Endocrine Abstracts

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) is the key controller of parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion and extracellular calcium homeostasis. Hyperphosphataemia increases PTH secretion and is associated with secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT). We reported recently that inorganic phosphate (Pi), and sulphate, can attenuate CaR activity directly (in CaR-transfected HEK-293 cells) and Pi can increase PTH secretion rapidly from human and murine parathyroid cells. To investigate this fu...

Context: Pheochromocytoma and Paragangliomas (PPGL) are rare neuroendocrine tumors with a strong genetic background. In this report, our objectives are to understand the molecular genetics and the genotype/phenotype correlation of these tumors in the highly consanguineous population of Saudi Arabia. Patients and methods: We studied 88 patients with PPGL and no known family history of these tumors. We extracted DNA from peripheral leucocytes and performed...

Traditional herbal medicine has been used for centuries to treat various chronic diseases – There have been some anecdotal evidence to suggest that the use of some of these herbal medicine may be both safe & efficacious in patients and laboratory animals with diabetes. Many patients with diabetes worldwide use some of these medicines without informing their caring physicians. PHS-E2 (Glucoherb) is a Chinese traditional herbal medicine, which is extracted from two medi...

Aim:To study hypertension in diabetics and non-diabetics, it's degree of control and the type of antihypertensive agents used.Method:The study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Hypertensive patients being followed at the medical outpatient clinic from February 2001 to February 2002 were studied. They were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of diabetes. The following data were recoded; age, sex, na...

Background: Different management modalities are used to control hyperglycaemia associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Research has indicated an association of single or combined insulin therapy with increased cardiovascular events. Metabolic syndrome (MS), as well as increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) are also associated with increased CVD risk.Aim: To study the relationship between management modality, gl...

Case: A 52-year-old gentleman was admitted with dizziness and collapse. Past medical history revealed dyslipidemia treated with statin. Physical examination was unremarkable. Initial investigations were consistent with SIADH (sodium: 109 mmol/l, serum osmolality: 243 mOsm/kg, urine Na: 59 mmol/l and urine osmolality: 191 mOsm/kg). Urea, creatinine and random glucose were normal. CT Head showed pituitary enlargement with sellar expansion. Pituitary profile showed high prolactin...

Background: Adolescence is a challenging time for people with type 1 diabetes (T1DM), associated with worsening glycaemia and disengagement with care. Educational interventions often focus on imparting diabetes-specific skills rather than attending to some of the broader psychosocial challenges young people commonly experience. To address this, we codesigned a psychosocially modelled programme of diabetes education, named ‘Youth Empowerment Skills’ (YES), with young ...

A 19-year-old Cushingoid lady was referred with significant hirsutism requiring daily facial shaving despite previous laser epilation and regular waxing. She had a background history of PCOS, polycythaemia, hypertension and had been labelled as having a ‘Cushingoid appearance’. Extensive investigations elsewhere (UFCs, MR pituitary, and CT adrenals) had failed to diagnose the syndrome. She was taking metformin to regulate menses and lercanidipine and bisprolol. Spiro...

Background: Patients with small bowel neuroendocrine tumors (SBNETs) frequently present with metastatic disease, and unfortunately, the range and efficacy of available therapies is limited. Immunotherapeutic checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated benefit in other malignancies and may also play a role in SBNETs, although relatively little is known about the immune infiltrate in these tumors. Toward a goal of developing novel immunomodulatory strategies, we sought to evaluate t...

A 48 years old male presented with an acute episode of dizziness, weakness, diaphoresis, palpitations, and shakiness. Hypoglycaemia was confirmed with a CBG of 1.6 mmol/L. His symptoms resolved on treatment with Hypostop gel and 10% dextrose. He had an otherwise unremarkable physical examination. In view of his history of consumption of a bottle of vodka daily a diagnosis of alcohol induced hypoglycaemia was made on discharge. A year later he was found being agitated and aggre...