Endocrine Abstracts

Permanent hypoparathyroidism is rare after total thyroidectomy. However, our experience is that often patients remain on alfacalcidol and calcium supplements long-term after thyroidectomy.A study was initiated in our centre in 2004, whereby all patients on alfacalcidol or calcium supplements post thyroidectomy underwent a gradual alfacalcidol and calcium reduction programme. Of 57 patients thus enrolled, we report on 22 who were initially on alfacalcidol...

Nitric oxide (NO) is a regulator of pituitary gonadotrophs via local paracrine and autocrine actions. Gonadotrophs express neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) but the effects of NO on gonadotrophs are controversial and both stimulation and inhibition of LH release has been reported. nNOS -/- mice have reduced fertility, but this is attributed to ovary actions, because no difference was detected in basal or GnRH-stimulated LH release (Klein et al 1998). We have therefore exam...

Background: Pituitary metastases are a rare occurrence, accounting for just 0.4% of intracranial metastatic tumours and are most often associated with breast and lung malignancies. The vast majority of lesions are asymptomatic and due to the predilection of metastasis to the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, clinical presentation with anterior pituitary insufficiency is uncommon and rarely reported in literature.Case summary: A 51-year old male with...

Case history: A 46-year-old headmaster with a 10-year history of hypertension presented with a BP of 164/116 mmHg on four antihypertensive drugs. He had occasional headaches, chest ‘aches’, and described one syncopal episode after an ‘exhausting rowing session’. A low plasma renin (routinely measured in our resistant hypertensives) and 26/20 mmHg fall in BP on changing hydrochlorothiazide to amiloride, led to investigations for primary aldosteronism (PA).</...

Introduction: Lymphocytic hypophysitis(LH) is a rare autoimmune endocrinopathy that causes pituitary gland inflammation, resulting in hypopituitarism. Headache is the most common presenting symptom; however, diabetes insipidus (DI) may be the first feature in some patients. Here we report one such case. Case: a 36-year-old female was referred to the Endocrine clinic with sudden onset of polydipsia, polyuria and nocturia. She also reported amenorrhoea but...

Primary Hyperaldosteronism (PA) is caused by adrenal tumours or bilateral adrenal hyperplasia (Djajadiningrat-Laanen et al., 2011) causing constitutive aldosterone production. Both germline and somatic mutations have been identified in human PA (Scholl, 2022). The commonest somatic mutations in benign tumours causing PA in humans include KCNJ5, CACNA1D, ATP1A1 and ATP2B3 (Williams et al., 2015). It is hypothesized that analogous somatic mutations arise in fel...

Introduction: Prior to 2015 there was no pathway for adrenal masses. An Adrenal MDT was started to discuss all the adrenal nodules (except for suspected phaechromocytoma and adrenal carcinoma) to improve the service for this cohort of patients. This audit is a review of the impact of this intervention.Methods: Data was collected between April 2016 and March 2016 for all adrenalectomies performed at East Sussex Hospitals Trust. Data was collected from the...

Folliculo-stellate (FS) cells exert a paracrine regulation on their neighbouring endocrine cells in the anterior pituitary gland. FS cells are non-granular cells characterized by long cytoplasmic processes and form follicles with microvilli on their luminal cavity, suggesting a transport function. Moreover, FS cells form monolayers in primary culture and develop domes after reaching confluence, characteristics of polarized transport epithelia. However little is known about tra...

Introduction: Klinefelter’s Syndrome (KS) is a genetic condition affecting men with the potential to severely reduce testosterone levels and affect physical appearance. Being a syndrome there are a variety of different symptoms which individuals may experience to a great or lesser extent. With no screening programme in place, KS may not be detected until puberty, or until men have problems starting a family. As a result, many different healthcare professionals (HCPs) are ...

Recent studies have demonstrated that rather than being a collection of heterogeneously dispersed cells, the pituitary gland is wired by multiple and specific endocrine cell networks to synchronise hormone release. Prolactin (PRL) is primarily important for lactation. In response to changing physiological demands during pregnancy and lactation the pituitary has the ability to expand and contract its cell number. We have investigated changes in lactotroph morphology and cell-to...