1.Balancing Disease Control and Metabolic Harm: A Case of IgG4-Related Hypophysitis
Asma&rsquo ; Mohd Nazlee ; Dorothy Maria Anthony Bernard ; Siti Sanaa Wan Azman ; Siew Hui Foo
Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies 2026;41(S1):83-
Introduction:
Immunoglobulin G4-related hypophysitis (IgG4-RH) is a
rare fibro-inflammatory disorder affecting the pituitary
gland. Glucocorticoids remain the first-line therapy, but
their use may be complicated in patients with significant
metabolic comorbidities. We report a case of suspected
IgG4-RH presenting with hyperosmolar hyperglycemic
state (HHS), highlighting the challenges of balancing
disease control against glucocorticoid metabolic toxicity
adverse effects.
Case:
A 32-year-old female with obesity and newly diagnosed
diabetes mellitus was admitted with HHS. Prior to
admission, she reported weight fluctuations, episodic
headaches, progressive visual disturbance, and secondary
amenorrhea. Following resolution of HHS, persistent
polyuria of 10–16 L/day prompted further evaluation and led
to a diagnosis of arginine vasopressin deficiency. Anterior
pituitary hormonal work-up revealed hypogonadotropic
hypogonadism. Pituitary magnetic resonance imaging
demonstrated infundibular thickening measuring 0.5 cm,
with concomitant marked bilateral parotid enlargement.
Serum IgG4 was elevated at 2.26 g/L (0.63–2.01), raising
strong suspicion for IgG4-RH with systemic involvement.
Histopathological confirmation from the parotid gland
biopsy was consistent with sialadenosis.
She was commenced on sublingual desmopressin and
cyclical sex hormone replacement therapy. Given the
provisional diagnosis of IgG4-RH, oral prednisolone 40
mg daily was initiated as a reduced induction regimen.
However, treatment was poorly tolerated, with rapid
weight gain from 93 to 100 kg and worsening glycemic
control. Prednisolone was therefore tapered rapidly
to 10 mg daily. Repeat imaging demonstrated interval
improvement in infundibular thickening, but no functional
endocrine recovery was observed.
Conclusion
This case illustrates the therapeutic challenge of managing
IgG4-RH in the setting of pre-existing metabolic syndrome.
Although glucocorticoids are effective for induction,
their metabolic adverse effects may significantly restrict treatment tolerability. Early consideration of steroidsparing agents, such as rituximab or azathioprine, may
be important to achieve remission while minimizing
glucocorticoid-related adverse effects.
Autoimmune Hypophysitis
2.Growth Against the Clock: Hormonal Therapy in Late-Diagnosed Mosaic Turner Syndrome
Asma&rsquo ; Mohd Nazlee ; Dorothy Maria Anthony Bernard ; Siti Sanaa Wan Azman ; Siew Hui Foo
Journal of the ASEAN Federation of Endocrine Societies 2026;41(S1):100-101
Introduction:
Short stature and delayed puberty characterize Turner
syndrome (TS). The 2024 international clinical practice
guidelines recommend growth hormone (GH) for latediagnosed patients if epiphyses remain open. For patients
with remaining growth potential, initiating GH alongside
low-dose estrogen effectively balances linear growth with
the need for timely pubertal induction.
Case:
A 15-year-old female, born prematurely at 6 months
gestation, presented with delayed puberty, primary
amenorrhea, and short stature. Examination revealed a
height of 122 cm (<5th percentile), weight of 26 kg, with
no syndromic facies, and Tanner stage 1. Investigations
confirmed hypergonadotropic hypogonadism. Metabolic
screening, including thyroid, renal, and liver profile, was
normal. Her baseline insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) was
low at 117.5 ng/mL (127.5–541.5). Karyotyping confirmed
mosaic TS (45,X/46,Xr). Her skeletal bone age was delayed
at 12 years, indicating a viable window for linear growth
prior to complete epiphyseal fusion.
Subcutaneous GH was initiated at 0.3 mg up titrated to
1.2 mg (0.45 µg/kg) daily over 4 weeks, then 1.35 mg (50
µg/kg) daily at month 5. Low-dose oral estradiol (0.5 mg
three times weekly) was introduced for pubertal induction
at month 4. After 9 months of combined GH and estrogen
therapy, the patient achieved a height increment of 6 cm,
reaching 128 cm without an adverse event. To achieve the
clinical target of a 10–15 cm increment in the first year,
her GH dose was further increased to 1.50 mg (55 µg/kg)
daily. She showed an appropriate biochemical response
with IGF-1 increased to 40.2 nmol/L (16.4–67.8) with a total
height gain of 6 cm over the first 9 months of GH therapy.
