Endocrine Abstracts

With an aging population the number of total joint replacements performed due to end-stage osteoarthritis is increasing. Critically, a significant proportion of patients report dissatisfaction following surgery, with around 10% of hip and 20% of knee OA patients developing chronic postoperative pain. Obesity is a well-known risk factor for the development of OA. Pre-surgical obesity has been previously associated with worse clinical outcomes following arthroplasty. Therefore, ...

Both therapeutic glucocorticoids (GCs) and chronic inflammation are powerful inducers of systemic bone loss, resulting in osteoporosis and increased morbidity. Whilst GCs suppress inflammation, it is unclear how these factors interact to determine net bone metabolism. We investigated the balance between osteo-protective and osteo-destructive properties of GCs in the TNF-tg model of chronic inflammatory disease. Wild-type (WT) and TNF-tg mice were treated with corticosterone (1...

Variation in endogenous glucocorticoid (GC) activity during inflammation has been linked to susceptibility to developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It has been shown that in patients with RA inflamed synovial tissue can generate active GCs through the expression of the 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 enzyme (11β-HSD1), which converts cortisone to cortisol. We examined whether the total body activity of 11β-HSD1 or its expression within synovium was assoc...

Within the synovium of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), synovial fibroblasts generate active corticosteroids through expression of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1). In vitro, this enzyme is strongly up-regulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) and IL1β. In this study, we determined the relationship between inflammation and global 11β-HSD1 activity in vivo, in a clini...