Biomedical subjects

Leopoldo Falsetti

Publications and source records attributed to Leopoldo Falsetti.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2002

Leptin in functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea.

BACKGROUND: Leptin, body weight, body mass index (BMI) and other hormones in women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea (FHA) were investigated and the hypothesis proposed that energy imbalance is the predominant mechanism for leptin reduction in patients with FHA. METHODS: Eighty-eight women with FHA and 65 age- and weight-matched controls were divided into homogeneous groups on the basis of their BMI: women with different degrees of underweight (BMI 15-16, 17-18 kg/m(2)) and of normal weight (BMI 19-21, 22-24 kg/m(2)). Hormone and carrier protein assays were measured in all groups. RESULTS: In each BMI group of patients with FHA, gononadotrophins, prolactin, insulin, free tri-iodothyronine and leptin levels were significantly lower than those of the respective controls, whereas cortisol and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) were higher. We found significant linear positive correlations between leptin and body weight, BMI, LH, peptide-C, insulin, IGF-1 values and negative correlations with cortisol and IGFBP-1. CONCLUSIONS: Leptin values in women with FHA are significantly lower than controls, even in the group of patients having normal body weight and BMI. Leptin profile is different between patients with FHA and controls: it is suggested that energy balance can interfere with the ratio of body weight/leptin and BMI/leptin in FHA.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Long-term follow-up of functional hypothalamic amenorrhea and prognostic factors.

This study evaluated the prognosis of functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA) and the predictive factors of recovery, through a long-term follow-up. Ninety-three women affected by FHA underwent a follow-up for an average period of 8.1 yr (range 7-9 yr). At the end of the follow-up, 65 (70.7%) patients recovered. Statistical analysis showed that there was no association between recovery and anamnestic causes of FHA or with the echographic ovarian morphology but identified the predictive factors of recovery as the basal body mass index (BMI), the basal cortisol, and androstenedione plasma levels. A higher basal BMI and A, and lower cortisol values are positive prognostic factors for the recovery. Also the BMI, acquired during the follow-up, is important for FHA resolution: in fact, in recovered women the BMI increased or remained stable, whereas in nonrecovered women it decreased or remained stable. At the end of the follow-up, 52 (74.3%) patients treated with hormone replacement therapy and 8 (80%) with no therapy recovered, but only 5 (41.7%) with oral contraceptive pills recovered.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Androgens, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and carrier proteins (SHBG, IGFBP-3) in postmenopause.

OBJECTIVE: To determinate the profile of androstenedione (A), total (T), and free testosterone (FT), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), DHEA-sulphate (DHEAS), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF-binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in non-smoking, postmenopausal women of normal weight and to search for correlations between hormones and carrier proteins and chronological age, number of years of postmenopause and age of onset of menopause. DESIGN: A group of 149 postmenopausal women aged 49 to 74 years were divided into three groups based on the number of years of postmenopause: 2-4 years (group A), 9-12 years (group B), and 19 years or more (group C). Seventy-two women aged 21 to 35 years were the controls. Hormones and carriers were assessed in all groups. RESULTS: A, DHEA, DHEAS, and IGF-I were significantly lower than controls in all groups, whereas T, FT, SHBG, and IGBFP-3 were lower only in groups B and C. All hormones and carriers were negatively correlated with the number of years of postmenopause; DHEA and T also showed a positive correlation with the age of onset of menopause. CONCLUSIONS: Androgens, SHBG, and IGF-I/IGFBP-3 show a diversified decline in postmenopause that is involved in the physiological aging process. Thus, a modification, in excess or deficiency, could favor the development of central symptoms or pathologies.

Aged↗