Endocrine Abstracts

Phytoestrogen genistein is one of the endocrine disrupting chemicals found mostly in soybean. It has become a topic of interest since decades ago in view of its benefits in reducing the risks of breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity and perimenopausal symptoms. However, it has been reported that genistein can cause adverse consequences on female reproductive system and may cause infertility. Its action was said to be associated with its binding affinity to oestrogen r...

A 45 year old female civil servant presented to primary care for a routine evaluation of her lipid profile. When questioned, she described a history of lethargy and low mood. The patient’s GP noted features of agitation and sweating and organised a range investigations including thyroid function tests. Past medical history included systemic lupus erythematosus, a diagnosis that the patient had experienced difficulty accepting, requiring an extended period of counselling.<...

Growth hormone receptor (GHR) defective Laron Syndrome (LS) has been treated with daily subcutaneous recombinant insulin-like-growth factor 1 (IGF1) injections lasting many years. We have reported the results of treatment of 4-5 week old Laron dwarf mice (GHR-/-) with a single injection of an adeno-associated virus vector with a murine GHR (AAV-GHR) and a liver specific promoter at a dose of 4 × 1010 vector genome per mouse (Sia et al, Gene Therapy 202...

Case Presentation: A 35-year-old Caucasian male presented to our endocrine clinic with a right pituitary lesion. This was found incidentally on MRI nine months previously after admission with head injury. He was asymptomatic apart from intermittent pain in his left wrist and right knee. He has a history of epilepsy. He was on paracetamol for analgesia, levetiracetam for epilepsy, and was not on any oral, topical, inhaled or injectable steroids. On assessment, he had central ob...

Background: Hyperprolactinaemia is common in patients presenting with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Recent studies suggest that each condition has an independent aetiology, hence appropriate investigation of hyperprolactinaemia in the context of PCOS is required, for which separate treatment may then be provided. Appropriate investigation includes a serum macroprolactin screen, a specific drug history for drug-induced hyperprolactinaemia (DIH), blood tests to exclude secon...

Patients with Addison’s or adrenal insufficiency require regular steroid replacement usually in the form of oral hydrocortisone. Standard advice is given on how to deal with intercurrent illness and special situations such as surgery. Organisations such as the Addison’s disease self-help group provide authoritative guidelines for patients. Several of our patients with adrenal insufficiency have asked how their steroid replacement treatment should be adjusted for expe...

Background: Egr1 has been widely recognized as essential for some aspects of learning and memory while Egr 4 has been shown to be involved in receptor – modulated memory processes. Furthermore, it has been shown that testosterone enhances memory by increasing biological salience of incoming information. In cryptorchid boys, an elevated odd ratio for low IQ was found. i) It is postulated that the hypothalamus–pituitary–testicular axis is implicated in maintaining...

A 39-year-old lady presented with chest infection and was found to be hyponatraemic (114 mmol/l) during her third pregnancy. Short synacthen test (SST) revealed inappropriately low ACTH (39 ng/l) with adrenocortical failure (cortical 163, 355, 503 at 0, 30 and 60 min respectively). She was started on replacement hydrocortisone. Adrenal autoantibodies were negative. Other tests showed IGF-1 14.8 (13–50 ηmol/l), growth hormone <0.1 (<10 mU/l), prolactin 677 (&#...

1. A 48 year old female was admitted to inpatient psychiatry with paranoid delusions, auditory hallucinations and subsequently detained under the Mental Health Act of Scotland. She had been diagnosed with Graves’ Disease 5 years previously having presented with anxiety and weight loss but had elected to refuse anti-thyroid drugs in favour of homeopathy and acupuncture. She refused any treatment for Graves’ Disease when admitted to Psychiatry even though floridly thyr...

Case history: A 59 year old Afro-Carribbean male with a 25 year history of cardiac enlargement and hypertension, on multiple anti-hypertensives, presented with increasing breathlessness and several years of markedly reduced exercise tolerance. He was intolerant of spironolactone and eplerenone. His past medical history included hypertersion, obstructive sleep apnoea, Steven-Johnson syndrome secondary to allopurinol, thyrotoxicosis treated with radio-active iodine, monoclonal g...