Treatments

Duke offers high-quality care and compassionate support for patients with:

  • Conditions of the thyroid, adrenal and pituitary glands
  • Male sexual dysfunction
  • Metabolic disorders of blood lipids/lipoproteins (cholesterol and triglycerides), bone, and calcium, including osteoporosis

Duke also provides the latest approaches to helping women through the normal -- but sometimes troublesome -- passage of menopause.

Duke’s specialists provide the highest-quality care for conditions of the thyroid, adrenal, and pituitary glands, including:

  • Tumors of the pituitary gland
  • Cushing’s syndrome
  • Adrenal insufficiency
  • Hypopituitarism, whether congenital or acquired
  • Hyperthyroidism
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Thyroid nodules

Duke offers the full spectrum of treatment for endocrine disorders including the latest medications, radiation therapy, radioisotopes, or surgery, when appropriate.

For conditions of the thyroid, thyroid ultrasound is used to differentiate between a cyst (a sac containing fluid) and a tumor (an abnormal tissue growth that may or may not be cancerous).

Duke’s specialists in endocrinology and geriatrics work closely with orthpaedic and sports medicine surgeons to identify patients at risk for osteoporosis.

The risk for increases with advancing years, but it's not a natural part of aging. It’s caused by a shift in the metabolic processes that control bone turnover and renewal.

Peripheral screening -- a simple ultrasound test of heel-bone density -- can help determine whether bone loss is under way.

Patients determined to be at risk can get a more in-depth evaluation, via a central bone mineral density scan. Painless, non-invasive, and safe, the technology uses a weak x-ray to evaluate the density of bones in the spinal column, hip, or wrist.

Osteoporosis

For evaluation and treatment of osteoporosis, Duke offers:

  • The latest medications to reduce the rate of bone breakdown or enhance bone formation
  • On-site individualized physical therapy assessment and education

Lipid Disorders

For evaluation and treatment of lipid disorders, Duke offers:

  • Advanced lipoprotein testing and cardiovascular risk assessment
  • Noninvasive imaging for atherosclerosis assessment
    • CT cardiac scoring for coronary calcium
    • Carotid intima-media thickness by ultrasound
    • Brachial artery reactivity by ultrasound
  • Targeted dietary counseling, including the Duke Lipid Clinic Low Glycemic Diet
  • Expert management of lipid drug side effects
  • Combination lipid drug therapy when needed

Physicians

Physicians offering this service include:

Locations

This service is available at: