Endocrine Abstracts

We present the case of a 54-year-old female who presented with a subarachnoid haemorrhage secondary to a left posterior communicating artery aneurysm in 2002 whilst in South Africa. The aneurysm was clipped in early 2003. Post operatively, she developed polyuria and polydypsia attributed to diabetes insipidus and was started on desmopressin nasal spray. Her background medical history includes hypertension, hyperlipidaemia and hypothyroidism and her medication was perindopril, ...

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare endocrine malignancy with an unfavorable prognosis. Despite the poor prognosis in the majority of patients, no improvements in treatment strategies have been achieved. Therefore, the discovery of new prognostic biomarkers is of enormous interest. Sterol-O-acyl transferase 1 (SOAT1) is involved in cholesterol esterification and lipid droplet formation. Recently, it was demonstrated that SOAT1 inhibition leads to impaired steroidogenesis ...

Background: CT Angiography (CTA) is a frequently used modality of imaging for assessment and diagnosis of patients presenting with acute stroke. There is a paucity of data on management guidelines for the presence of incidental thyroid nodules found on CT Angiography in patients presenting with acute stroke.Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 2092 patients presenting with acute stroke, identified through t...

Introduction: In our centre prior to 2003, testosterone implantation was undertaken by rotational junior medical staff. A specialist nurse role in testosterone implantation was developed within the Oxford Department of Endocrinology over a nine month period.Aim: To assess the adverse effects and the complications from testosterone implants offered by a specialist nurse committed to this task.Method: Since 2003, 200 implants have be...

Background: Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor foratherosclerosis (1,2). Elevated plasma total homocysteine(t-Hcy) levels havebeen described in primary hypothyroidism (3,4). Subclinical hypothyroidismhas also been found to be associated with atherosclerosis (5).Hypothyroidism decreases hepatic levels of enzymes involved in theremethylation pathway of homocysteine and renal excretion of t-Hcy (6,7).The present study evaluates t-Hcy in sub...

Introduction: O,p’DDD is the drug of choice for patients with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC). Monitoring o,p’DDD serum level has been proposed as predictor of tumour response. Measurement of o,p’DDD metabolites involved in the active pathway may provide an improved prediction of o,p’DDD activity. The objective of our study was to (1)to confirm the currently used threshold o,p’DDD serum level of 14mg/l for achieving a tumour response and (2)compare the ...

FPLD is a rare monogenic cause of insulin resistance. We document responses to treatment with metformin in 2 adolescent sisters with FPLD due to heterozygosity for R482W LMNA gene mutation.The probands, aged 14 and 16 years, presented with secondary amenorrhoea, hirsutism and progressive acanthosis nigricans. Phenotypically they showed central obesity, nuchal enlargement, and thin muscular arms. These changes occurred post-pubertally. Anthrpometri...

Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignancy with heterogeneous but dismal prognosis and despite numerous efforts to improve patient care, effective treatment options are still lacking. ACC in vitro research faces for decades one major obstacle - the unavailability of different ACC cell line models. Here, we present a newly established human ACC cell line that was directly transferred to and now proliferates in cell culture. JIL-O cell line was derived from a p...

Background: Mitotane,(o,p’-DDD)is a compound with potent adrenotoxic effect and is able to block cortisol synthesis by inhibiting 11β-hydroxylation and cholesterol chain cleavage. For these reasons, mitotane was widely used in the treatment of adrenocortical cancer. Nevertheless the biological mechanism induced by these treatments in this cancer cells remain unknown.Aim: To study whether the o,p’-DDD could increase the susceptibility to th...

Introduction: Alternative to transsphenoidal pituitary surgery (TSS) may be required in Cushing’s disease (CD), as first or second line treatment. 1,ortho-1,para′-dichloro-diphenyl-dichloroethane (o,p′DDD) has a potent anticortisolic action. Its place in CD treatment is not well defined. The aim of this study was to further evaluate the efficacy and tolerance of o,p′DDD in CD.Patients and m...