Endocrine Abstracts

A 61 year old woman presented with a six months history of nausea, vomiting and lethargy. She is a non-smoker and drinks little alcohol. She was on 100mcg of Thyroxine following partial thyroidectomy. Physical examination was unremarkable apart from postural hypotension (BP 140/80mmHg laying, 105/75mmHg standing). Blood tests showed plasma sodium of 121mmol/L with normal potassium, urea, creatinine, FBC, random glucose and TFTs. A short synacthen test (1mcg) was normal with a ...

A 42 year old gentleman presented for a second opinion regarding management of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) of the salt losing variety. The patient had been under long term follow up elsewhere but had discontinued his medication of his own accord 14 months prior to seeking consultation. Examination revealed a heavily pigmented male patient with protuberant belly. He had easily palpable masses in both flanks. An abdominal CT showed bilateral massive adrenal enlargement ...

An 18 year old young man was first seen in the ENT department with bilateral swelling of the supraclavicular fossae. A clinical diagnosis of Cushing's syndrome was made and the patient was referred to the Endocrine team. Examination showed a BP of 150/100 and clinical features of gross Cushing's syndrome. Initial investigations revealed normal electrolytes, fT4 8.7 pmol/L, TSH 0.69 mIU/L and a basal prolactin of 68280 mIU/ml. A 24 hr urinary free cortisol (UFC) was 3860 nmol/L...

Introduction: The Dandy-Walker complex (DW) comprises a rare intracranial malformation of the posterior fossa and multiple organ anomalies. The association with endocrine pathology is rare - described in isolated cases (Kallman syndrome, primary hypothyroidism (PH) and central precocious puberty). Noonan syndrome (NS) is a genetic disease usually diagnosed at birth, with variable phenotype. Most cases have AD transmission, with the PTPN11 gene mutation responsible for 50%....

Endokinin B (EKB) is a recently identified tachykinin whose role is not yet fully understood. EKB displays equivalent affinity for the three tachykinin receptors as substance P (SP) which it is often found co-expressed with. SP has been implicated in a variety of neuroendocrinological responses including stress regulation, and affective and anxiety-related behaviours. An important aspect, therefore, is to dissect a distinct role for EKB from that of SP. Here, we have attempted...

Case reports in humans implicate glucocorticoid (GC) excess, through exogenous administration or endogenous overproduction, as a cause of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. In rodents, massive doses of GCs have induced fatty liver when liver fat was measured in the fasting state. The mechanisms through which GCs might induce fatty liver are unknown, but are thought to be secondary to insulin resistance/hyperinsulinaemia. In this study, we examined the effect of dexamethasone (...

Brian Walker, UK-. AbstractBrian Walker is Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where he is administrative head of a 60-strong multidisciplinary research group in the Centre for Cardiovascular Science.He graduated in medicine in Edinburgh in 1986 and completed his clinical training in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Since 1996 he has practised as an honorary consultant i...

Brian Walker, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. AbstractBrian Walker is Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Edinburgh, where he is administrative head of a 60-strong multidisciplinary research group in the Centre for Cardiovascular Science.He graduated in medicine in Edinburgh in 1986 and completed his clinical training in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Since 1996 he has pra...

IntroductionLeukocyte recruitment is a key feature in (I/R)-induced tissue injury. We have developed and validated a novel method to study molecular mechanisms of leukocyte-endothelium interactions in the colonic microcirculation in vivo by use of inverted intravital fluorescence microscopy.Methods & ResultsIn male C57/BL6 mice the superior mesenteric artery was occluded 30 min and leukocyte rolling and ...

Topical glucocorticoid therapy causes adverse effects in human skin including a reduction in dermal fibroblast proliferation and extracellular matrix protein secretion (e.g. collagen 1) and epidermal thinning – effects paralleled in photoexposed and elderly skin. These cause reduced wound healing rates and a loss of elasticity with increased fragility and transepidermal water loss – signs also typical of Cushing’s syndrome characterised by raised circulating cor...