Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The recently published ‘Consensus on Criteria for Cure of Acromegaly’ (Giustina et al. JCEM, 2010) highlighted concerns regarding the quality of currently available insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) immunoassays which may contribute, at least in part, to the discordance between GH and IGF1 that is observed in up to 30% of patients with acromegaly after treatment. The development of mass spectroscopy (MS)-based technology has been proposed ...

Introduction and aims: The short Synacthen test (SST) is used to diagnose underactivity of the HPA axis, with a cortisol response <550 nmol/l at 30 min widely accepted as diagnostic of adrenal insufficiency. Earlier studies of the SST have shown variation in cortisol concentrations measured by different immunoassays, suggesting the need for method-specific cut-offs. We sought to define the cortisol response to Synacthen in healthy volunteers (HV) and establish method-speci...

Background: Abnormal microRNAs (miRNAs) expression profiles have been recently associated with sporadic pituitary adenomas, suggesting that miRNAs can contribute to tumor formation. miRNAs are small noncoding RNAs which inhibit post-transcriptional expression of target mRNAs by binding to complementary sequences usually located in the 3′ untranslated region (3′UTR). However, the substantial lack of knowledge about miRNAs’ targets hinder full understanding of t...

The human pituitary tumor transforming gene (hPTTG) is overexpressed in thyroid cancers; it induces genetic instability and propagates growth through the induction of growth factors. We investigated the pathways of interaction between hPTTG and epidermal growth factor (EGF), transforming growth factor-α (TGF-α), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF2) in vitro and in vivo. Synchronised K1 and TPC-1 papillary thyroid...

The transcription factor HIF-1α regulates hypoxia-mediated gene expression which promotes tumour growth, metastasis and desensitisation to chemo-and radiotherapy. HIF-1 is functional in a range of thyroid-carcinoma cells and is regulated by hypoxia and the PI3K and MAPK-signalling pathways.We aimed to determine if HIF-1 and PI3K were important in the development of a metastatic phenotype and play a role in desensitisation to radiotherapy in thyroid ...

Objective: To investigate the long term outcomes for patients with endogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism (SH).Design: Population record-linkage technology was used retrospectively to identify patients with SH and hospital admissions from January 1, 1993 to December 31, 2009.Patients: All residents over 18 years old with at least two serum TSH measurements below the reference range for at least 4 months apart and normal free T...

Hyperthyroidism is associated with increased thrombotic risk through mechanisms that are not fully understood. In contrast, a tendency to bleeding has been reported in hypothyroidism. Fibrin network structure has been shown to determine susceptibility to atherothrombosis and venous thrombotic events and therefore, this study investigates the effects of thyroid-dysfunction on clot structure and fibrinolysis using longitudinal interventional studies.Sevent...

Inadequate dietary iodine intake is the most common cause of preventable mental impairment worldwide and is defined by the WHO as a population median urinary iodine (UI) excretion <100 μg/l. No contemporary data are available for the UK according to the ICCIDD. The UK has no programme of food/salt iodination.We have performed a systematic assessment of the current UK iodine status in 14–15 years old schoolgirls. Seven hundred and eighty-fiv...