Endocrine Abstracts

A 60 year old female from Zimbabwe with an eight year history of HIV infection presented with malaise and facial swelling. She had been established on antiretroviral treatment (Kivexa (lamivudine / abacavir) and Kaletra (lopinivir / ritonavir)) since shortly after her initial diagnosis. One month earlier she had received an injection of intramuscular triamcinolone acetate to treat an inflammatory polyarthropathy. She was also prescribed inhaled salmeterol xinafoate 50 mcg/flut...

Objectives: To examine the effect on weight change of diet/lifestyle advice to maintain/achieve a healthy weight in an unselected PCOS population.Methods: All overweight patients attending the Reproductive Endocrine clinic with PCOS are routinely given lifestyle advice for weight loss by their consultant, offered referral to see a dietician and, when clinically appropriate, prescribed orlistat. Clinical notes were reviewed for 50 consecutive patients wit...

Background: Primary hyperaldosteronism is allegedly present in 10% of hypertensive patients. Conn’s syndrome is present in a third of such patients and adrenalectomy has the potential to cure/improve the control of hypertension. This study assesses the benefits/costs of laparoscopic adrenalectomy (LA) in a cohort of consecutive patients with Conn’s syndrome operated in a tertiary referral centre.Methods: Clinical, radiological, operative and pa...

Background: Glucolipotoxicity contributes to declining B-cell function and acceleration of type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Intensive insulin therapy has been shown to rapidly reverse glucolipotoxicity and improve B-cell function, particularly if given soon after diagnosis. Recent trials in adults have shown promise, with 50% in remission at 1 year after intensive insulin therapy.Methods: We report 4 cases of young people with T2DM treated with intravenous insuli...

Introduction: Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) carries a high risk of morbidity and mortality in undetected affected infants and has an estimated incidence of 1:15 000 based on newborn screening programmes internationally. This project aimed to identify cases and mode of diagnosis of CAH in the Republic of Ireland (ROI) to establish the case if any for screening.Methods: (i) A retrospective questionnaire was sent to all consultant paediatricians in R...

Inhibition of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1) as a means of reducing tissue corticosteroids is showing marked potential as a treatment for type 2 diabetes. However, reduction in tissue corticosteroids may lead to upregulation of the HPA axis. Therefore this study investigates the effect of 11β-HSD1 inhibition on HPA axis biomarkers and examines whether time of dosing impacts on the biomarkers.C57Bl6/Jax mice were fed 60% kcal...

Adipocytes have a key role in obesity and precursor cells can differentiate into white or brown adipocytes, with different metabolic functions. However the process by which stem cells commit to these lineages, and the factors that distinguish white adipogenesis from brown, are poorly understood.Fetal mesenchymal stem cells (fMSCs) can differentiate into adipocytes, but neither the regulation of this process, nor the phenotype differentiated cells has bee...

Although glucocorticoids (Gc) are used to treat a range of pathologies, an individuals response to therapy varies considerably. There is a distinct correlation between certain cell types and steroid sensitivity. Aberrant glucocorticoid receptor (GR) function is well-characterised in lymphoid malignant cells but not small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (DMS79) or osteosarcoma (U2OS) cell lines, which are both Gc resistant.Previously we have shown reduced GR cont...

A 69-year-old man presented in a life threatening hypoglycaemic coma which following resuscitation required continuous intravenous dextrose to maintain euglycaemia. Random blood sugar was confirmed at 0.7 mmol/l. Past medical history included a large (19×14.5 cm) recurrent malignant fibrous tumour of the pleura which was resected in 1989 but recurred in 2006. At that time the tumour was thought not to be responsive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy and debulking surgery wa...

The multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) clinic at our hospital was established in 2002 with the aim of providing integrated, comprehensive and expert regional care to patients with MEN syndrome. The clinical team consists of an adult endocrinologist, a paediatric endocrinologist, a clinical geneticist and an endocrine surgeon.In 2002, 16 patients with MEN type 1 from five different kindred were seen. These patients had previously been attending a combinat...