Endocrine Abstracts

Pituitary adenomas/ tumours remain the commonest cause of growth hormone deficiency (GHD; indeed recent studies from the UK and Belgium have reported higher than previously estimated prevalence of clinically significant pituitary adenomas). However, the aetiological spectrum of pituitary dysfunction has changed in recent years with endocrinologists increasingly reviewing patients with pituitary dysfunction secondary to radiation injury, traumatic brain injury and subarachnoid ...

In adults, the absence of a biological marker equivalent to height in children, means the diagnosis of GHD relies exclusively on biochemical tests. Confirmation of GHD when suspected involves use of GH stimulation tests, serum levels of GH-dependent peptides, and 24 h GH profiles.GH stimulation tests have become the mainstay for diagnosis of adult GHD, which superficially appears to be relatively simple. GHD in the adult is accepted as a peak GH response...

GH is now well recognised as therapeutic modality for treatment of adult patients with documented GH deficiency, and long-term experience is being gathered. This has, however, revealed also several therapeutic dilemmas, which clinicians managing these patients need to be aware of. Some of these examples are: What to do in case of brain tumours/meningeomas? What to do in patients with concomitant diabetes mellitus with and without complications? How do we handle the patient wit...

Growth hormone (GH) deficient adults present with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations commonly called GHD syndrome. Detection of GHD is important especially as successful GH replacement therapy ameliorates many symptoms of the GHD syndrome and is accompanied by a significant improvement in quality of life (QoL) in GHD patients. GH therapy has been available for adults in the last twenty years and the results from large pharmaco-epidemiological follow ups under GH treatme...