Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Ischaemic heart disease occurs seven times more frequently in women with Turner syndrome (TS) than the normal population. Adult TS subjects have raised serum cholesterol (Ch). In our service we measure Ch, apolipoprotein A1 (APA) and B (APB) annually in TS patients aged >5 years as APB:APA in childhood is a strong predictor of cardiovascular risk in adult life. Little is known about lipid profiles or the effects of GH or oestrogen (E2) in childhood...

Background: Infants born small for gestational age (SGA) usually show catch-up growth during the first few years of post-natal life. However, some infants remain small and little is known about the factors governing their growth failure. GH and IGF1 receptor mutations only account for a minority of cases. We have now initiated an in vitro assessment of signalling molecules downstream of these receptors and evaluation of cell growth characteristics.<p class="abstext"...

The aim of this study was to analyze IGF1R gene expression in patients with idiopathic short stature (ISS) and correlate it with their GH and IGF1 status. In a previous study, we reported lower final height in subjects with ISS and GH peak ≥40 mU/l (Group1, n=16) compared to those with ISS and GH peak between 20 and 40 mU/l (Group2, n=15), after stimulation test (ITT) performed before or during puberty. Patients were 16–24 (Group1) and 15–26 (Grou...

The superfamily of ~25 human selenoproteins includes antioxidant and oxidoreductase enzymes together with other proteins of unknown function. We describe a child with a multisystem disorder involving deficiencies of several selenoproteins, identified on the basis of abnormal thyroid function.A 3.6-year-old male was referred with elevated free thyroxine (FT4 – 44.4 pmol/l (N 12–22)), low free triiodothyronine (FT3 &#...

3-M syndrome is an autosomal recessive primordial growth disorder characterized by pre- and post-natal growth restriction, facial dysmorphism and radiological abnormalities. Mutations in the gene CUL7 have been previously shown to cause 3-M syndrome. CUL7 is a member of the cullin family of E3 ubiquitin ligases involved in targeted protein degradation.We identified a large cohort of 3-M syndrome patients who did not carry CUL7 mutations but...

Carriage of the exon 3 deletion in the GH receptor (GHR) gene has been reported to enhance growth response to GH therapy. JAK2 and PI3K are involved in signal transduction from the GH (JAK2/PI3K) and IGF1 (PI3K) receptors. We have investigated whether a single nucleotide polymorphism within these genes influences growth response to GH therapy. DNA was taken, with ethical approval, from 104 children treated with GH therapy. Diagnoses were: GHD (n=44), TS (n=23), S...