Questionnaire-based survey, physical examination, and blood testing were conducted according to cluster random samplings in Kazakh residents in Xinjiang.2 760 samples were collected to analyze the association of different strata of waist circumference and clustering of metabolic syndrome (MS) components.Accoding to International Diabetes Federation standard, the prevalence of ≥1and ≥2 components of MS showed increasing trend with the increase of waist circunference, and odds ratio of clustering of MS components also increased significantly.The distance of receiver operating characteristic curve was the shortest and the prevalence of MS was 22.1% ;22.4% in men, and 21.9% in women;when the waist circumference was ≥91 cm for men, and ≥88 cm for women.

Objective To investigate iodine nutrition and thyroid health status among residents in Zhoushan archipelago, and to analyse their relationship.Methods A total of 3 284 residents in Zhoushan archipelago were surveyed by questionnaire and their thyroids were examined by B-mode ultrasound.The levels of urinary iodine and thyroid function were detected.Results The median level of urinary iodine in 3 284 residents was 226.0 μg/L, being 320.7 μg/L in citizens, 188.9 μg/L in farmers, 122.2 μg/L in salt-makers, 193.6 μg/L in fishers, and 271.7 μg/L in buddhist.The prevalence of diffuse goiter, nodular goiter, colloid goiter, thyroid adenoma, thyroid carcinoma, hyperthyroidism, subclinical hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, and positve rate of TPOAb were 1.7% ,25.3% ,8.7% ,0.2% ,0.4% ,0.5% ,0.8% ,0.03%,1.0% ,and 9.5% repectively.The prevalence of thyroid diseases was increasing with aging, and higher in women than in men (P＜0.05).There was no significant relationship of the thyroid diseases with seafood, smoking,drinking, and tea (P＞0.05).Conclusions The citizens of Zhoushan archipelago have adequate iodine intake.It is pertinent to discuss Universal Salt Iodization.Excessive iodine intake may contribute to the high prevalence rate of thyroid diseases in Zhoushan.

Objective To explore the clinical features of adrenocortical oncocytoma for better understanding. Methods A total of 586 patients with adrenal cortical adenoma were retrospectively analyzed in our hospital from January 1993 to November 2009, in which 18 were diagnosed as adrenal cortical oncocytoma pathologically, with 7 male and 11 female, aged ( 45.5 ± 15.9 ) years, and the disease course of( 13.3 ± 13.1 )months. Results 6 patients suffered from Cushing's syndrome, 2 primary hyperaldosteronism, 1 had clinical features of both Cushing's syndrome and primary hyperaldosteronism, and 9 were nonfunctional. 4 cases were misdiagnosed as pheochromocytoma preoperatively. All 18 patients were diagnosed by B-mode ultrasound and operation ( 13 by laparoscopy, 5 by laparotomy). 11 tumors were located in the left adrenal while 7 in the right, with the average tumor size of 5.6 cm in diameter. Histopathologically, 1 was oncocytic adrenocortical carcinoma, while 17 were adrenocortical oncocytoma, in which 5 were potentially malignant and 12 were benign. 11 patients were followed up for 20.5±20.1 months. 2 patients were dead, and 9 were alive with tumor recurrence in 1 case.ConclusionsAdrenocortical oncocytoma is a pathological diagnosis and the clinical manifestations are various. The tumors are usually large in size, and can easily be found by ultrasound, but may be wrongly diagnosed as pheochromocytoma.Being different from previous reports, the majority of these patients present with endocrine dysfunction. Most of these cases are benign, but malignant potential is obvious. Therefore,follow-up is very important.

