Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Available clinical literature raises the possibility that stress-responsive mechanisms differ by gender, especially in older individuals; however the accompanying evidence is both limited and discrepant. We hypothesize that gender determines the degree of ACTH inhibition by and recovery after an experimental cortisol clamp in older subjects.Subjects and design: We conducted a prospectively randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross...

The relation between testosterone (T) production and action is complex, involving protein binding in the circulation affecting clearance and tissue availability, T production from precursors in peripheral tissues, deactivating and activating (to dihydrotestosterone and estradiol) metabolism within target tissues, besides factors affecting androgen responsiveness (receptor concentrations, cofactors, genetics,…). Yet, in absence of a useful independent marker of androgen a...

The relation between testosterone (T) production and action is complex, involving protein binding in the circulation affecting clearance and tissue availability, T production from precursors in peripheral tissues, deactivating and activating (to dihydrotestosterone and estradiol) metabolism within target tissues, besides factors affecting androgen responsiveness (receptor concentrations, cofactors, genetics,…). Yet, in absence of a useful independent marker of androgen a...

This talk will cover the currently available evidence describing the endocrine and metabolic consequences of radiotherapy treatment to the hypothalamus and pituitary. A practical approach to surveillance, diagnosis and management of these consequences in childhood and adult cancer survivors will be provided....

This talk is aimed at nurses who wish to set up nurse-led clinics. Although the focus will be on thyroid clinics the principles could be used for other conditions. Consideration will be given to the practicalities of establishing a new clinic, the process and the clinical expertise required. The Society for Endocrinology Competency Framework for Adult Endocrine Nursing underpins the knowledge and skills required by Endocrine Nurses running their own clinics. <a href="https://w...

Oxford dictionaries define audit as a systematic review or assessment of something.In their 2002 publication NICE1 stated that Clinical audit is a quality improvement process that seeks to improve patient care and outcomes. Aspects of the structure, processes, and outcomes of care are selected and systematically evaluated against explicit criteria. Where indicated, changes are implemented at an individual, team, or service level and f...

Background: We have used group education sessions to instruct patients about steroid sick day rules for over 3 years. The groups were initially run by one Endocrine Nurse Specialist (ENS) so every group followed the same format with the same take home messages. With the development of a second ENS post there became an opportunity to share running the sessions. However, it was vital to ensure patients attending the groups were all given the same teaching regardless of who was r...

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) harm human health both as single molecules and as mixtures. Most research on EDCs is done on individual chemicals whereas we are exposed to mixtures of numerous and possibly interacting molecules. This discrepancy presents a dilemma for risk assessment and legislation. Thyroid hormones are essential for normal brain development where they influence, through specific embryonic and post-natal periods all the steps of brain development. In ad...

The 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) serum concentration is the marker of vitamin D status. It is measured by immunoanalysis, mostly on automated platforms, or by separative methods such as HPLC or LC/MS-MS. An important inter-method variability has been evidenced some years ago. This has however improved recently thanks to the availability of an international standard and of a reference method (RM), and to the implementation of the Vitamin D Standardization Program (VDSP). Some pr...

The T2-weighted characteristics of GH-secreting pituitary adenomas have recently received particular attention from the research community. It now appears that somatotropinomas can be divided into groups with different behavior according to their T2-weighted signal. T2-hypointense adenomas are generally smaller, invade the cavernous sinus less frequently and are responsible for higher levels of GH-hypersecretion (Fig. 1). Treatment with somatostatin analogues, both before and ...