Endocrine Abstracts

Kennedy's disease (KD), also known as spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy, is one of eight polyglutamine diseases caused by an expansion of CAG repeats within the coding region of the affected gene. In KD, the CAG repeat region within the androgen receptor (AR) gene is increased to over 40 repeats, resulting in an expanded polyglutamine tract. Degeneration of a sub-population of neurones occurs in all polyglutamine diseases due to a toxic gain of function typically unrelated to...

It is well documented that inappropriate exposure to glucocorticoids (GCs) in early life stunts growth and predisposes the individual to metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes. Evidence suggests that these programming actions involve alterations in GC receptor expression. However, the precise mechanisms remain to be determined. As GCs are known to modify both the neuroendocrine control of growth hormone (GH) secretion and the peripheral effects of GH on growth and meta...