Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Little is known about the possible deleterious effects of phthalate exposure on endogenous sex steroid levels in childrenDesign: A longitudinal study.Materials and methods: 168 Healthy children (84 girls) were examined every 6 months for 5 years, with pubertal staging, measurements of serum levels of DHEAS and Δ4-androstenedione (Adione) and repetitive longitudinal morning urinary measurements of 14 phthalate metab...

Niels E Skakkebæk, University Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark AbstractNeils Skakkebaek graduated from Medical School, Copenhagen (1964) and received basic medical training at the St. Joseph's Hospital, Copenhagen and was also trained in pediatrics and medicine at various hospitals in Copenhagen and was awarded a doctorate in Medical Sciences from the University of Copenha...

Castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) develops after androgen deprivation therapy of advanced PC, often with metastatic growth in bone and very poor prognosis. Standard treatment is docetaxel, followed by androgen-synthesis (abiraterone) or androgen receptor inhibition, or treatment with the novel taxane cabazitaxel. Novel drugs are constantly under development and molecular properties of individual tumors will determine treatment effectiveness in individual cases. The a...

Background: Aortic dissection causes excess mortality in Turner syndrome, and this increased risk is associated with aortic dilation, congenital cardiovascular abnormalities, karyotype, and blood pressure. But risk factor identification is inadequate, and the natural course of aortopathy in Turner syndrome is poorly investigated.Design and methods: Prospective follow-up study in women with Turner syndrome (n=102, examined twice) and healthy age-ma...

Objective: The short-term cardiovascular effects of continuous ghrelin infusion in healthy humans remain to be studied.Methods: Fifteen healthy, young and normal-weight men volunteered to participate in a randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over study. The local ethics committee approved the study. We used a constant infusion of human ghrelin at a rate of 5 pmol/kg body weight per minute for 180 minutes and measured peak left ventricular my...

The placenta is a highly specialized organ, which ensures nutrient uptake, waste elimination, provides thermo-regulation, prevents passage of some xenobiotic molecules and regulates the quantity of thyroid hormones (TH) necessary for the fetal development. It is known, that even minor changes in maternal TH levels, can alter the fetal growth. Several factors can modify TH levels during pregnancy. Among them, increasing evidences show that prenatal exposure to persistent organi...

The relation between androgen receptor (AR) gene amplification and other mechanisms behind castration-resistance in prostate cancer, such as increased expression of constitutively active AR variants and steroid-converting enzymes have been poorly examined. Specific aims of this study were to examine AR amplification in treatment-naïve and castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) bone metastases and to explore molecular and functional differences. AR gene amplification ...

Breast development in boys and men, gynaecomastia, is a common condition. The incidence peaks three times through life: neonatally in the first weeks after birth; pubertally, usually around genital stage 3 to 4 and in adulthood with increasing incidence after the age of 50 years.Using a standardized diagnostic approach a cause for gynaecomastia developed in adulthood can be detected in the majority of men, and gynaecomastia may be the first presenting sy...

Recent research in male reproductive disorders has revealed that testicular germ cell cancer, undescended testis, poor semen quality and hypospadias may be biologically linked as a testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS). The evidence comes from a number of clinical, epidemiological and experimental animal studies, which are in line with the hypothesis that these disorders are of fetal origin. Core evidence comes from studies of the precursor to testicular germ cell cancer –...

Human health is influenced by diet composition as well as total energy consumption; however, the circuits that control hunger and food-seeking in general are better understood than the interoceptive mechanisms that lead to consumption of specific nutrients, though the latter may impact both total energy intake and the health quality of food choices. Thus, a better understanding of the biological basis of palatable nutrient appetite is needed to improve diet quality and human h...