Endocrine Abstracts

Amiodarone has been used widely for treating resistant tachyarrhythmias in the past three decades. It is an iodinated benzofuran derivative with a structural formula that closely resembles that of thyroid hormones and contains about 37% of organic iodine by weight, from which 10% is deiodinated to yield free iodide. Given the daily maintenance dose of amiodarone between 100–600 mg daily, about 3.5–21 mg of iodide are released into the systemic circulation, equivalent...

Aims: Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) now affects a significant proportion of young people worldwide. ‘X-borough’ contains a strikingly young, diverse population with one of the highest rates of prevalence for adult T2DM in the UK. Our aims were to determine the prevalence and examine the characteristics of young people with T2DM in this population.Methods: Forty-four young people (<25 years) with T2DM were matched with an equal number of young peop...

Vasopressin acts through G protein-coupled receptors on the cardiovascular and renal system to induce vasoconstriction and antidiuresis. Vasopressin also has important functions within the CNS influencing cognition, olfaction and a range of complex social interactions and behaviours. In addition, vasopressin has been reported in the mammalian retina and here we investigated the location and expression of vasopressin and vasopressin receptors (V1a, V1b, and V2) in the rat retin...

LHX3, a member of the LIM-homeodomain family of developmental transcription factors, is required for establishment of mammalian anterior pituitary hormone-secreting cell types as well as the formation of specialized neurons of the nervous system. Paediatric patients with pituitary insufficiency are sometimes diagnosed with combined pituitary hormone deficiency disease (CPHD). This disease can be linked to mutations in essential pituitary developmental transcription factor gene...

In this talk I will describe several genes that have been implicated in the action of GH as it relates to aging. Much of the data is derived from two dwarf and one giant strain of mice produced in our laboratory that possess very different life spans. One of the dwarf lines contains a disruption of the GH receptor and binding protein gene (GHR/BP) (PNAS, 94:13215–13220, 1997). Homozygous GHR/BP ‘knockout’ mice (GHR/BP−/−) show severe postnatal growth...

Kyphosis is a common spinal disorder affecting up to 8.3% of the population, and associated with significant morbidity. Familial and twin studies have implicated a genetic involvement. However, the causative genes have not been identified. Studies investigating the underlying molecular mechanisms are hampered by genetic heterogeneity, small families and variable modes of inheritance displayed by different kindreds. To overcome these limitations, we investigated 12 week old pro...

Kyphosis and scoliosis are common spinal disorders that lead to significant morbidity in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Familial and twin studies have implicated a genetic involvement, although the causative genes remain to be identified. To facilitate these studies, we investigated 12-week-old progeny of mice treated with the chemical mutagen N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) using phenotypic assessments that included dysmorphology, radiography and dual-energy ...

Over recent years, the numbers of commercially available slimming aids have increased dramatically. Whilst the majority of these aids are harmless, their interaction with normal physiology is either not understood or not brought to the attention of the customer. We report the case of a 45-year-old woman who presented with clinical and biochemical thyrotoxicosis (fT4 31.5 pmol/l, fT3 14.3 pmol/l, TSH <0.02 mIU/l). She had elevated TPO antibodies (51 IU...

The ERCUSYN (European Registry on Cushing’s syndrome (CS)) study is a project funded by the European Commission Public Health Program (PHP 800200), of which the ESE is one of the 41 Partners from 25 countries. The aims include obtaining prospective and follow-up data at EU level on epidemiology, mortality, outcome of therapies, co-morbidities, assessment of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, quality of life evaluation using a disease-generated questionnaire (CushingQo...

Objective: The LH and chorionic gonadotropin (CG) are essential for reproduction and male sexual development. While LH induces tesosterone production, CG is essential for the establishment of pregnancy. In the New World Monkeys (NWM) the initial duplication of the ancestral LH-beta subunit (LHB) gene, which gave rise to the novel CG-beta subunit (CGB) gene, was followed by a genomic rearrangement event, leading to CGB expression in pituitary and placenta, whereas LHB became a ...