Endocrine Abstracts

A 52-year-old, previously well Indian lady was admitted in May 2008 with pneumonia. Concurrently, she was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (blood glucose 20 mmol/l). Her BMI was 19 kg/m2 and she was initially commenced onto sulphonylurea therapy. She had a further admission in July 2008 with dizzy episodes, falls, postural hypotension (systolic postural drop 75 mmHg) and erratic blood glucose levels (range 1.1–30 mmol/l). Blood ketones were 3.6 mmol/l without a...

A 27 year old lady with Graves’ thyrotoxicosis (fT4 50.3 pmol/L, fT3 25.0 pmol/L, TSH<0.05 mU/L) failed to respond adequately to carbimazole (40 mg BD) or propylthiouracil (250 mg QDS). Three months later, following 10 days of potassium iodide to render her biochemically euthyroid, she underwent a total thyroidectomy. Pre-operative bone profile revealed Ca(c) 2.34 mmol/L (NR 2.15–2.60 mmol/L), phosphate 1.36 mmol/L (NR 0.8–1.4 mmol/L), PTH 3.4 pmol/L (NR 1.1...

We describe the case of an Asian male who is currently 20 years of age. He originally presented aged 18 months with short stature (height below 3rd centile). Isolated growth hormone (GH) deficiency was confirmed by an insulin tolerance test (normal thyroid function/cortisol/GH antibodies). He commenced GH injections (1 unit/day), to which he responded well, reaching the 50th centile for height within one year. Due to his parents’ wishes, GH therapy was discontinued at 3 y...

A 59-year-old gentleman with schizoaffective disorder, treated with long-term lithium therapy and depot fluphenazine, underwent elective cystectomy and ileal conduit formation for transitional cell bladder carcinoma.Post operatively, he developed acute renal impairment, evidenced by a fall in eGFR from 68 to 26 ml/min per 1.73 m2. This resulted in accumulation of lithium to a toxic level of 1.82 mmol/l (0.4–1.0); despite stopping lithium,...

Background: The KISS1 gene, is a critical regulator of normal reproductive function. In humans, KISS1 deletion results in a failure to go through puberty while activating mutations result in central precocious puberty. Administration of kisspeptin induces ovulation in rodents and sheep. However chronic exposure to exogenous kisspeptin-54 leads to profound tachyphylaxis in women with hypothalamic amenorrhoea. It is not known whether exogenous kisspeptin can alter the m...

The amelioration of type 2 diabetes and sustained weight loss after bariatric surgery are thought to be due to elevated circulating levels of the gut hormones peptide YY3–36 (PYY3–36) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). GLP-1 augments the insulin response to an oral glucose load. PYY3–36 has appetite-inhibitory effects and contributes to longer-term weight loss. Rodent studies provide conflicting data regarding the effects of PY...

The physiological post-prandial release of the gut hormones PYY and GLP-1 is implicated in triggering CNS mechanisms underlying satiety. However, the combined effects of PYY and GLP-1 on brain circuits underlying satiety in humans remain unknown.Objective: To determine changes in CNS neuronal activity following single and combined infusions of PYY and GLP-1, using blood oxygen level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD fMRI) in human vol...