Endocrine Abstracts

Oestrogens have important modulatory effects on the skin and the hair follicle. Although they inhibit hair growth in animal models, their effect on human hair growth is less clear. Therefore, we have investigated the effect of oestrogenic compounds on human hair growth in vitro using a whole follicle assay system.Individual microdissected hair follicles from female temporal/occipital scalp (n=6, age range 49–69 mean age 54.67yrs) were incuba...

Ectopic thyroid tissue, defined as thyroid tissue not located anterolaterally to the second and fourth tracheal cartages, is rare. In the majority of the cases it is located in the midline, between the foramen caecum and the proper location of the thyroid gland and most often it is found in the base of the tongue. We present a case of ectopic thyroid in the lower cervical area in a patient with a multinodular goiter. A 27-yr-old asymptomatic woman presented with a recent histo...

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is an adrenal sex steroid whose levels decline during normal aging. Epidemiological studies demonstrate inverse correlation between circulating DHEA-sulphate and body fat mass while DHEA administration in elderly subjects reduces visceral and subcutaneous fat accumulation. Although previous studies have shown that some effects may be mediated via DHEA-induced inhibition of white pre-adipocyte proliferation, mechanisms remain unknown. Furthermore, ...

Introduction: Episodes of poorly controlled diabetes (DM) are one of the most frequent medical complications during hospitalization in the elderly population.Goals: To analyze the mortality rate (M) in patients with DM who undergo some medical decompensation during an admission to Orthopedic Surgery and Traumatology (OST).Material and methods: Descriptive analysis of patients admitted to OST who suffered some type of medical decomp...

Background: Many in vitro studies have suggested that oxidative stress induced by hyperglycemic condition has pivotal role for pathogenesis of vascular complications in diabetics. This study intended to evaluate oxidative stress and antioxidant potential in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), and to clarify the relation between oxidative stress and metabolic derangements including chronic hyperglycemia.Materials and methods: We measured t...

Introduction: Impaired glucose tolerance and insulin resistance are frequently associated with acromegaly. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of long-acting somatostatin analog treatment on glucose homeostasis in acromegalic patients.Patients and methods: In this prospective study 16 naïve acromegalic patients (eight females, eight males; aged 51.5±10.9 years) were studied before and after 3-month therapy with long-acting somatostat...

Background: The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidelines in May 2002 on the use of GH in children, recommending GH in 4 conditions: GH deficiency (GHD), Turner Syndrome, Prader-Willi Syndrome and chronic renal insufficiency.Aim: To audit whether GH prescribing at our hospital adheres to NICE guidelines.Methods: A retrospective audit was performed of children commenced on GH treatment between May 2002 an...

Introduction: Despite extensive research into IQ scores in congenital hypothyroidism (CH) during childhood there is little information on adult outcome in terms of pragmatic measures such as educational achievement, employment, residency and relationships.Patients and methods: We present the results of a questionnaire-based study examining these outcome measures in Scottish adults with permanent CH born between 1979 and 1991. The unaffected siblings of o...

Reactive Hypoglycaemia (RH) is a controversial condition that has been popularised in the media and lay literature. A recent survey of randomly selected women in Nottinghamshire revealed that 37.8% experience symptoms that they attribute to a 'low blood sugar', with over 18% experiencing symptoms more than once a week (1). The aim of this study was to investigate whether a non-patient group who report symptoms synonymous with RH have concomitant hypoglycaemia.<p...

The eye is an organ vulnerable to a variety of external and internal stimuli that can abolish its vital function to allow accurate vision of images for survival. Inflammation is the key mediator of immune protection but its consequence leads to the disruption of the visual axis integrity. Due to this precise reason, through adaptation and evolution, the eye has developed mechanisms of immune tolerance and privilege. Glucocorticoids have potent immunosuppressive and anti-inflam...