Berenice B Mendonca

Ovarian resistance to luteinizing hormone: a novel cause of amenorrhea and infertility.

OBJECTIVE To report the clinical, hormonal, and histopathological features of a woman with ovarian resistance to LH. DESIGN Clinical study. SETTING University hospital. PATIENT(S) A woman with amenorrhea, sister of a patient with male pseudohermaphroditism due to Leydig cell hypoplasia. INTERVENTION(S) Blood drawing before and after GnRH stimulation and also after dexamethasone and hCG administration, pelvic ultrasound, and ovarian biopsy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) Karyotype, gonadotropin and steroid measurements, follicular diameter, ovarian histology, and sequencing of the LH receptor gene. RESULT(S) Patient had normal female external genitalia, normal breast development at puberty, rare episodes of vaginal bleeding, and infertility. The karyotype was 46,XX. She had elevated serum LH levels, whereas E2 and P concentrations were in the range seen in the early follicular phase. Pelvic ultrasound revealed a slightly hypoplastic uterus and enlarged polycystic ovaries. A normal follicular reserve for age, antral follicles, and absence of corpora lutea or albicans were observed on ovarian biopsy. Exon 11 of the LH receptor gene had a normal sequence. CONCLUSION(S) In our patient with ovarian resistance to LH, FSH stimulated follicular development until the preovulatory stage, but E2 levels remained in the early follicular phase range, still sufficient for normal pubertal feminization. Apparently, LH is necessary for ovulation and corpus luteum formation.

Fatal factitious Cushing syndrome (Münchhausen's syndrome) in a patient with macroprolactinoma and silent corticotrophinoma: case report and literature review

Münchhausen’s syndrome (MS) is a chronic factitious disorder characterized by the intentional production of clinical symptoms without external incentive. One type of MS is factitious Cushing syndrome, an extremely rare clinical situation in which the diagnosis is challenging mainly due to interference of the exogenous medication in cortisol immunoassays. We described a 26-year-old woman who was originally diagnosed with a macroprolactinoma and during follow-up developed clinical and laboratorial hypercortisolism. A transsphenoidal surgery was performed and immunohistochemistry revealed positive and diffuse staining for both hormones. Four years later, her hypercortisolism recurred and the confirmation of factitious Cushing syndrome was delayed due to conflicting laboratorial results.There are few cases in the literature of factitious Cushing syndrome, and only one had a fatal outcome. The diagnosis of this condition is complex and includes cyclic Cushing syndrome in the differential diagnosis. These patients have high morbidity and increased mortality risk and are likely to have other psychiatric disorders. Prednisone was identified as the culprit in the majority of the cases.

46,XY DSD due to 17 Beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 3 Deficiency

17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3 deficiency (17β-HSD3) consists of a defect in the last phase of steroidogenesis, in which androstenedione is converted into testosterone and estrone into estradiol. Patients present female-like or with ambiguous genitalia at birth and most affected males are raised as females. Virilization in subjects with 17β-HSD3 deficiency occurs at the time of puberty and almost half change to be males. Maintenance of the testes in patients raised male is safe and recommended, except when the testes cannot be positioned inside the scrotum. The phenotype of 46,XY disorders of sex development (DSD) owing to 17β-HSD3 deficiency is extremely variable and is clinically indistinguishable from other causes of 46,XY DSD such as partial androgen insensitivity syndrome and 5α-reductase 2 deficiency. Laboratory diagnosis is based on elevated serum levels of androstenedione and estrone and low levels of testosterone and estradiol, resulting in elevated androstenedione:testosterone and estrone:estradiol ratios, indicating an impairment of the conversion of 17-keto into 17-hydroxysteroids. The disorder is due to homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the HSD17B3 gene that encodes the 17β-HSD3 isoenzyme. Molecular genetic testing confirms the diagnosis and provides the orientation for genetic counseling. Our proposal in this article is to review the reported and our own cases of 17β-HSD3 deficiency.