Endocrine Abstracts

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Recent analysis has shown that up to 18 percent of the Irish population are obese; a further 40 percent are overweight. Orlistat (Xenical)is a gastrointestinal lipase inhibitor that limits absorption of ingested fat thus aiding weight reduction. We report the use of orlistat outside the clinical trial setting in Ireland from 7 April 2000 to 30 June 2001.A total of 5,251 patients (4,376 women, 875 men) attended 240 weight management clinics (229 in primary care and 11 in se...

Introduction:Steroid hormones exert numerous effects through their action on genomic receptors but little is known about the rapid effects mediated via membrane-bound proteins. Analyses in several vertebrate species indicate that three groups (alpha or A, beta or B, and gamma) of membrane progestin receptors (mPR) exist and have distinct tissue distributions.Objective:The aims of this study were to establish ...

Background. The GH/IGF-I axis has been implicated in the pathogenesis of colon and breast cancer. We have recently demonstrated that the local expression of its components correlates with that of tumour-associated genes and angiogenesis. The two predominant isomers of GH in humans are 22kDa and 20kDa isomers. A recent study reported that the two isomers exert opposing effects on breast cancer cells: 22kDa GH promotes proliferation whereas 20kDa GH inhibits proliferation. The l...

Pituitary apoplexy is a rare but potentially life-threatening condition caused by pituitary infarction or haemorrhage. We have retrospectively analysed 16 patients (10 male, 6 female) with pituitary apoplexy, who presented to our institutions between 1992-2002. The mean age at presentation was 49 years (range 24-72). Only two (12%) patients had previously known pituitary tumours. Pituitary apoplexy was precipitated by major surgery in two patients (coronary artery bypass graft...