Endocrine Abstracts

Swyer-James syndrome or 46, XY female is an unusual condition, characterized by pure gonadal dysgenesis in a phenotypic female patient. Successful pregnancy is even rarer as these patients will require oocyte donation program. We present a 39 year old lady with 46, XY pure gonadal dysgenesis who had a successful pregnancy through in-vitro fertilization by oocyte donation.At her original presentation in 1984, our patient’s main complaint was primary ...

Introduction: Ghrelin is a novel peptide involved in the regulation of appetite and energy balance. Dysregulation of ghrelin may play a role in the development of obesity in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Due to the strong association between BMI and PCOS, we hypothesised that obese women with PCOS have abnormal fasting and post-glucose load ghrelin levels compared with BMI-matched control women.Methods: Datasets included 18 women with PCOS, all with ...

Objective: PCOS affects approximately 10% of women of reproductive age. An audit of our PCOS clinic showed that 75% of our patients were overweight or obese. Following this a Nurse led PCOS weight management clinic was developed. The aim of this audit was to determine whether the Nurse led clinic was effective in helping overweight women with PCOS lose weight.Methods: Data was collected on women attending the clinic at each monthly appointment since Apri...

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have an increased prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. Insulin resistance (IR) is believed to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of both PCOS and cardiovascular disease and thus provides a plausible link between these two conditions. An exaggerated post-prandial triglyceride (TG) response is thought to be one of the mechanisms through which IR is associated with atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to compare fast...

Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) has an important regulatory role both in early folliculogenesis (inhibiting the recruitment of follicles from the primordial pool into the growing phase) and at the antral stage (where it inhibits the action of FSH). In the mouse, AMH action appears to be mediated by a heterodimeric receptor complex comprising a type I receptor and the specific AMH receptor AMHRII, which is essential for AMH signalling in the murine ovary. Post-receptor signalling ...

Men with Type 2 diabetes have a high prevalence of low testosterone levels. Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and glycaemic control in men with Type 2 diabetes. TRT also reduces fat mass and central obesity. The androgen receptor CAG repeat polymorphism length (AR CAG) correlates positively with transcriptional activity of the receptor as well as body fat, and insulin levels in healthy men. Most studies have not found an assoc...

Conventional intramuscular preparations of testosterone esters are associated with wide fluctuations in serum testosterone (T) levels following administration, even when a lower dose (100 mg) is injected every 7–10 days, let alone 250 mg every 2–3 weeks. Depot Testosterone undecanoate [TU -Nebido] is a newly available option for androgen replacement. The possibility of achieving stable therapeutic serum T levels over a period of months is its principal attraction. Da...

Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) is produced by the ovarian granulosa cells in immature follicles from around week 36 of gestation to the menopause. Expression is highest in pre-antral and early antral follicles. AMH has a generally inhibitory effect on early follicle development and possibly on the responsiveness of growing follicles to FSH. Serum AMH is markedly elevated in women with PCOS and increased concentrations have also been reported in the healthy prepubertal daughters ...

Background: A variety of preparations for testosterone replacement therapy are currently available. Testogel, a transdermal gel, is widely used and considered one of the most convenient. Measurement of serum testosterone level at various times after application of the gel is regarded as one of the ways of monitoring response to treatment.Aim: To investigate the variability of testosterone absorption and whether testosterone levels prior to application of...

IGF-I and -II influence cytotrophoblast proliferation by activating the type-I IGF receptor (IGF1R) in first trimester human placenta. Ligand access to receptors is regulated by IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs) 1-6. In humans, the most abundant IGFBPs at the maternal-fetal interface are IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-3; we hypothesised that these IGFBPs function to regulate the effects of IGFs in the placenta and used our placental explant model, in which proliferation and differentiation are...

Both prostaglandin (PG) E2 and oxytocin are used clinically in the induction of labour. However, the functional co-expression of inhibitory PGE2 receptors (EP2) and contractile oxytocin receptors in lower segment myometrium is not fully understood. The aim of the present study was to elucidate EP2 agonist effects on oxytocin-induced myogenic contractions and to identify their combined action on intracellular calcium (Ca2+)...

Retinol binding protein-4 (RBP4) is an adipokine reportedly linked to physiological states of insulin resistance and impaired glycaemia. Pregnancy is a physiological state characterised by changes in carbohydrate metabolism and increased insulin resistance. Our aim was to determine plasma levels of RBP4 during early pregnancy, late pregnancy and postpartum in normal women.Fasting plasma levels of RBP4, insulin and glucose were collected and assayed (ELIS...

Uterine involution is a critical component of postpartum reproduction, which involves endometrial tissue repair, myometrial contraction and bacterial clearance. The uterus synthesises insulin-like growth factors (IGF-I and –II), IGF-I receptor (IGF-1R), and IGF binding proteins (IGFBPs -1 to -6) that regulate IGF bioavailability. This study used tissue from 12 multiparous Holstein-Friesian cows at day 14 postpartum to investigate expression of the uterine IGF system durin...