ABSTRACT Objective: Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO) is an autoimmune disease that leads to ocular proptosis caused by fat accumulation and inflammation, and the main treatment is corticosteroid therapy. Retinoid acid receptor-alpha (RARα) seems to be associated with inflammation and adipocyte differentiation. This study aimed to assess the effect of glucocorticoid treatment on orbital fibroblasts of GO patient treated or not with different glucocorticoid doses. Materials and methods: Orbital fibroblasts collected during orbital decompression of a female patient with moderately severe/severe GO were cultivated and treated with 10 nM and 100 nM dexamethasone (Dex). rRARα gene expression in the treated and untreated cells was then compared. Results: Fibroblast RARα expression was not affected by 100 nM Dex. On the other hand, RARα expression was 24% lower in cells treated with 10 nM Dex (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Orbital fibroblasts from a GO patient expressed the RARα gene, which was unaffected by higher, but decreased with lower doses of glucocorticoid.

ABSTRACT We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized and non-randomized controlled trials that compared pure endoscopic with microscopic transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) in the resection of pituitary tumors. Embase, PubMed, Lilacs, and Central Cochrane were used as our data sources. The outcomes were total tumor resection, achievement of biochemical control of functioning adenomas, hospital stay and surgery complications. The randomized trials were analyzed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. Two randomized and three prospective controlled non-randomized studies were included. Two studies, including 68 patients, evaluated total tumor resection and the meta-analysis did not show differences between the groups [RR: 1.45 (95% CI: 0.87, 2.44)]. Three studies involving 65 patients analyzed the achievement of biochemical control and no statistical difference was found [RR: 0.94 (95% CI: 0.7, 1.26)]. All five studies compared the frequency of postoperative complications between intervention and control group and meta-analysis favored for a low rate of postoperative complications in the endoscopic TSS group [(RR: 0.37 (95% CI: 0.16, 0.83)]. Due to the low evidence level and low number of observations, the results of our meta-analysis should not be viewed as a final proof of inferiority or superiority of one approach in relation to the other. More data including higher numbers of observations are needed.

Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO) is one of the most severe clinical manifestations of Graves’ disease (GD), and its treatment might involve high-dose glucocorticoid therapy. The higher incidence of GO among females, and the reported association between polymorphisms of estrogen receptor (ER) and GD susceptibility have led us to question the role of estrogen and its receptor in GO pathogenesis. We, thus, assessed estrogen receptor-alpha (ERA) gene expression in cultures of orbital fibroblasts from a patient with GO before (controls) and after treatment with 10 nM and 100 nM dexamethasone (DEX). Orbital fibroblasts showed ERA gene expression. In the cells treated with 10 nM and 100 nM DEX, ERA gene expression was, respectively, 85% higher and 74% lower, than in the control group. We concluded that ERA gene expression is found in the orbital fibroblasts of patient with GO, which may be affected by glucocorticoids in a dose-related manner. Arch Endocrinol Metab. 2015;59(3):273-6