Endocrine Abstracts

Research in farm animals has long been a cornerstone of our understanding of reproduction and holds similar opportunities for understanding mechanisms by which stress affects fertility. Sheep and cow experimental models are appropriate to humans, especially as detailed longitudinal studies are possible because of size and access to ovaries.Failure to realise genetic potential is a better definition of stress than ‘an increase in corticoids’; ma...

The synacthen test is a commonly performed endocrine test; we have looked at whether we overuse this test. Of 150 synacthen tests performed in one year 52 were randomly selected for audit. 19 were undertaken for symptoms alone (Group 1); 16 for a low random cortisol (below 261 nmom/l – Group 2); 17 for electrolyte disturbances (either low sodium, high potassium or both – Group 3). 3 in Group 2 and 1 in Group 1 were abnormal but in no patient with a random cortisol ab...

Thyroid hormone and TSH levels change during pregnancy yet most laboratories use reference ranges derived from subjects who are not pregnant and male. Does this lead to an underestimation of thyroid disorders in pregnancy?We have derived our own reference range for Free T4 and TSH levels in pregnancy. The hormones were measured in 82 euthyroid mothers at booking and 68 at 28 weeks of pregnancy. Mean (95%CI: reference range of +2SD) FT4 levels were...

In response to the 2003 Government White Paper entitled ‘Our future, Our inheritance’, we piloted a project to promote the genetic service within tertiary medicine. Three clinical nurse specialists (CNS); renal, cardiac and endocrine, are the catalyst for interaction between disciplines. This abstract relates the endocrine genetic experience.Targeting patients and families with genetic endocrine disease is achieved by three methods; identificat...

Background: Arginine Vasopressin (AVP) measurement is difficult. When available there has historically been a lengthy interval between sampling and a result. Co-peptin is a 39 amino-acid glycopeptide that is derived from a pre-prohormone consisting of AVP, neurophysin II and co-peptin. It is released in an equimolar ratio with AVP into the circulation. Co-peptin is stable and can be used as a surrogate marker of AVP release in hyper and hypo-osmolar disorders. Many laboratorie...

In utero exposure to maternal obesity programs an increased risk of obesity. Animal models have shown that offspring obesity is often preceded by increased food intake, however, the mechanisms that mediate these changes are not understood. Using a mouse model of maternal diet-induced obesity we observed increased intake specifically of a high-fat pellet in adult offspring of obese mothers. Through small RNA sequencing, we identified programmed overexpression of miR-505-5p in t...

Introduction: Hybrid closed-loop system (HCS) in Type 1 diabetes (T1D) management uses an automated algorithm to adjust basal insulin and administer correction doses to maintain glucose homeostasis. We have more children with HbA1c <58 mmol/mol. We aim to investigate if HCS contributed to this improvement.Methods: We identified TID children who started on HCS in our hospital from the year 2019–2023. Our HCS are ...

Introduction: Long-acting (LA) somatostatin analog (SSA) therapy is a common first-line medical treatment for acromegaly and NETs. There are limited real-world data on patients’ injection experience with the latest LA SSA devices/formulations.Aims: To compare the injection experience of patients with acromegaly or NETs who were receiving treatment with LAN prefilled syringe vs OCT syringe.Methods: A 2021 e-survey of adults wit...

The Hypoparathyroidism Symptom Diary (HypoPT-SD) was developed for the daily assessment of key symptoms and impact of HypoPT as reported by patients with chronic HypoPT and includes 13-items: a 7-item Symptom subscale, 4-item Impact subscale, and single-item anxiety and depression scores. The current analysis was undertaken to confirm test-retest reliability and construct validity of HypoPT SD Symptom subscale scores using data collected during two open-label, single-arm studi...

Background: The importance of vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy is well known. Hypovitaminosis D is associated with adverse maternal and foetal outcomes such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus, bacterial vaginosis, increased incidence of caesarean section delivery, intra-uterine growth restriction and reduced bone and muscle mass in childhood. The recommendations for vitamin D supplementation vary widely, with NICE guidelines suggesting a daily replacement do...