Endocrine Abstracts

Hyponatraemia is common, present in some 15–20% of non-selected acute hospital admissions in the UK. Hyponatraemia is associated with increased mortality and morbidity across a range of medical problems; emphasising its importance. Despite these factors, the management of patients with hyponatraemia remains challenging. Early recognition of life threatening hyponatraemia (where action is required quickly) is critical. This situation is rare and requires a...

Diabetes insipidus (DI) is a clinical syndrome characterised by inappropriate hypotonic polyuria. Urine flow rates in excess of 40 mL/kg per 24 h in adults, or more than 100 mL/kg per 24 h in infants are suggestive of diabetes insipidus. Correct diagnosis often requires the use of the water deprivation test. DI may be central or nephrogenic, and results in inappropriate renal water loss. The majority of patients with DI are able to maintain a normal plasma sodium even in the a...

Copeptin is secreted in equimolar amount to Arginine Vasopresin (AVP) but can easily be measured with a sandwich immunoassay. Both peptides, copeptin and AVP, show a high correlation. Accordingly, copeptin mirrors the amount of AVP in the circulation and its measurement provides an attractive marker in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of vasopressin-dependent disorders of fluid homeostasis. This talk will first give some background about copeptin in general and then hi...