Endocrine Abstracts

Cranial Diabetes Insipidus (CDI) is associated with significant polyuria and is treated with desmopressin. Inappropriate or missed treatment can result in significant electrolyte imbalance and potential harm. A recent UK survey of Endocrinologists reported 55% had concerns about knowledge in their trust, 39% felt they had observed patients come to harm. Patients not receiving desmopressin have been associated with death, leading to an NHS England (NHSE) safety alert in 2016. W...

Turner Syndrome (TS) affects 1:2500 females and is caused by the partial or complete loss of one X chromosome. About 80% of women with TS experience primary amenorrhea and therefore the only option for fertility treatment is ovum donation (OD). The remaining 20% may have the opportunity for a spontaneous pregnancy. Pregnancy in women with TS has been associated with excess obstetric risk such as miscarriage and hypertension. Maternal mortality has been estimated to be 2% risk ...

This talk will cover the currently available evidence describing the endocrine and metabolic consequences of radiotherapy treatment to the hypothalamus and pituitary. A practical approach to surveillance, diagnosis and management of these consequences in childhood and adult cancer survivors will be provided....

Excessive glucocorticoid action is detrimental to metabolic health. The last 15 years has seen the emergence of enzymatic intra-cellular glucocorticoid reactivation, driven by the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1), as a key mechanism contributing to glucocorticoid action. In most contexts, high intracellular glucocorticoid regeneration results in adverse metabolic effects. Inhibition or gene knockout of 11β-HSD1 is metabolically protectiv...

Tissue-level regeneration of active glucocorticoids (GC) by the intracellular enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) now represents a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of metabolic syndrome. Proof of principle came largely from our transgenic animal models of altered tissue GC action, which delineated 11β-HSD1 as a major determinant of intracellular GC exposure and a molecular link between ‘Cushingoid’ and idiopathic obe...

Caloric restriction (CR) is a nutritional intervention that reduces the risk of age-related diseases in numerous species, including humans. CR’s metabolic effects, including decreased fat mass and improved insulin sensitivity, play an important role in its broader health benefits, yet many aspects of the CR response remain poorly understood. In particular, sex differences in metabolic function are increasingly well recognised, but the extent and basis of sex differences i...

Glucocorticoids are effective for the treatment of many chronic conditions but their use is associated with frequent and wide-ranging adverse effects including osteoporosis and growth retardation. The mechanisms that underlie the undesirable effects of GCs on skeletal development are unclear and there is no proven effective treatment to combat them. An in-vivo model that investigates the development and progression of GC-induced changes in bone is, therefore, importan...

Cancer and treatments for cancer can have a significant impact on bone health in both children and adults. There are emerging data that bone mineral density is often reduced in survivors of childhood cancers and survivors of both solid tumours and haematological malignancies in adults. Fracture rates in childhood cancer survivors have not been shown to be increased. Older adult cancer survivors, particularly those treated with aromatase inhibitors and androgen deprivation ther...

Glucocorticoids are effective for the treatment of many chronic conditions but their use is associated with frequent and wide-ranging adverse effects including osteoporosis and growth retardation. The mechanisms that underlie the undesirable effects of GCs on skeletal development are unclear and there is no proven effective treatment to combat them. An in-vivo model that investigates the development and progression of GC-induced changes in bone is, therefore, importan...

Cancer and treatments for cancer can have a significant impact on bone health in both children and adults. There are emerging data that bone mineral density is often reduced in survivors of childhood cancers and survivors of both solid tumours and haematological malignancies in adults. Fracture rates in childhood cancer survivors have not been shown to be increased. Older adult cancer survivors, particularly those treated with aromatase inhibitors and androgen deprivation ther...