Objective To investigate the expression and significance of the endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in adrenocortical lesions of primary aldosteronism. Methods The expressions of EG-VEGF, and VEGF were detected by immunohistochemistry and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR in samples of 18 cases of adrenocortical adenoma, 6 adrenocortical hyperplasia, and 8 normal adrenal cortex. The correlation between the expressions of EG-VEGF, VEGF, and clinicopathological parameters was analyzed. Results The expression of EG-VEGF or VEGF in adrenocortical adenomas was higher than that in adrenocortical hyperplasia or normal adrenal cortex ( all P＜0. 05 ), and the expression of EG-VEGF or VEGF between adrenocortical hyperplasia samples and normal adrenal cortex samples was indistinctive. There was no statistically significant correlation between EG-VEGF or VEGF expression and sex, age, blood pressure, serum potassium, plasma renin activity, except in case of serum aldosterone( P＜0.05 ). A positive correlation between EG-VEGF and VEGF ( P＜0. 01 ) was found. Conclusions EG-VEGF and VEGF may play a significant role in the formation and development of adrenocortical tumors in primary aldosteronism.

Objective To explore the diagnosis and treatment of adrenocorticotropin-independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (AIMAH). Methods The clinical symptoms, endocrinological and radiological characteristics, treatment modalities, and postoperative clinical course of 12 AIMAH patients were retrospectively reviewed. There were 5 men and 7 women with an average age of 48 years old. Results All cases had some clinical features and biochemical evidence of Cushing's syndrome. The circadian rhythm of serum cortisol was abnormal. Low- and high-dose dexamethasone suppression tests failed to suppress cortisol secretion. CT or MRI scan showed bilateral enlargement of the adrenal glands with multiple macronodules. Bilateral adrenalectomy was performed in three patients and unilateral adrenalectomy combined with contralateral subtotal adrenalectomy was performed in one patient. Seven patients underwent unilateral adrenalectomy of the larger gland. The removed adrenal glands weighted within 8-96 g range and pathologic diagnoses were nodular or adenomatoid hyperplasia of adrenal cortex. The duration of postoperative follow-up was 14 to 124 months. Clinical symptoms of Cushing's syndrome disappeared after surgery in all cases and there was no Nelson's syndrome after bilateral adrenalectomy. Urinary free cortisol and serum cortisol were within normal ranges. No further enlargement of the contralateral gland has been noticed in patients who received unilateral adrenalectomy during the follow-up.Conclusions AIMAH had unique endocrinological and pathological features. Unilateral adrenalectomy appears to be an effective and safe alternative treatment for AIMAH. Bilateral adrenalectomy or unilateral adrenalectomy combined with contralateral subtotal adrenalectomy may be performed if the symptoms had not been improved or recurred after unilateral adrenalectomy.

Objective To investigate the relationship between gene polymorphism of transcripion factor 7-like 2 (TCF7L2) at positions rs290487, rs11196205, rs11196218 and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Chinese women.Methods In 1140 unrelated pregnant Northern Chinese women (335 women with GDM, 158 gestational cases with impaired glucose tolerance and 647 pregnant non-diabetic controls) ,three single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs290487, rs11196205, and rs11196218) in the TCF7L2 gene were genotyped using ligase detection reaction (LDR).In the present study, cases with GDM and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) were indistinguishable clinically and biochemically, and were combined into case group.Results The frequency of C allele of rs290487 was 41.6% in case group, being significantly higher than that in control group (36.3%, P=0.012).There was significant difference in the frequency of CC genotype between case group and control group (18.7% vs 14.0%, P=0.033).Compared with T allele carriers, CC genotype carriers had a 1.418-fold increased risk of GDM (95% CI 1.028-1.955).After adjusting for age, body mass index, family history of diabetes,systolic blood pressure,and diastolic blood pressure, pregnant women with CC genotype carriers of rs290487 were more prone to hyperglycemia compared with the T allele carriers (OR 1.518, 95% CI 1.064-2.166).Conclusions The TCF7L2 rs290487 variant may contribute to the genetic predisposition to GDM.CC genotype is likely to be associated with an increased risk of GDM in the pregnant Chinese women.

We have retrospectively analyzed the medical files of 86 consecutive patients who were diagnosed as cases of adrenal or extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma at Changhai hospital between 2001 and 2009. Patients with incidentally detected pheochromocytoma often had lower prevalence of hypertension and lower mean arterial blood pressure compared with those patients suspected of pheochromocytoma on clinical grounds.

