Endocrine Abstracts

In the UK 1 in 500 children will develop cancer in childhood. Survival from childhood cancer has more than doubled since the 1960s. Survivorship is increasingly on the agenda and the National Cancer Survivorship Initiative has been launched in the UK.During adolescence the endocrinologist is faced with four challenges in managing childhood cancer survivors:-1. Managing the immediate endocrine consequences of cancer therapy, in part...

Introduction: Low testosterone levels are found in up to 50% of male patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and acute illness is associated with further suppression of the central and peripheral gonadal axis. Testosterone supplementation in chronic stable COPD patients has yielded mixed results, demonstrating increased lean body mass, and improved exercise capacity in some studies, but not others. Use of anabolic steroids during acute illness has shown ben...

Introduction: It is established practice to localise parathyroid lesions preoperatively using ultrasound (US) and sestaMIBI (MIBI). Whilst these imaging techniques have good sensitivity/specify, there are patients in which imaging does not localise a parathyroid lesion. 11C-Methionine PET (MET PET) is an imaging modality where 11C-methionine, a radioactive tracer, is taken up at sites of protein/peptide synthesis and has been demonstrated to be effective ...

4-methylbenzylidene-camphor (4MBC) is an endocrine active compound used as an UV absorber in sunscreens and other cosmetics such as anti-aging lotions and day care products. 4MBC shows weak estrogenic effects on the reproductive system but strong anti-osteoporotic effects after chronic application (Seidlova-Wuttke D et al. 2005 Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 24:in press). Additionally, 4MBC can be resorbed through the skin (Janjua NR et al. 2004 J Invest Dermatol...

Although adrenal vein sampling (AVS) remains the gold-standard for distinguishing unilateral and bilateral disease in primary hyperaldosteronism (PHA), it is technically demanding and not always feasible. Metomidate (MTO), a potent inhibitor of CYP11B1 and CYP11B2, can be C11H3-labelled as a PET tracer (11C-MTO), and we have previously shown it to be an alternative to AVS for localising unilateral aldosterone-producing adenomas (APAs) (Burton <...

Objective: Benzodiazepines are among the most commonly used symptomatic treatment of insomnia and anxiety. Human and animal studies suggest that benzodiazepines suppress the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis. We report on a rare case of isolated ACTH deficiency due to long-term treatment with flunitrazepam.Case report: A 66-year-old man presented to our outpatient department with persistent feelings of physical exhaustion, low vitality, reduced da...

UV filters are produced in high amounts for multiple uses. Their main application is in sun lotions for skin protection against accelerated ageing or cancer, but they are also found in many other cosmetics or in plastic materials to prevent their radiation-induced damage. Regardless of these protective properties, UV filters seem to interfere with both the reproductive and the thyroid endocrine axis. We here screened for effects of the UV filter benzophenone 2 (BP2) on thyroid...

Background: Loss of autophagy protein ATG16L1 enhances endotoxin-induced interleukin 1β (IL1β) production. IL1β has been found to have antineoplastic effects in thyroid malignancies. We hypothesized that a missense polymorphism in ATG16L1 autophagy gene (Thr300Ala) results in changes in the function of the molecule and influences susceptibility to and prognosis of epithelial cell derived thyroid carcinoma (TC).Objective: i) To assess the f...

Introduction: Considering the high capacity of water transport of Na+/glucose cotransporter SGLT1, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential role the SGLT1 in luminal membrane of ductal cells of salivary glands upon the non-stimulated salivary secretion of diabetic rats. The present study also investigates the presence of glucose transporter GLUT1 in salivary glands of rats.Methods: Non-stimulated salivary secretion and SGLT1/GLUT1 protein (...