Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Mitotane, 1,1-dichloro-2-(o chlorophenyl) -2- (p-chloro phenyl) ethane (o,p′-DDD) is a compound which represents the effective agent in the treatment of the adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), able to block cortisol synthesis. Nevertheless the biological mechanism induced by this treatment in this cancer remains unknown. Recently, there has been a strong interest in applying proteomics to foster a better understanding of disease proces...

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is a common endocrine disorder, with a prevalence of 1–4 per 1000, that increases to 21 per 1000 in age groups 55–75 years. PHPT may be cured in only one way: by surgical excision of the abnormal parathyroid tissue, which in ~85% of patients is due to a parathyroid adenoma. Double adenomas are found in ~4% of cases and parathyroid carcinoma in 1%. There is consensus that patients with markedly increased serum calcium concentrations,...

Background: Actually mitotane is an adrenal-specific agent employed in the treatment of adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), and although it has been used for several decades, its exact mechanism of action, remain to be fully elucidated. Some authors reported that mitotane affected in vitro the multidrug resistance gene mdr-1/P-glycoprotein. MRP1, belonging a multidrug resistance protein family, exerts a chemo-resistance activity in many type of cancer leading to the failure...

Introduction: In the majority of patients presenting to A&E with hypoglycaemia it is secondary to infection or stress and individuals exhibit a ketogenic response. A minority who first present with hypoglycaemia may have endocrine or metabolic disorders. For this reason a full ‘hypoglycaemia screen’ is undertaken. It is recommended by metbionet that before glucose administration, the following are measured: intermediary metabolites (glucose, b-OHB, free fatty aci...

G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the largest family of signaling receptors in nature. Their diversity means they play key physiological roles and their dysfunction underlies many pathological conditions, thus they are the focus of many drug design programs due to their primary biological and clinical importance. Our objective is to understand the fundamental mechanisms regulating hormone signaling via GPCRs. Disruption of GPCRs regulation in humans underlies many ...

Background: Hypophosphatasia (HPP) is characterized by low serum alkaline phosphatase (S-AP) activity due to loss-of function mutations in the ALPL gene. A hallmark of adult HPP is painful, slowly healing metatarsal and femur stress fractures. There is no treatment for the disease but beneficial effects of parathyroid hormone (PTH) treatment was previously demonstrated in one patient. It is unclear how parathyroid hormone (PTH) can stimulate S-AP despite loss-of functio...

Effective management of obesity is increasingly challenging with the continued growth of the nation’s waistlines and bariatric surgery is not the always the answer to this problem. The synergistic action of GLP-1 agonists (GLP1A) and SGLT2 inhibitors (SGLT2I) represents a possible therapeutic approach for patients with Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and obesity in whom bariatric surgery has been ineffective or is not possible. A single centre retrospective study was performed to ...

Background: Ectopic ACTH syndrome (EAS) is rare and published series are scarce.Aim: To increase the understanding of EAS we describe 31 consecutive cases in years 1997–2016.Results: Of the 31 patients, 65% (20/31) were women and 35% (11/31) men. Median follow-up was 23 months (0–217). Median age at diagnosis was 62 years (21–78), with peak incidences in age groups 30–39 and 60–69 years. Most patients prese...

Men have a higher prevalence and risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) than age-matched women and this may, in part, be related to differences in fatty acid oxidation. Fasting and postprandial fatty acid oxidation was investigated in 11 healthy men and 11 healthy women matched for age (46±2 years vs 46±2 years (mean±S.E.M.)), BMI (28.0±1 vs 27.0±1 kg/m2) and liver fat content (3.4±0.9 vs 3.9±0.7%) measure...

Background: Octreotide is the most widely used somatostatin analogue; however, the LAR formulation must be reconstituted prior to intramuscular injection. This Phase I study compared the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of octreotide Fluid Crystal (FC), a ready-to-use depot formulation for s.c. administration, vs octreotide LAR.Methods: After a single dose of octreotide s.c. 200 μg, healthy adult male/female volunteers were randomized 1 week la...