Dataset Information

β-human chorionic gonadotropin-secreting intracranial germ-cell tumor associated with high testosterone in an adult man: A case report.

ABSTRACT: A 38-year-old male patient presented with general weakness, polydipsia and a body weight loss of 10 kg in two years. Hypopituitarism with central hypothyroidism and central adrenal insufficiency were noted at Taipei City Hospital (Taipei, Taiwan). However, hypogonadotropic hypergonadism was also observed. The patient was diagnosed with an intracranial β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) secreting germ-cell tumor, and brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the tumor involved the pineal gland, stalk, posterior pituitary gland, right basal ganglion, hypothalamus, corpus callosum and posterior hippocampus. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) β-hCG level was 1936 IU/l, while the α-fetoprotein (AFP) level was <0.24 ng/ml. The serum AFP level of the patient was 3.28 ng/ml, and the β-hCG level was 178 IU/l with a CSF:serum β-hCG ratio >2:1. The patient was successfully treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as demonstrated by a marked decrease in size of the tumor and in the serum β-hCG levels. Intracranial β-hCG secreting germ-cell tumors are rare in adults and manifest differently compared with patients of early pubertal age. In contrast with the precocious puberty frequently observed in young patients, the diagnosis of adult patients is often delayed and the symptoms are associated with tumor size and location. The present case report described an adult male with an intracranial β-hCG secreting GCT, demonstrating hypopituitarism and asymptomatic hyperandrogenemia, and reviews and discusses the literature relevant to the case.

SUBMITTER: Yang WP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5494684 | biostudies-other | 2017 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Immunopathological outcomes in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE; or lupus) are believed to be autoantibody-mediated. Conditions which promote a Th2 skew (such as pregnancy) should encourage antibody production, worsening antibody-mediated diseases while ameliorating Th1/Th17-mediated diseases. Although an increased propensity toward autoreactivity can be observed in pregnant lupus patients and in pregnant lupus-prone mice, whether a unique human pregnancy-specific factor can contribute to such effects is unknown. This study assessed whether human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG, a pregnancy-specific hormone of diverse function) at physiological concentrations could mediate stimulatory influences on immune parameters in non-pregnant, lupus-prone mice, in light of the hormone's ameliorating effects on Th1-mediated autoimmunity in murine models. Results demonstrate that administration of hCG heightened global autoreactivity in such mice; antibodies to dsDNA, RNP68, Protein S, Protein C, β2-glycoprotein 1, and several phospholipids were enhanced, and hormone administration had adverse effects on animal survival. Specifically in splenic cell cultures containing cells derived from lupus-prone mice, hCG demonstrated synergistic effects with TLR ligands (up-modulation of costimulatory markers on B cells) as well as with TCR stimuli (enhanced proliferative responses, enhanced levels of cytokines, and the phosphorylation of p38). In both instances, enhanced synthesis of lupus-associated cytokines was observed, in addition to the heightened generation of autoantibodies reactive toward apoptotic blebs. These results suggest that selective transducive, proliferative, and differentiative effects of hCG on adaptive immune cells may drive autoreactive responses in a lupus environment, and may also potentially provide insights into the association between the presence of higher hCG levels (or the administration of hCG) with the presence (or appearance) of humoral autoimmunity.

Dataset Information

β-human chorionic gonadotropin-secreting intracranial germ-cell tumor associated with high testosterone in an adult man: A case report.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets