Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Trabecular Bone Score (TBS) is a new non-invasive method to evaluate trabecular bone quality at the lumbar spine. The literature has contradictory results concerning the influence of insulin resistance and adipose tissue on bone, for this reason it is of interest to evaluate factors that determine bone health and risk of fracture in patients with T2DM.Objective: To analyze the relationship between insulin resistance and adipose tissue with ...

Introduction: Sclerostin is a glycoprotein expressed mainly by osteocytes, which acts as inhibitor of bone formation. However, several studies have shown an increase in serum levels of sclerostin in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) suggesting an additional role of this protein at the vascular level. The hypothesis that sclerostin could be expressed by vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) under calcifying conditions could justify this elevati...

Introduction: The analysis of the signaling pathways involved in vascular calcification is difficult due largely to the limitation in obtaining vascular tissue samples. Therefore, the use of bioinformatics tools for the identification of potential biomarkers associated with vascular calcification is an advantage for the advancement in the knowledge of the molecular pathways involved in this pathology.Objective: Increase understanding of the molecular mec...

Introduction: The most frequent causes of ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome are of pituitary origin and, less frequently, due to ectopic secretion of bronchial carcinoid, small cell lung cancer, and neuroendocrine tumors; it is rarely caused by an ACTH-producing pheochromocytoma.Methodology: We present a case of a 44-year-old female with a history of poorly controlled type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and long-standing obesity with no genetic predispos...

I would like to present a case of malignant paraganglionoma which first presented as a mass in right clavicle in a 32-year-old female at Cork University Hospital. Her other medical background included Type 2 diabetes controlled on oral hypoglycemic agents and hypertension. On further imaging, she was found to have another mass in peri aortic region and biopsy confirmed the diagnosis and further verified by MIBG scan in March, 2005. Molecular analysis confirmed deletion of exon...

Background: A 5 year old boy who had been born at 29 weeks gestation presented to the paediatrics clinic with abnormally chubby cheeks. Our patient’s great-grandmother had had a similar appearance and his uncle had recently been diagnosed with giant cell granuloma of the jaw. After extensive imaging and genetic work-up, our patient was diagnosed with cherubism: a condition so named because of the resemblance to cherubic putti in Italian art.Cherubis...

Introduction: Intrauterine growth is a biological process regulated by maternal, placental, and foetal endocrine signals. Birth weight is an indicator of the health of the newborn. Alterations in foetal growth lead to perinatal health risks and favour metabolic diseases during adult life. Therefore, the study of endocrine factors determining birth weight, such as ghrelin is an important issue. Ghrelin may exist as two molecular forms, desacyl ghrelin (DAG) and acyl ghrelin (AG...

A 53 year old man, without any previous medical history, presented acutely to the Accident and Emergency Department with a 5 day history of vomiting and abdominal pain on a background of weight loss, fatigue, polyuria and polydipsia for 4 weeks. On examination he was obviously tanned and thin. He was clinically dehydrated and had palpable hepatomegaly. Immediate biochemical testing revealed hyperglycaemia with a venous blood glucose of 20.7 mmol/l, a metabolic acidosis with a ...

Introduction: National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has provided guidance for the use of human recombinant GH in the treatment of growth failure in children. An ongoing National GH Audit was established in 2013 by BSPED to maintain a central database and gather information regarding trends in prescribing and facilitate future long-term follow up. This part of the audit looked at the trends of off label prescribing of GH.Method: Data wer...

Introduction: GH therapy is prescribed to UK children for a variety of indications. However, no central record exists, making follow-up studies difficult.Aim: To establish an ongoing audit of UK children and adolescents newly-prescribed GH in order to i) monitor trends in prescribing practice and ii) facilitate future long-term follow-up.Patient population: UK children aged ≤16.0 years newly starting GH therapy.<p class="...