Endocrinology at UPMC

UPMC offers specialized services for people suffering from endocrine-related diseases, a specialty that addresses the glands that produce the hormones necessary for the proper functioning of our bodies. In particular, the pathologies treated and caused by dysfunctions of the endocrine system include diabetes, infertility, erectile dysfunction, osteoporosis, thyroid, and metabolic diseases.

Book An Endocrinology Visit At UPMC

UPMC offers endocrinology services in the following facilities:

• UPMC Salvator Mundi International Hospital.

Endocrinology: What It Is And What It Deals With

Endocrinology deals with the endocrine glands: thyroid, pancreas, parathyroid, pituitary, adrenal glands, testes in men, ovaries in women. These glands, which produce hormones, regulate some of the fundamental processes of the human body, such as metabolism, growth and development, sexual functions and mood.

Endocrine Examinations At UPMC

At UPMC, you will be able to undergo specialist examinations and check-ups that will allow you to learn about the health conditions of your endocrine system. During the first visit, the endocrinologist will collect information about your medical history and analyze the tests you have undergone. It will also record significant parameters related to your physical structure: height, weight, circumferences, and skin folds to make an assessment of adipose tissue.

During the visit, moreover, the doctor could order a thyroid ultrasound, a fundamental tool to identify, evaluate, and then monitor over time, any thyroid alterations, such as nodules, chronic thyroiditis, hyperthyroidism, and hypothyroidism.

When the specialist visit is aimed at people suffering from obesity and metabolic syndrome, the endocrinologist can propose to the patient a targeted investigation method, i.e. bioimpedancemetry (BIA). This is a non-invasive examination for the evaluation of body composition. In the case of normal weight people, however, this same examination serves to investigate any alterations in body structure, such as sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass and function), water retention and dehydration.

Pathologies Treated

The main conditions and pathologies related to endocrine imbalance and treated at UPMC are:

• Thyroid diseases, which include: thyroid dysfunction (such as hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism, Graves', and Hashimoto's disease), morphological alterations (nodular and non-nodular goiters), benign and malignant tumors.
• Metabolic disorders and diabetes.
• Arterial hypertension.
• Male and female infertility.
• Precocious or delayed puberty, due to excess or deficiency of hormones such as testosterone (in males) and estradiol (in females).
• Alteration of cholesterol values.
• Excessive or insufficient production of hormones.
• Osteoporosis and bone fragility.
• Cushing's syndrome, in which a high level of corticosteroids is present. The causes of this pathology include taking medications to treat tumor pathologies and malfunction of the adrenal glands.
• Addison's disease, a disease characterized by hypoactive adrenal glands, which therefore produce few hormones.
• Gigantiscmo and acroglia, conditions caused by excessive production of growth hormone, in adults and children, which involve abnormal bone development, with the risk of deformation.
• Short stature in children, due to a deficiency of growth hormone.
• Tumors of the endocrine glands.

Who Can Benefit From An Endocrine Examination?

Your family doctor may recommend an endocrinological examination if laboratory tests reveal abnormalities due to a disorder of the endocrine glands. This happens, for example, when the values of certain hormones - such as cortisol, progesterone, testosterone, TSH - are altered. In addition, an endocrinological consultation can be useful in case of hirsutism (increased hair) and amenorrhea (absence or irregularity of the menstrual cycle), or other possible signs of a disorder of the endocrine system.

The endocrine examination can also be recommended at a preventive level, especially to those who have family members suffering from diabetes and obesity.

At UPMC, you will find competent and up-to-date endocrinologists who, throughout their professional careers, have studied specific aspects of diseases involving the endocrine glands, from obesity to cancer to male and female infertility.