Endocrine Abstracts

Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) are usually taken to include gastro-enterohepatic tumors including islet cell tumours and carcinoids; recent data suggest an overall incidence of around 30/million/year, but since such tumours usually present late curative surgery is rarely an option and chemotherapy of limited benefit. Radionuclide scintigraphy with somatostatin (SMS) analogues such as 111In-octreotide demonstrate the presence of SMS receptors in some 80%-90% of NETS; we have use...

Pituitary tumours are usually benign and present early due to hormonal hypersecretion: the mean size of corticotroph adenomas is only 100mm3. Furthermore, of the 6 essential stages in carcinogenesis (activation of oncogenes, loss of tumour suppressor genes, inhibition of apoptosis, immortalisation, vascular invasion and metastasis), probably only the first 3 are relevant to these tumours: this renders them a valuable paradigm for the earliest stages of oncogenesis. Menin and P...

Ashley Grossman, Department of Endocrinology, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, UK AbstractAshley Grossman initially graduated with a BA in Psychology and Social Anthropology from the University of London, then entered University College Hospital Medical School in London where he graduated with an MBBS, and with a BSc in Neuroscience. He joined the Department of Endocrinology at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in 1978, ...

In our in-vitro experiments we examined the involvement of insulin-like growth factor type II (IGF-II) in the control of ovarian function in domestic fowl, together with the intracellular mechanisms of IGF-II action. Fragments of ovarian follicles were cultured with and without IGF-II (1-100 ng/ml), blockers of protein kinase A (PAK, KT5820, 10 mg/ml), tyrosine kinase (TK, AG1024, 1mg/ml), mitogen-activated protein konase (MAPK, PD98059, 10 mg/ml), cyclin-dependent protein kin...

Ghrelin is a novel growth hormone-releasing peptide, recently identified in the rat stomach as the endogenous ligand for the growth hormone secretagogue-receptor (GHS-R). Previously, regulation of GH release was thought to occur primarily via a phasic interaction between two hypothalamic neuropeptides, GHRH and somatostatin. It is now thought that ghrelin is an important third factor in the regulatory pathway. In addition to its GH-releasing activity ghrelin may have other act...

Lanreotide (LAN) Autogel, a new aqueous preparation of lanreotide acetate, was administered by deep sc injection every 4 weeks to patients with acromegaly (54 males, 53 females, mean age 53 plus/minus 1 year) who had previously been responsive to im SR LAN 30 mg microparticles. Patients who had been treated with at least 4 im injections of SR LAN 30 mg every 14 (49%), 10 (32%) or 7 days (20%) for at least 3 months and had a mean GH level <10 ng/ml, were switched to LAN Auto...

The majority of patients with Cushing’s syndrome are ACTH-dependent, but the diagnosis of ACTH-dependence, and then the differential diagnosis between Cushing’s disease and the ectopic ACTH syndrome, is dependent on the measurement of ACTH. In the mammalian adult anterior pituitary, POMC is cleaved into a variety of products including the ‘normal’ ACTH(1-39). In the pars intermedia (present in the human fetus and most mammals), ACTH is cleaved further by th...

The majority of patients with Cushing’s syndrome are ACTH-dependent, but the diagnosis of ACTH-dependence, and then the differential diagnosis between Cushing’s disease and the ectopic ACTH syndrome, is dependent on the measurement of ACTH. In the mammalian adult anterior pituitary, POMC is cleaved into a variety of products including the ‘normal’ ACTH(1-39). In the pars intermedia (present in the human fetus and most mammals), ACTH is cleaved further by th...

Background and aims: Immediate release somatostatin analogues (SAs) have routinely been administered to test tolerability prior to commencing long-acting SAs, though there is limited evidence to support this process. We aim to examine this practice at our centre.Methods: Patients who received SA therapy for a neuro endocrine tumours (NET) between December 2012 and December 2014 were identified. Records were used to identify; start date, duration of test-...

Aim: Audit was carried out in accordance with trust policy to review all adult patients initiated on Growth Hormone during the period April 2009 to April 2011 and primarly to evaluate efficacy and to ascertain if care is consistent with NICE guidelines.Method: Medical notes of all patients initiated on Growth Hormone during the stated period were retrieved. The cases we're audited against criteria 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 as specified in NICE guideline TA 64, Ap...