Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Hypothalamic obesity (HO) is an acquired form of severe obesity that can occur following surgical resection of or radiotherapy for brain tumors and is often unresponsive to lifestyle modifications or traditional obesity pharmacotherapies. Here, we report weight- and body composition–related findings from a Phase 2 trial of setmelanotide, a melanocortin-4 receptor agonist, in patients with HO.Methods: A Phase 2, open-label, 16-week trial ...

Background: Hypothalamic injury and impaired melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) pathway signaling, often a result of surgery or radiation for a benign tumor, may lead to hypothalamic obesity (HO). After injury, sudden weight gain and appetite changes unresponsive to existing therapies develop. Setmelanotide, an MC4R agonist, is approved for chronic weight management in patients with certain MC4R pathway–associated diseases. We report interim results of a Phase 2 study of setm...

Objective: To report hunger-related results from a Phase 2 trial of setmelanotide in patients with hypothalamic obesity (HO).Methods: A Phase 2, open-label, 16-week trial of setmelanotide in patients aged ≥6 to ≤ 40 years with body mass index (BMI) ≥95th percentile (aged <18 years) or ≥35 kg/m2 (aged ≥18 years) and HO caused by hypothalamic damage secondary to brain tumor, surgical resection, and/or chemothera...

Alternative promoters control many genes including prolactin (PRL), which in man is expressed at extra-pituitary sites controlled by an alternative promoter located 5.8 Kbp upstream of the pituitary transcription start site. Previous studies using short promoter fragments may be misleading, as the human hPRL genomic locus has many conserved far-upstream regions. To study the function of the alternative promoter, we engineered a bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) expressing ...

Aims: We investigate the influence of GIP on ghrelin secretion in normal glucose tolerant individuals with the use of the firstly applied correlation network analysis on human plasma metabolome data.Methods: To address this issue, we employed a GIP-infusion test and euglycemic- and hyperglycemic glucose clamp experiments combined with infusion of GIP or placebo in a cross-over manner in non diabetic obese male subjects (n=14). Moreover, we firstly...

Objective: The Swiss Primary HyperParaThyroidism (PHPT) Cohort Study is an ongoing, prospective, non-interventional project collecting clinical, densitometric, biochemical and outcome data in patients with PHPT. The aims are to describe the profile of these patients particularly neurobehavioral and cognitive symptoms, changes in calcium and PTH over time and treatment modalities.Methods: Patients newly diagnosed with PHPT and with high serum calcium leve...

Objectives: Premature estrogen deficiency and menopause are associated with increases in body weight and fat mass. Ovariectomized (OVX) mice also show reduced locomotor activity. Because glucose-dependent-insulinotropic-polypeptide (GIP) is known to play an important role both in fat metabolism and locomotor activity, we hypothesized that effects of estrogen on the regulation of body weight, fat mass and spontaneous physical activity could be mediated in part by GIP signaling....

Background: Gastroenteropancreatic mixed neuroendocrine non-neuroendocrine neoplasm (MiNEN) is a rare entity consisting of two morphologically distinct populations of cells, one of which is neuroendocrine and one which is non-neuroendocrine. MiNENs typically contain high grade neuroendocrine carcinoma, conferring a poor prognosis. Due to the rarity of this diagnosis, data is limited and therefore, we sought to add to the current clinical understanding of this diagnosis.<p ...

Cortisol is metabolised by two 11βHSD isoenzymes. Recently, we reported that 11βHSD1 and 11βHSD2 mRNA and protein are co-expressed in boar testis and throughout the male reproductive tract. However, enzyme activities were only detectable in boar testis, caput epididymidis, bulbourethral glands and penile urethra. The objective of the present study was to assess whether cortisol–cortisone metabolism in the boar testis and caput epididymidis could be regulate...

Objectives: Angiotensin II (AngII) induces renal premature senescence by multiple mechanisms including by increasing oxidative stress. Recent study revealed that growth hormone secretagogue ghrelin exerts anti-senescence effects. In this study, we examined whether ghrelin inhibits AngII-induced renal senescence and damages.Methods: Renal senescence was induced by infusion of Ang II in C57BL/6 mice with osmotic mini-pump. Ghrelin was administered by the d...