Endocrine Abstracts

Hyponatraemia is the most commonly encountered electrolyte disturbance seen in 15-20% of inpatients. Regardless of severity, hyponatraemia is associated with increased length of stay, morbidity and mortality. We describe a case of a 60-year-old patient admitted with recurrent falls, head injury and hyponatraemia on a background of young-onset Parkinson’s disease with predominant cognitive decline, bladder disturbances and autonomic failure. Following multiple treatments f...

Case history: A 53-year-old woman presented with vasculitic rash affecting her limbs. She has a 3-year history of thyrotoxicosis. Having developed intolerance to carbimazole she was maintained on propylthiouracil (PTU) for the last two years. Imaging results were consistent with multinodular goitre. Thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin was negative. A few months prior to this presentation she developed dysphagia. Repeat imaging showed an 8 cm right thyroid nodule that grew signi...

Menopause management guidelines advocate a personalised, evidence-based approach to menopause-care. This study explored the current landscape of menopause-care, from both patients’ and healthcare-providers’ perspectives, to better understand barriers to menopause-care across the UK.Methods: A 25-question online patient-survey and a 23-question GP-survey was designed with individuals with lived-experience of menopause to underst...

Introduction: Kallmann syndrome (KS) is a rare condition characterised by congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH), usually due to defective migration of olfactory axons and GnRH-neurons. KS is typically associated with absent (anosmia) or reduced (microsmia) sense of smell. Unilaterally hypoplastic or absent olfactory bulbs on MRI are reported, although disturbance in smell is usually bilateral. Kisspeptin is a potent stimulator of hypothalamic GnRH-neurons, and endocri...

Background: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhoea (FHA) are the two commonest causes of menstrual disturbance in pre-menopausal women. In practice, differentiating these two common reproductive disorders can be challenging. A fundamental abnormality that underpins both conditions is altered gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) pulsatility, being increased in PCOS but reduced in FHA. Likewise, congenital (e.g. congenital hypogonadotropic hyp...