Endocrine Abstracts

There is some evidence from different studies that (1) stem cells reside in thyroid tissue (as in all other tissues) for life-time of the organism, (2) stem cells and their progeny are under the control of niches that limit proliferation of these undifferentiated cells, (3) induction of apoptosis and (excessive) growth stimulation can overcome strict niche control, (4) under these conditions actively cycling, more or less differentiated progenitor may grow faster than the surr...

Healthspan is the period of life during which one enjoys good health. As people age, health is often compromised. Aging is a progressive process and changes of aging are multifactorial in origin. Growth hormone (GH) levels peak at midpuberty and thereafter decline progressively as people age. The number of GH pulses per 24 h does not change with age, but the pulse amplitude declines. The decline in GH secretion of aging is paralleled by a decline in muscle mass. This decline i...

The first barrier to overcome in engaging your audience is in writing an abstract that motivates delegates to attend your presentation; if abstracts don’t pass the ‘so what’ test, you’ll face an uphill battle. Once you have attracted an audience, ensure that they can follow your presentation and leave with a clear take home message. There are two common considerations in writing your abstract and planning your presentation. Firstly, make sure you focus on y...

In the 1990s, we learned that the same estrogen receptors that mediate hormonal effects in reproductive tissues also function in the heart and blood vessels, where they are required for normal cardiovascular physiology and for estrogen-mediated protection against vascular injury and atherosclerosis. Great progress has been made in the past decade in understanding the importance of ERα and ERβ in cardiovascular physiology and disease. In this presentation, data regard...

Circumstances of life and food supply have changed in developed countries, resulting in an increasing prevalence of overweight. As a consequence, a complex disorder consisting of visceral obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance and hypertension emerges: the so-called metabolic syndrome leads to the manifestation of diabetes type 2 and cardiovascular disease.In men, testosterone deficiency contributes to the generation of the metabolic syndrome, as demo...

This study was aimed to test our hypothesis that the brain-derived gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and dopamine (DA) are delivered to the general circulation in fetal and neonatal rats, i.e. before the establishment of the blood-brain barrier, that is in contrast to adult rats. The GnRH and DA concentrations were measured in plasma and in the brain on the 18th embryonic day (E18), E21, 3rd postnatal day (P3), i.e. before the establishment of the blood-brain barrier, and ...

Although non-dopaminergic neurons expressing individual enzymes of dopamine (DA) synthesis are widely distributed in the brain, their functional significance remains uncertain. This study was aimed to evaluate the development and functional significance of the neurons expressing one of the enzymes of DA synthesis, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) or aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC), in the arcuate nucleus of rats in vivo and in vitro by using immunocytochemist...

The discovery of the RANK/RANKL/OPG axis provides opportunities for targeted interventions in a variety of skeletal disorders characterized by excessive bone resorption. In a proof of concept study, Bekker and colleagues demonstrated prompt, dose-related, reversible reduction in indices of bone turnover following subcutaneous administration of OPG-Fc in healthy adults. Inhibition of RANKL activity with denosumab, a fully human monoclonal IgG2 antibody that specifically inhibit...

The documentation of goiter as a swollen neck is well known in the history before its medical description. Artists depicted what they saw in humans, the swollen human neck was the norm in many areas with endemic goiter in old Egypt, Greece, South America, and mountainous areas in central Italy and Switzerland. Sculptures from the ancient civilizations clearly demonstrated endemic goiters and cretinism in areas of environmental iodine deficiency. The engraved stones in old Egyp...

Introduction: Neonatal screening for congenital hypothyroidism is considered a major cornerstone in making early diagnosis and starting therapy in neonates. This is a very important step to prevent the consequences of untreated hypothyroidism including mental retardation and developmental delay. Neonatal screening is usually conducted by screening the level of T4 with or without TSH level. Confirming the diagnosis of hypothyroidism is a very important step before starting ther...