Endocrine Abstracts

Endokinin B (EKB) is a recently identified tachykinin whose role is not yet fully understood. EKB displays equivalent affinity for the three tachykinin receptors as substance P (SP) which it is often found co-expressed with. SP has been implicated in a variety of neuroendocrinological responses including stress regulation, and affective and anxiety-related behaviours. An important aspect, therefore, is to dissect a distinct role for EKB from that of SP. Here, we have attempted...

Growth hormone (GH) secretion peaks in early adult life and declines progressively with age. People over the age of 60 have levels of GH secretion comparable to those in younger people with severe GH deficiency from pituitary tumours or their treatment. GH-dependent markers such as IGF-I, BP3, ALS and the collagen markers P-III-P, PICP, ITCP and osteocalcin all fall with age in parallel with the fall in GH secretion. Although exercise is one of the major stimuli to GH secretio...

Introduction: Islet transplantation (ITx) is a therapeutic option for patients with Type 1 diabetes. However there is attrition of graft function and the majority of patients require exogenous insulin injections and/or further transplants, within five years. Mouse models help elucidate mechanisms of islet graft failure and the NOD/Lt-scid IL2rγnull (NSG) mouse is useful to study human islet engraftment but few published studies exist. As diffe...

Background: Vitamin D insufficiency (VDI) was reported to be associated with decreased insulin sensitivity (IS). Individuals with higher osteocalcin (OC) were shown to have better IS. Vitamin D regulates OC synthesis. Obese children carry an abnormal glucose homeostasis risk. Whether correction of VDI improves IS in obese children and mediates such effect via OC are unclear. We, therefore, studied glucose homeostasis, IS, vitamin D status and serum OC concentration in 230 obes...

Current osteoporosis therapy is predominantly ‘anti-resorptive’. Oestrogen antagonises the action of RANK-Ligand, a potent cytokine for osteoclast differentiation. Amino-bisphosphonates inhibit the HMG CoA reductase pathway, reducing osteoclast activity and viability, while denosumab is a human monoclonal antibody that binds to RANKL. Denosumab treatment reduces fractures. In a study of 7868 women with postmenopausal osteoporosis, denosumab reduced new radiographic v...

The formylated peptide receptors comprise a polymorphic family of seven transmembrane domain Gi-protein-coupled receptors. Three family members have been characterised in man (FPR, FPRL1 and FPRL2) and eight in mice (Fpr1, Fpr-rs1 to Fpr-rs7) (1). FPR was originally identified as a receptor for formylated bacterial peptides but recent studies suggest that it is also a target for annexin 1 (ANXA1) (2), a protein mediator of glucocorticoid action in the neuroendocrine system (3)...

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is an autosomal dominant disease caused by mutations in the MEN1 gene (a tumor supressor gene) leading to the development of endocrine and non-endocrine tumours with variable penetrance.The most frequent features are primary hyperparathyroidism, duodeno pancreatic endocrine tumours and pituitary adenomas.Aim of the work: The aim of this retrospective study was to establish the pre...

Hypoparathyroidism (HPT) is characterised by hypocalcaemia and impaired renal phosphate excretion and calcium conservation. Oral calcium supplements and calcitriol can improve serum calcium levels but lack the physiologic effects of PTH on renal reabsorption of calcium. RACE is an ongoing open-label study evaluating the long-term safety of recombinant human parathyroid hormone 1-84 (rhPTH[1-84], parathyroid hormone rDNA) in adults with HPT (NCT01297309). In this interim analys...

Section 1: Case history: A 23-year-old female presented to the Emergency Department with a 3-month history of intermittent chest pain and palpitations. She was found to be hypokalaemic and hypocalcaemic. On direct-questioning she reported 3 weeks of perioral paraesthesia and muscle spasms. She had an unrestricted diet and no other personal or family history of note. She was normotensive with a sinus tachycardia and normal QT-interval, Chvostek’s negative, with no features...

Volume 82, Issue 1, January 2015, Pages 2–11. DOI: 10.1111/cen.12603...