Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Poor glycaemic control with erratic blood glucose levels manifesting as recurrent hyperglycaemia with unpredictable episodes of hypoglycaemia is problem still faced today in daily practice. The causes include poor compliance and failure of oral hypoglycaemic. Despite being on insulin (38% of type 2 diabetes patients who require insulin treatment after 10 years) and type 1 diabetes patients continue to have fluctuing glucose concentration. The poor glycaemic control...

Background: Lithium remains a first-line treatment for bipolar affective disorder and acute maniac state despite the introduction of newer and effective treatment. Lithium therapy is associated with a variety of side effects. Although thyroid dysfunction is the most widely recognised endocrine side effect, hypercalcaemia and more rarely a biochemical picture resembling primary hyperparathyroidism or familial hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia may develop. Recognition of this less co...

Background: Poor glycaemic control with erratic blood glucose levels manifesting as recurrent hyperglycaemia with unpredictable episodes of hypoglycaemia is problem still faced today in daily practice. The causes include poor compliance and failure of oral hypoglycaemic. Despite being on insulin (38% of type 2 diabetes patients who require insulin treatment after 10 years) and type 1 diabetes patients continue to have fluctuating glucose concentration. The poor glycaemic contr...

Beta-cell function of HIV-infected patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), who display lipodystrophy, may be impaired. An early defect in beta-cell function may be characterized by an increased secretion of 32–33 split proinsulin (SP) and intact proinsulin (IP).To address this issue the secretion pattern of SP and IP of 16 HIV-infected men with lipodystrophy (LIPO) and 15 HIV-infected men without lipodystrophy (NONLIPO) were studie...

Background: It is well established that diabetes-related complications are greatest in patients with a high HbA1c and in those who do not attend primary or secondary care clinics. For an equivalent reduction in HbA1c greater benefits are achieved in those with a high baseline.Aim: To determine if a simple action plan implemented by the Diabetes and Practice Nurse in primary care could improve glycaemic control.Methods: A primary ca...

Attenuation of the adrenocortical response to ACTH in septic shock is a well recognised phenomenon, although the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. The evidence points towards factors in septic serum that dampen the adrenocortical responsiveness. The aim of this work is to investigate the cellular function of adrenocortical cells in septic shock and to determine the components within serum that could influence their function. Septic rat serum was collected from ma...

Introduction: Addison’s disease (AD) is a rare endocrine disorder in children, characterized by insufficient production of cortisol and aldosterone due to adrenal gland dysfunction. While electrolyte imbalances, including hyponatremia, hyperkalaemia, can occur in AD, severe hyponatremia is an unusual and challenging complication in children. We present a case of severe hyponatremia in a teenager diagnosed with AD.Case report...

Background: Renal neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are a particularly rare subset of NETs, with fewer than 100 cases described in the literature. Of these, next generation sequencing (NGS) findings have been described in fewer than 10 cases, all but one of which had grade 1 disease.Methods: A single-center, IRB-approved retrospective analysis of patients with grade 2 or 3 well-differentiated renal NETs treated at our institution from 2016-2023 for whom NGS d...

The pathological expansion of white adipose tissue (WAT) in obesity involves adipocyte hypertrophy accompanied by expansion of collagen-rich pericellular extracellular matrix (ECM) and the development of crown-like structures (CLS). Traditionally, WAT morphology is assessed through immunohistochemical analysis of WAT sections. However, manual analysis of large histological sections is time-consuming, and available digital tools for analyzing adipocyte size and pericellular ECM...

Today there exist no treatment that can improve semen quality in more than 85% of infertile men. Interaction between germ and Sertoli cells is critical for sperm production, and Denosumab, an inhibitor of RANKL, has previously been shown to stimulate sperm production in a fraction of infertile men. Here, we show in a humanized RANKL mouse that Denosumab dose dependently increase germ cell proliferation and testicular weight. RANKL was modified so it can be blocked by Denosumab...