, body mass index (BMI) and menarcheal age as predictors of final height revealed that only age at menarche represents an independent predictor of final height. Finally, education in completed years of schooling and place of birth or residence did not influence adult height, and no interaction between age at menarche and these factors was observed in the present study. These data suggest that adult height of Greek women is independently associated with menarcheal age, whereas BMI, place of birth or residence and educational level do not seem to play a role of comparable significance.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Carotid atherosclerosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus: potential role of endothelin-1, lipoperoxides, and prostacyclin.

Factors were studied that may initiate macroangiopathy or enhance or aggravate its pathogenesis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. A total of 151 diabetics were compared with healthy controls (n=50); all patients and subjects were normotensive and without renal failure. Plasma endothelin-1 and free radical levels were measured. In addition, plasma prostacyclin levels were assessed by assaying its stable, spontaneous, breakdown product 6-keto-prostaglandin-F1a. Diabetics were divided into three groups: those with clinically evident macroangiopathy and those with early or without atherosclerosis (as determined by the carotid intima-media thickness. Plasma endothelin-1 levels were increased in all diabetics with atherosclerosis. Plasma free radical levels were increased in diabetics with macroangiopathy when compared with control subjects. The plasma levels of 6-keto-prostaglandin-F1a were slightly, but significantly, decreased in the diabetics with macroangiopathy when compared with control subjects. The carotid intima-media thickness was significantly greater in diabetics without macroangiopathy when compared with the controls. Furthermore, the intima-media thickness increased significantly in this group of diabetics but not in the controls over a 30-month follow-up period. Several factors may contribute to atherogenesis in diabetics. These include increased plasma endothelin-1 and free radical levels as well as a deficiency of prostacyclin. These factors may become targets for intervention as well as markers of disease progression.

Carotid Arteries↗