Endocrine Abstracts

Radioimmunoassay of steroid hormones is widely used but in application to clinical samples the technique can give erroneous results. In the diagnosis of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency raised plasma levels of 17-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) are supportive evidence for the disorder. In the immunoassay of 17-OHP there are particular difficulties with the assay of plasma from neonates due to interference from steroids such as 17-hydroxypregne...

Spironolactone (Sp) is an aldosterone-antagonist diuretic, that is traditionally used in the treatment of hirsutism due to its antiandrogenic effects. Sp can inhibit ovarian and adrenal biosynthesis of androgens, compete for the androgen receptor in the hair follicle, and directly inhibit 5alpha-reductase activity. The steroid suppressive effects are so variable that the receptor-blocking action is considered the most important mechanism. It is probable for this reason that co...

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia(CAH) and other disorders of adrenal steroid synthesis compromise synthesis of cortisol and aldosterone. Deficiency of 7-dehydrocholesterol-7-ene-reductase (DHCR7) in the Smith Lemli Opitz syndrome (SLOS) also affects cholesterol synthesis. New-born infants have dysmorphic facial features, microcephaly, second and third toe syndactyly and genital malformations. Later there is mental retardation and problems with cardiac and intestinal function thr...

The outcome of parathyroid surgery is often not clear for at least 24 hours after an operation. Frozen section is not always helpful in distinguishing between adenoma and hyperplasia. Minimally invasive surgical techniques are being refined so the need for perioperative assurance about the effects of surgery has increased. PTH assays have been adapted to give results in less than 20 minutes. We have tested the value of intraoperative PTH measurements in 10 surgical cases under...

The excess androgen levels in women with PCOS may be ovarian and/or adrenal in origin and one proposed contributing mechanism is an alteration in cortisol metabolism. Increased peripheral cortisol metabolism, either by enhanced inactivation of cortisol by 5alpha-reductase or impaired reactivation of cortisol by 11b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11bHSD type 1), results in decreased negative feedback suppression of ACTH secretion maintaining normal plasma cortisol concentrations...

Measurement of urinary free cortisol (UFC) in overnight, early morning and 24h sample collections are often used to assess potential effects of inhaled or intranasal corticosteroids (ICS) on the HPA axis. In the present study the effects of single inhaled doses of fluticasone propionate (FP), Budesonide (Bud), Triamcinolone acetate (TAA)(molar equivalence; 1750, 1600 and 1600 micrograms respectively) and placebo on UFC excretion was investigated in 13 healthy male subjects. UF...