Endocrine Abstracts

A number of factors including hyperglycaemia, hypertension, dyslipidaemia and oxidative stress contribute to the development of vascular disease in diabetes, the chief cause of the increased morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. Within the vessel wall impairment of endothelial and smooth muscle responses both contribute to functional abnormalities such as reduced vasodilation and it has been shown that hypertension and diabetes have additive effects on vascular...

Inherited cancer syndromes with phaeochromocytoma as a component feature include von Hippel-Lindau syndrome (VHL, MIM 193300) and multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (MEN 2, MIM 171400), and less frequently, neurofibromatosis type 1. In addition germline mutations in the SDHB and SDHD (succinate dehydrogenase subunits B and D) genes cause susceptibility to phaeochromocytoma and/or head and neck paragangliomas (Reviewed in Maher ER Eng C. The pressure rises: update on the genet...

The treatment of craniopharyngiomas remains controversial, as no prospective randomized study has been performed. Although it is a benign tumour it may be life threatening because of its malignant growth and high recurrence rate. Compared to the general population, patients with this tumour has a 5-9-fold excess of mortality. The recurrence rate of the tumour seems to be dependent on the extent of tumour removal, the patient's age, and time of follow up. Primary radical surger...

In adipose tissue, estrogens are synthesized in the mesenchymal preadipocyte cells. This arises because aromatase, the enzyme responsible for estrogen biosynthesis is located in these cells as distinct from differentiated adipocytes. Regulation of aromatase expression in these cells is primarily due to a distal promoter, promoter I.4. Differentation of preadipocytes to the lipid-laden phenotype results in loss of aromatase transcripts coincident with increased PPARgamma expres...

Evan Simpson, Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia AbstractProfessor Simpson is generally recognised as a world leader in the area of oestrogen biosynthesis. His lab was the first to clone the cDNA and subsequently the human gene encoding aromatase, the enzyme responsible for oestrogen biosynthesis. They were the first to show that tissue-specific regulation of this gene is media...

Outcomes with DTC measured in terms of cancer-specific mortality, tumor recurrence and disease-free survival rates give different views of the efficacy of treatment. In our cohort of 1528 patients (median age 34 yr, range 5-91 yr) after a median follow-up of 16.6 yr, 40-yr cancer-specific mortality was 8% and recurrence rate was 37%. A delay in treatment of 12 months or more significantly increased the 40-yr cancer-specific mortality (6.6% vs 13.5%, P=0.002). Treatment variabl...

The cell surface calcium receptor is the primary molecular entity regulating secretion of parathyroid hormone (PTH). Activation of this receptor by extracellular calcium inhibits PTH secretion whereas blocking the calcium receptor stimulates secretion of PTH. Chronically elevated levels of PTH, as occurs in hyperparathyroidism, stimulate bone resorption whereas temporary increases in circulating levels of PTH stimulate bone formation. This stimulatory effect on bone has prompt...

It is well known that subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) more often can be revealed in patients with heart ischemic disease (HID). Mild thyroid failure can cause decrease of catabolism at atherogenic lipoproteins, decrease of cardiac output and diastolic disfunction of left ventricle. Results of coronarography (CG) can reliable reflect the severity of coronary atherosclerosis. It seems to us very important to compare the results of CG with TSH level and lipoproteins in heart isch...

One in 11 women develop breast cancer before the age of 75, and mortality is significant. Estrogens and progesterone (PROG) are mediators of breast cancer aetiology and progression, and are targets for both diagnostics and therapy. The actions of estrogens via estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) have been extensively studied, but the genomic actions of PROG via the progesterone receptor (PGR) are still not fully understood. This study investigates the genomic actions of PGR in ...

Introduction: Trisomy 21 is often associated with congenital malformation and metabolic abnormalities such as glucose intolerance and an increased risk of developing diabetes mellitus.Aim: The aim of this study was to assess carbohydrate metabolism in children with Down syndrome.Material and methods: Thirty nine children with Down syndrome, aged between 2 months and 16 years (mean 6.5 years), took part in the study. Glycaemia befor...