Endocrine Abstracts

Iodine is an essential component of thyroid hormones that are required for brain development. Severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy can result in cognitive impairment and lower IQ in the offspring. However, the effects of mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency on brain development and neurocognitive function are less well known, and this is important as mild-to-moderate deficiency is common in pregnancy in many European countries, including the UK. There are recommendations in...

Introduction/aims: Adrenarche, the gradual increase in adrenal androgen secretion resulting in clinical features of pubic hair, axillary hair, body odour and acne, is independent from gonadotrophin-dependent central puberty. It is important that children presenting with these features are not unnecessarily investigated, whilst ensuring significant pathology is not overlooked.There is variation in practice in management of adrenarche. We identified curren...

As a component of thyroid hormones, iodine is essential for the development of the fetus, particularly for brain development. Though there has been no awareness of a problem of iodine deficiency in the UK for many years, it is becoming increasingly apparent that mild-to-moderate iodine-deficient is now present in certain population sub-groups. We assessed whether such a level of deficiency in UK pregnant women could be having an adverse effect on cognition in their offspring u...

Iodine deficiency was common in the UK until the 1960s and was eradicated mainly through the adventitious increase in milk-iodine concentration. Iodine sufficiency was subsequently assumed in the UK, until a recent national study revealed mild iodine deficiency in adolescent girls, giving cause for concern. Iodine, as a component of the thyroid hormones, is crucial for brain development, and particularly during gestation. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between i...