Dear Readers!

Forwarded to you the number of „Progress in Medicine” I would like to dedicate especially to the participants of educational events titled „Autumn School of Endocrinology” taking place in Zakopane annually for 20 years. These conferences, organized by professors Stefan Zgliczyński and Wojciech Zgliczyński and a team of faculty Department of Endocrinology, Medical Centre of Postgraduate Education, gained immense importance, gathering at each occasion more than half a thousand of listeners. These meetings were superb, modern form of postgraduate education not only for endocrinologists.

In the current issue of „Progress in Medicine” there are five original papers devoted to the selected pathologies of the: pituitary (clinical symptoms and hormonal pattern in patients with the „empty” sella), thyroid (security of iodine contrast use in patients treated for hypothyroidism), adrenals (strategy to deal with cases of bilateral adrenal tumours in patients with subclinical Cushing’s syndrome), gonads (dependence of the occurrence of metabolic disorders in women with PCOS of the coexistence of non-alcoholic hepatic steatosis).

Another topic that could be interesting for endocrinologists and for doctors concerning the choice of specialization, is analysis of factors affecting the choice of specialization – a study based on broad, anonymous surveys. According to this analysis, for doctors taking this specialization of paramount importance are: it’s interdisciplinary nature, a large variety of cases, the desire to increase own professional prestige and to satisfy own ambitions.

In the publication analyzing the clinical symptoms and the results of hormonal investigations in patients with the „empty” sella it has been shown that such problem affects mainly women, especially multiparous and overweight people. It should be emphasized that in almost 1/4 of patients presenting a picture of „empty” sella hypopituitarism was detected usually in gonadotropic function of this gland.