Endocrine Abstracts

Nancy Carrasco, Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA AbstractDr. Nancy Carrasco was born in Mexico City. She obtained her Medical Doctor and Masters in Biochemistry degrees from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Dr. Carrasco was a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Kaback at the Roche Institute of Molecular Biology in New Jersey, U.S.A., wher...

Different animal models have been used to study the postnatal effect of a prenatal exposure to an androgen excess on the female offspring. We have established a sheep model to test the hypothesis that the intrauterine environment of the PCOS mother may play a role in the etiology of the PCOS. In this regard, our sheep model for the study of PCOS has the advantage that provides mainly an androgenized milieu to the fetus in comparison to pregnant PCOS women who offers a hyperand...

Insulin resistance is defined as the incapacity of insulin to increase glucose uptake by peripheral tissues (skeletal muscle and adipose tissue principally). This phenomenon is present in different animal models for PCOS by prenatal exposure to androgens. In the PCOS condition, the metabolic pathway of insulin activity is defective in skeletal muscle and adipocyte whereas the activation of steroidogenesis is maintained. The decreased insulin stimulated glucose uptake is due to...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common cause of infertility in reproductive aged women affecting ~5–10% of women of reproductive age worldwide. PCOS patients are characterized by infertility disorders, obesity, insulin resistance and hyperandrogenemia that persists during pregnancy. This finding allowed to suggest the hypothesis that this intrauterine environment could affect the fetus, reprogramming the insulin sensitivity of the offspring. We have developed...

The reprogramming effects of an excess of testosterone during pregnancy in males born to PCOS mothers as well as in animal models for PCOS has been only recently evaluated. We have found in a sheep model of PCOS that prenatal T (PT) excess impact on the testis of adults with increased Sertoli cell (SC) number, decreased sperm count, and reduced germ cell (GC) number. The ontogeny of such disruptions and the mechanisms have not been established. This study addressed the impact ...

PCOS is one of the most common cause of infertility in women during their reproductive years. High proportion of women with PCOS develop IR in peripheral tissues like skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, which may begin at the adolescent years when young women exhibit an increase in circulanting androgens. Studies in women with PCOS and animal models of PCOS have suggested alterations in insulin signaling pathways in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. However, at the present t...

The Na+/I- symporter (NIS) is an intrinsic plasma membrane glycoprotein that mediates active I- transport in the thyroid follicular cells, the first step in thyroid hormone biosynthesis. Na+/I- symport occurs with a two Na+ per one I- stoichiometry. Endogenous functional expression of NIS in thyroid cancer is the foundation for the single most effective and most side effect-free anti-cancerous targete...

Introduction: Everolimus is a drug selective inhibitor of mTOR. In 2012 a Phase 2 study* of everolimus monotherapy demonstrated modest efficacy in patients with pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas. Our objective was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of everolimus in a patient with paraganglioma. (*Phase 2 study of everolimus monotherapy in patient with nonfunctioning neuroendocrine tumor or pheochromocytomas/paraglangliomas. Do-Young Oh et al. Cancer 2012 <str...

There are a number of established and recently identified inherited or congenital forms of growth hormone (GH) secreting pituitary tumors. These may be caused by an abnormality in the genetic sequence of responsible genes including MEN1, AIP, CDKN1B, and PRKAR1A. Copy number variation for these and other genes may also contribute to pituitary tumorigenesis, such as duplication of the gene GPR101 in X-linked acrogigantism (X-LAG) syn...

‘Je résolus de m’informer du pourquoi, et de transformer ma volupté en connaissance’ Baudelaire.One of the great blessings in life is to be able to work at something that inspires and interests you. For me, exploration of the diseases caused by abnormal neuroendocrine function has been my passion. Its complexity and interlinked nature can be both startlingly confusing and, when better understood, remarkably logical. But above all...