Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Primary Aldosteronism is the most common cause of secondary hypertension. First-line treatment; adrenalectomy resects adrenal nodules and adjacent normal tissue, limiting suitability to those who present with unilateral disease. Use of thermal ablation represents an emerging approach as a possible minimally invasive therapy for unilateral and bilateral disease, to target and disrupt hypersecreting aldosterone producing adenomas, while preserving adjacent normal a...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) arises from one or both adrenal glands and is a common cause of secondary hypertension accounting for approximately 5-12% of all hypertension. Current therapy involves mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists for bilateral disease (60%) or adrenalectomy for unilateral disease (30%). We investigate treatment planning of percutaneous adrenal ablation as an alternative definitive therapeutic modality for unilateral and bilateral disease. The main objectiv...

To minimise damage to surrounding tissues, targeted delivery of therapeutics to the tumour is highly desirable, and the development of nanotechnology has shown promising results. Magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (MIONPs) have been gaining traction over the years for applications such as drug delivery, molecular imaging and delivering hyperthermia for treatment of various cancers (1). MIONPs have great therapeutic potential as they can be produced in various sizes and shapes, ...

Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare malignant tumour that starts in the adrenal gland, accounting for 4% of all adrenal tumours. Functioning ACC can cause symptoms related to the overproduction of hormones and large tumours can press on nearby organs. Primary treatment for ACC tumour is surgery to remove the tumour, and may also include Chemotherapy or Radiation to stop the cancer cells from spreading. Therefore, more affective therapies for delivering therapeutics to the tumou...

IntroductionPrimary Aldosteronism (PA) is the commonest secondary cause of hypertension. Mainstay therapy, adrenalectomy resects both hypersecreting and adjacent normal tissue. It is therefore only suitable for patients with unilateral disease (40% cases), whom are surgical candidates. Thermal therapy presents a plausible minimally invasive therapy, to target and disrupt hypersecreting aldosterone producing adenomas (APA), while also preserving adjacent ...

Objective: To evaluate MTA as a precision ablation methodology for adrenocortical tissue, simultaneously evaluating effects on adjacent non-targeted tissue.Methodology: A directional MTA applicator was used in vivo on adrenals of 8 male pigs: (i) sham (n=2); (ii) 45 watts for 60 seconds (n=3); (iii) 70 watts for 60 seconds (n=3). Blood was drawn intraprocedurally and at 48h for measurement of metanephrines, cortisol, A...

Parathyroid hormone is involved in calcium homeostasis through interactions with vitamin D. Because intact and truncated forms of PTH vary in their biological activity, assays that can accurately quantify the ratio of intact hormone to its fragments are of increasing significance in the diagnosis of endocrine, renal and bone diseases. Vitamin D and its metabolites circulate tightly bound to vitamin D-binding protein (DBP). Because DBP concentrations are altered in pregnancy, l...

Parathyroid hormone is involved in calcium homeostasis through interactions with vitamin D. Because intact and truncated forms of parathyroid hormone (PTH) vary in their biological activity, assays that can accurately quantify the ratio of intact hormone to its fragments are of increasing significance in the diagnosis of endocrine, renal and bone diseases. Vitamin D and its metabolites circulate tightly bound to vitamin D-binding protein (DBP). Because DBP concentrations are a...

TSH receptor antibody (TRAb) assays are highly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of Graves’ disease. TRAb can minimise need for additional radiological modalities such as ultrasound and isotope scan in excluding other causes of hyperthyroidism. The relapse rates of hyperthyroidism following a course of anti- thyroid drugs (ATDs) remains disappointingly high at between 50-70%. TRAb levels at diagnosis and at the completion of a course of ATDs can be useful in predic...

This 46 year old lady with no significant past medical history was referred urgently to the Endocrine Investigation Unit with a 9 month history of increasing lethargy and gradual weight loss of around 5 kg. Two months prior, she had been diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism and after commencing Levothyroxine, quickly lost another 5 kg in weight over a period of 6 weeks and had postural dizziness with systolic BP readings between 80 and 90 mmHg. She was having a normal men...