Endocrine Abstracts

Available evidence suggests that Sclerocarya birrea stem-bark extract (SBE) which possesses hypoglycaemic activity may be useful in the treatment and management of diabetes mellitus. Since diabetes is associated with cardiovascular and kidney complications, we investigated the influence of SBE on blood glucose, blood pressure and renal function in some experimental animal paradigms. For OGTT tests, separate groups (n=6 in each group) of non-diabetic and streptozo...

Studies in our laboratories have demonstrated that some herbal extracts exert hypoglycaemic effects via unclear mechanism(s). Since the extracts did not have any significant effects on plasma insulin concentration, we speculated that they interfered with food intake and/or absorption to reduce blood glucose concentration. Accordingly, we monitored the amounts of food consumed and body weights in separate groups of non-diabetic and streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats orally trea...

ObjectiveTo examine the relationship between leptin, adiponectin and insulin resistance in a group of men and women with varying degrees of glucose tolerance and obesity.Method69 participants were investigated and divided into four groups: 15 normal weight with normal glucose tolerance (NW NGT); 22 overweight with normal glucose tolerance (OW NGT); 15 overweight with impaired glucose tolerance (OW IGT); and 1...

To explore the correlation structure of individual components of the Metabolic Syndrome and identify combinations of correlated variables we used principal component analysis (PCA) in a multiethnic group of women with a history of GDM (pGDM) (185 European, 103 South Asian, 80 African–Caribbean), recruited at 20.0 (18.2–22.1) months (geometric mean (95% CI)) after pregnancy and 482 control women of similar ethnicities. BMI, W:H ratio, systolic and diastolic BP, f. glu...

Before the development of purified insulin in the 1970s, lipoatrophy was a common complication of insulin therapy (1–2). With the arrival of human insulin, lipoatrophy, becoming a rare problem in clinical practice.Lipoatrophies are considered an adverse immunological side effect of insulin therapy, and in some cases they are mediated by a local high production of tumour necrosis factor-α, w...

A 19 year old Caucasian male presented with nausea and malaise. In the past medical history he had been obese since childhood with hyperphagia and abnormal food seeking behaviour. His father was obese and had type I diabetes mellitus. His mother was also obese and had impaired glucose tolerance.On examination he was morbidly obese (body mass index 46.9 Kg/M2) and had axillary acanthosis nigracans. He had clinical features of hypovolaemic shock...

BackgroundCannabinoid (CB) receptors are expressed in adipocytes. CB1 antagonism may have potential in the metabolic syndrome, with effects mediated through central orexigenic mechanisms and via peripheral action on white adipose tissue (WAT). Equivalent studies in brown adipose tissue (BAT) are lacking.ObjectiveWe aimed to compare CB1 and CB2 receptor expression during WAT and BAT adipogenesis and to investi...

Background and AimIt is known that the variability of testosterone concentrations is predictive of both truncal and peripheral obesity in healthy men. The aim of this study was to establish the nature of the relationship between testosterone and fat mass in young male cancer survivors compared with healthy controls.Subjects176 male cancer survivors (mean age 37.3 years SD 5.8) who previously received gonadoto...

ObjectiveThe aim of this investigation is to study the redox status of osteoblasts in response to glucose and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and their response to minocycline, in a simulated diabetogenic model, using the steroid marker 5 alpha- dihydrotestosterone (DHT)MethodMonolayer cultures of MG63 osteoblasts were established in Eagle’s MEM incubated for 24 h with radiolabelled testosterone, effe...

ObjectiveThis study investigates the oxidative effects of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF) and glucose (G) in a cell culture model of osteoblasts and the modifying role of minocycline (M), using a steroid marker of wound healing (5 alpha- dihydrotestosterone: DHT). This model simulates chronic inflammation and hyperglycaemia, relevant to chronic inflammatory periodontal disease in uncontrolled diabetics and prospects of adjunctive management, using min...

Single gene defects causing severe insulin resistance have been elucidated either by directed screening of candidate genes (INSR, AKT2, PPARG) or by detailed linkage mapping in large pedigrees (BSCL2, AGPAT2, LMNA), and study of patients harbouring these known defects continues to yield important insights into insulin’s action in health and disease. However a large proportion of the genetic defects leading to severe insulin resistance in slim subjects remains undiscovered...

ObjectivesRemoval of fat results in compensatory weight gain in animals. The objective of this study was to examine changes in weight and fat mass in patients who underwent lipectomy at abdominoplasty and bilateral breast reduction.MethodsIn a retrospective analysis, weight changes in 16 patients who had abdominoplasty and 17 patients who received bilateral breast reduction surgery were compared with 16 patie...

AimsTo identify the risk of foot complications in patients with diabetes.MethodsThis study was carried out on 140 patients with diabetes mellitus, including Iranian and other ethnic minority group. The study groups were identified from a diabetic clinic (hospital-based) and a diabetes research center. Risk in the study sample was assessed based on International working Group on the Diabetic Foot (IWGDF). An e...

Leptin circulates as a free (FL) and a protein-bound (BL) form, with the soluble leptin receptor (LR) as an important binding compound. This study was set out to address the distinct role of the leptin components in the metabolic and inflammatory tissue-repair response in patients with liver cirrhosis.MethodsWe investigated hepatic substrate and leptin metabolism in 40 cirrhotics employing a combination of arterial and hepatic vein...

AimsThe premixed insulin analogue, biphasic insulin aspart 30/70 (BIAsp 30, 30% insulin aspart, 70% protaminated aspart) has a more physiological absorption profile than conventional premixed insulin, biphasic human insulin 30/70 (BHI 30, 30% soluble human insulin, 70% NPH), but no studies have previously tested how a switch from BHI 30 to BIAsp 30 can be done safely using a simple guideline. We investigated the occurrence of low interstitial glucose (IG...

Alterations in sodium reabsorption in collecting duct epithelium can have severe implications for the normal function of the nephron and may precipitate the development of secondary hypertension. One of the principal protein kinases involved in sodium transport in the nephron is the serum and glucocorticoid regulated kinase (SGK1) that mediates translocation and insertion of the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC) into the plasma membrane. SGK1 appears to be increased in the kidn...

ObjectiveThe incidence of maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) in the UK diabetic population is around 1–2% and MODY can also present for the first time in pregnancy. About 70% of cases are caused by mutations in the HNF1α gene. A diagnosis of MODY can affect management following delivery and informs patients. However, untargeted testing is not cost-effective. We wished to see whether screening a sub-group of pregnant women with a high r...

The proglucagon-derived hormone, glucagon-like peptide–1 (GLP-1), augments both beta cell function and mass. However, GLP-1 is rapidly degraded in plasma, thereby limiting its potential as a treatment for diabetes. One approach to circumvent this problem would be to stimulate synthesis of GLP-1 locally in the islet.Emerging evidence suggests that pancreatic alpha cells, which normally produce glucagon, can adapt to produce GLP-1. This phenomenon may...

BackgroundInappropriate footwear is a major cause of ulceration in diabetes while good footwear prevents ulceration and recurrence.AimTo analyse the benefits of orthotic interventions in foot ulcers in our high risk diabetic patients.Design and methodsWe present preliminary data of a prospective analysis of 18 diabetic patients from our foot clinic to evaluate res...