Objective To analyze the association of blood uric acid level with the severity of coronary artery stenotic changes, metabolic syndrome (MS), and its components. Methods A total of 343 individuals ( male 223,female 120) who underwent coronary angiography and had complete data on MS and serum uric acid were collected. The severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) was assessed by the coronary stenesis index (CSI). MS was diagnosed according to the Guideline on Prevention and Treatment of Blood Lipid Abnormality in Chinese Adults. Results (1)The mean uric acid level was significantly lower in women than in men [ ( 306.3±76.9 vs 358.9±85.2 ) μmol/L, P＜0.01 ]. The prevalence of MS and its components showed no difference between men and women. (2) The uric acid level in women with 3 components was higher than those with1( P＜0. 01 ) or 2 ( P＜0.05 ) components of metabolic disorders, but not in men. (3) Quartiles of concentration of uric acid were computed. Compared with those in the lowest quartile of uric acid, women in the highest quartile had higher CSI score [ 7.0 (2.5-12.0) vs 2. 0( 0.0-6.0), P= 0. 025 ]. Moreover, the uric acid level was higher in women with multivessel lesions than nonCAD patients [ (327.0±81.9 vs 284.9±78.6) μmol/L, P = 0.033 ]. However, no correlation was found between uric acid level and the severity of coronary artery lesion in men. (4) Logistic regression showed that age (β=0.042, P=0. 007) and dyslipidemia(β=0.836, P=0. 037 ) were the independent risk factors of CAD in men, and hypertension(β=1. 127, P=0.039) and dyslipidemia(β=0.901, P=0.009)in women. Conclusions In women with higher uric acid level, the clustering of metabolic abnormalities was increased, and the coronary artery lesion was more severe. High uric acid level might be a marker of CAD for women.

Objective To better understand the clinical management of tumor-induced osteomalacia (TIO) by analyzing the clinical features, diagnosis, treatment, postoperative biochemical changes, and clinical status in 12 cases of TIO. Methods Twelve cases of TIO hospitalized from 2004 to April 2010 were reviewed retrospectively. All cases were diagnosed based on their clinical manifestation, hypophosphatemia, and image study including technetium-99m octreotide scintigraphy (99mTc-Oct). Resuits There were 7 males and 5 females with mean age of (41.8±9.6) years (20 to 56 years). The course of disease was from 2 to 14 years ( median course 4.0 years). They all presented with bone pain, gait disturbance, muscle pain, and muscle weakness. Serum phosphate( Pi)levels were low in 12 cases with a range from 0.30 to 0.56 mmol/L. 99mTc-Oct was performed in 9 cases and it showed that the lesions were located in head of femur, fibula, retrocalcaneal area, foot, humerus,metacarpal, posterior chest wall or near nasal bone (apex partis petrosae ossis temporalis). Subcutaneous soft tissue mass was found in another 3 cases at loin, thigh, and foot by physical examination. The tumors were confirmed by CT, MRI or ultrasonography. Twelve patients underwent operation to remove the tumors and histopathology showed hemangioendothelioma or fibrous angioma (6 cases), giant cell tumor or fibroma of tendon sheath(4 cases), liposarcoma(1case), and phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor(1case). Serum Pi levels returned to normal in 10 patients after resection of tumor. During 2 to 64 months follow up, symptoms of bone pain and muscle weakness were improved obviously. Conclusions Patients with hypophosphatemic osteomalacia should be thoroughly investigated for TIO. 99mTc-Oct and other imaging examinations can effectively locate the tumors. Once the hidden tumor is found and excised, the patient will recover and enjoy normal life with normalized Pi concentrations and marked improvement of symptoms.

Adrenal hypertension is increasingly found to be one of the most important causes of hypertension. We have to overcome the difficulties caused by the complexity of adrenal medullary or adrenocortical diseases, and many objective factors. How to raise the awareness of adrenal hypertension? The effective measures are to make appropriate diagnosis in adrenal hypertension, to establish the correct clinical approach to adrenal hypertension, to open up continuously new diagnosis methods and use them in clinic, to develop multidiciplinary cooperation, and to ensure advanced diagnosis. Finally, we may improve the diagnosis of adrenal hypertension.