Third trimester physiological hypercortisolemia may protect from postpartum depression and stress.

OBJECTIVE: This study was aimed to evaluate the impact of physiological alterations in cortisol milieu on mood changes during late pregnancy and postpartum. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 77 healthy pregnant subjects were prospectively evaluated after 36 weeks of gestation and at 3-4 weeks postpartum. Free cortisol (FC) was calculated using Coolen's equation and the free cortisol index (FCI) was defined as serum Total cortisol/Cortisol-binding globulin. Concurrently, status of depression, anxiety and stress were graded using Beck Depression Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory and Perceived Stress Scale. Statistical analysis was performed and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Higher FC levels during late pregnancy were associated with lower scores on stress and depression early postpartum, albeit the latter was not statistically significant. Additionally, as FCI increased during late pregnancy both the scores on stress and depression decreased during early postpartum. CONCLUSIONS: Increased cortisol levels during the latter periods of pregnancy may have long-lasting protective effects. They may enable the mother to cope with the changing and demanding conditions during postpartum.

LONGER CECUM INSERTION TIME AND MORE INADEQUATE COLONIC PREPARATION IN PATIENTS WITH ACROMEGALY: IS A DIFFERENT COLONOSCOPY PREPARATION NEEDED?

PURPOSE: To investigate whether there is a difference between acromegalic and non-acromegalic cases in terms of bowel preparation and colonoscopic intervention. METHODS: Patients with controlled and uncontrolled acromegaly and as a control group (CG) patients without acromegaly between January 2010 and March 2014 were included. Groups were compared regarding adequacy of bowel preparation, cecal insertion time (CIT) and colonoscopy results. RESULTS: Fifty-nine patients with acromegaly (controlled n=30, uncontrolled n=29) and 73 age and gender matched volunteers without acromegaly were evaluated. CIT in cases with controlled, uncontrolled acromegaly cases and in CG was 5.33 [4.00-6.00], 7.00 [4.91-11.31], and 3.10 [2.35-4.65] minutes, respectively (p<0.001). Cases in CG had shorter CIT compared to controlled and uncontrolled acromegaly cases ( p=0.014 and p<0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference regarding CIT between controlled and uncontrolled acromegaly cases (p=0.247). Six (20%) of controlled acromegaly patients, 10 (35%) of uncontrolled acromegaly patients and three (4%) of CG had inadequate bowel cleansing (p<0.001). Although statistically insignificant, cases with inadequate bowel cleansing had tendency towards having prolonged CIT in comparison to cases with adequate bowel cleansing (6.00 [3.87-9.00] and 4.16 [2.95-5.70] minutes, respectively, p=0.07). CONCLUSION: Inadequate bowel cleansing is one of the main problems encountered during colonoscopic investigation/surveillance in acromegalic patients. Therefore, a different protocol for colonoscopy preparation may be needed for these cases.

Xanthomatous hypophysitis.

Xanthomatous hypophysitis (XH) is the rarely seen primary form of hypophysitis. The histological differential diagnosis includes other causes of hypophysitis, Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD), Langerhans cell histiocytosis, Rosai-Dorfman disease and plasma cell granulomas. We present a 39-year-old woman admitted to our department with headache, menstrual irregularity and galactorrhea. The MRI revealed a lesion with a central cystic/necrotic region and a diameter of almost 1cm. Histologic examination showed an inflammatory infiltrate of numerous foamy histiocytes, surrounding the necrotic tissue. On immunohistochemical sections, infiltrating foamy cells stained strongly positive for CD68, and negative for CD1a and S100. After establishing the diagnosis of XH, the patient underwent glucocorticoid treatment. XH should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pituitary lesions. Since XH is rare, it is difficult to assess the efficacy of medical/surgical treatment of this entity accurately.