Endocrine Abstracts

Prevention, diagnosing, and adequate management of cerebral oedema in diabetic ketoacidosis are of vital importance. This can be very challenging in infants and toddlers as symptoms can be very subtle or difficult to interpret. Young age, new diagnosis of diabetes, and severe acidosis at presentation has been reported as risk factors for the development of cerebral oedema. We report our experience in managing one infant and two toddlers newly diagnosed diabetics who were refer...

Introduction: Thyrotoxicosis classically presents with tremor, goitre, sweating and diarrhoea. It is increasingly appreciated, however, that presentations can be complex and non-specific. Gastrointestinal symptoms in thyrotoxicosis are thought to derive from increased motility. Thyroid overactivity may be a cause for unexplained repeated vomiting and abdominal pain.Case: A case of 41-year-old man presented with a three-year history of intractable vomitin...

Background: Evidences show that maternal vitaminB12 deficiency at periods of development influence metabolic status and degree of metabolic syndrome of the offspring into adulthood. VitaminB12 is required for the synthesis of methionine, which is the precursor of S-adenosyl-methionine, a key methyl donor for DNA methylation. So vitaminB12 deficiency might cause methylation changes, which are thought to alter gene expression of regulatory factors and could result in adverse met...

Background: Chronically elevated brain glucocorticoid (GC) levels impair cognition. In rodents, raised GC levels prior to lipopolyaccharide (LPS) administration potentiate neuroinflammation although GC suppresses neuroinflammation if administered after LPS. 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1 (11β-HSD1) activity can increase intracellular GC levels, including in the brain, without alteration in circulating levels. 11β-HSD1 deficiency/inhibition protects against a...

Placental corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) appears to play important physiological roles during pregnancy and labour. In the placenta, CRH appears to regulate diverse actions such as human trophoblast cell grown and invasion, tissue remodeling, direct modulation of the placental prostaglandin generation and bioavailability and control of placental vascular tone through regulation of endothelial NOS (NOSIII) expression and activation1. CRH actions are mediated ...

Background: Low vitamin B12 (B12) during pregnancy is associated with higher maternal obesity, insulin resistance (IR) and gestational diabetes (GDM). However, it is not clear whether these are causally related.Objective: B12 is a key co-factor of the DNA methylation cycle (1-carbon metabolism). We hypothesize that B12 plays a role in epigenetic regulation by altering circulating miRNAs (miRs) during adipocyte differentiation...

Background: Low vitamin B12 (B12) during pregnancy is associated with higher maternal obesity, insulin resistance (IR) and gestational diabetes (GDM). However, it is not clear whether these are causally related.Objective: B12 is a key co-factor of the DNA methylation cycle (1-carbon metabolism). We hypothesize that B12 plays a role in epigenetic regulation by altering circulating miRNAs (miRs) during adipocyte differentiation...

Background: Human cohorts and animal models provide compelling evidence suggesting the role of vitamin B12 in modulating the risk of diabetes and adiposity via developmental programming. We recently demonstrated that neonates born to mothers with low B12 levels in pregnancy have adverse cord blood lipid profile and in vitro studies in human adipocytes with low B12 showed increased cholesterol biosynthesis. Therefore, we hypothesized that vitamin B12 deficiency may pla...

Chronically elevated glucocorticoid (GC) levels alter cognition and increase cardio-metabolic disease risk. Negative feedback suppression of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, including at the hippocampus, maintains low/basal circulating GC levels. Intracellular GC can be increased, without alteration in circulating levels, by the activity of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type1 (11β-HSD1). In some tissues, 11β-HSD1 expression is increase...

Introduction: The successful prevention of type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a major clinical goal. The pathogenesis is multifactorial, with genetic and environmental influences that lead to a break in immune tolerance toward pancreatic beta cells. Through a number of prospective cohort studies, it is now understood that the presence of two or more diabetes-associated autoantibodies is highly predictive of future T1D diagnosis. In addition to the genetic rationale (insulin gene sequenc...