Conclusion
Concomitant GH and estrogen therapy in late-diagnosed
TS successfully induced clinically significant height gain.
This dual approach maximized the limited window for
linear growth, without delaying pubertal induction and
compromising patient’s psychosocial well-being.
Turner Syndrome
3.Correlation between the maximum standard uptake value and mean Hounsfield unit on single-photon emission computed tomography-computed tomography to discriminate benign and metastatic lesions among patients with breast cancer
S. Thadchaiani SAMINATHAN ; Wan Aireene Wan AHMED ; Norazlina Mat NAWI ; Nashrulhaq TAGILING ; Ilyana AZIZ ; Yusri UDIN ; Mohd Fazrin Mohd ROHANI ; Wan Mohd Nazlee Wan ZAINON ; Mohammad Khairul Azhar Abdul RAZAB
Asian Spine Journal 2024;18(3):398-406
Methods:
In total, 185 lesions were identified on bone and SPECT-CT scans from 32 patients. Lesions were classified as metastatic (109 sclerotic lesions) and benign (76 lesions) morphologically on low-dose CT. Semiquantitative analysis using SUVmax and mean HU was performed on the lesions and compared. To discriminate benign and metastatic lesions, the correlation between SUVmax and mean HU was determined using the intraclass correlation coefficients.
Results:
The SUVmax was higher in metastatic lesions (20.66±14.36) but lower in benign lesions (10.18±12.79) (p<0.001). The mean HU was lower in metastatic lesions (166.62±202.02) but higher in benign lesions (517.65±192.8) (p<0.001). A weak negative correlation was found between the SUVmax and the mean HU for benign lesions, and a weak positive correlation was noted between the SUVmax and the mean HU on malignant lesions with no statistical significance (p=0.394 and 0.312, respectively). The cutoff values obtained were 10.8 for SUVmax (82.6% sensitivity and 84.2% specificity) and 240.86 for the mean HU (98.7% sensitivity and 88.1% specificity) in differentiating benign from malignant bone lesions.
Conclusions
Semiquantitative assessment using SUVmax and HU can complement qualitative analysis. Metastatic lesions had higher SUVmax but lower mean HU than benign lesions, whereas benign lesions demonstrated higher mean HU but lower SUVmax. A weak correlation was found between the SUVmax and the mean HU on malignant and benign lesions. Cutoff values of 10.8 for the SUVmax and 240.86 for the mean HU may differentiate bone metastases from benign lesions.
4.Standardized Uptake Value from Semiquantitative Bone Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography/Computed Tomography in Normal Thoracic and Lumbar Vertebrae of Breast Cancer Patients
Mohd Fazrin Mohd ROHANI ; Siti Nurshahirah Mohd YONAN ; Nashrulhaq TAGILING ; Wan Mohd Nazlee Wan ZAINON ; Yusri UDIN ; Norazlina Mat NAWI
Asian Spine Journal 2020;14(5):629-638
Methods:
A total of 30 randomly selected female breast cancer patients were enrolled in this study. The SUV mean (SUVmean) and SUV maximum (SUVmax) values for 286 normal vertebrae at the thoracic and lumbar levels were calculated based on the patients’ body weight (BW), body surface area (BSA), and lean body mass (LBM). Additionally, 106 degenerative joint disease (DJD) lesions of the spine were also characterized, and both their BW SUVmean and SUVmax values were obtained. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was then performed to determine the cutoff value of SUV for differentiating DJD from normal vertebrae.
Results:
The mean±standard deviations for the SUVmean and SUVmax in the normal vertebrae displayed a relatively wide variability: 3.92±0.27 and 6.51±0.72 for BW, 1.05±0.07 and 1.75±0.17 for BSA, and 2.70±0.19 and 4.50±0.44 for LBM, respectively. Generally, the SUVmean had a lower coefficient of variation than the SUVmax. For DJD, the mean±standard deviation for the BW SUVmean and SUVmax was 5.26±3.24 and 7.50±4.34, respectively. Based on the ROC curve, no optimal cutoff value was found to differentiate DJD from normal vertebrae.
Conclusions
In this study, the SUV of 99mTc-MDP was successfully determined using SPECT/CT. This research provides an approach that could potentially aid in the clinical quantification of radionuclide uptake in normal vertebrae for the management of breast cancer patients.


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