Endocrine Abstracts

Case DefinitionPsychiatrists, probably because of their experience with poorly understood and symptom-defined conditions have had a major role in generating workable definitions for clinically significant idiopathic fatigue. This is currently termed chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Although the working definitions of chronic fatigue syndrome have been valuable in achieving comparability of resarch studies, their validity must not be over stated. There is overlap between CFS...

Reproduction is our biological reason for being. Evolution has shaped us via countless millennia with this one purpose in mind. Our development from an early embryo through to adulthood is geared to making us fit to reproduce, a process that is closely connected to nutrition and energy stores. Seasonal and other fluctuations in food supply has been a key evolutionary shaper of the reproductive process, as illustrated by seasonal breeding species. Humans have echoes of this sea...

Reproduction is our biological reason for being. Evolution has shaped us via countless millennia with this one purpose in mind. Our development from an early embryo through to adulthood is geared to making us fit to reproduce, a process that is closely connected to nutrition and energy stores. Seasonal and other fluctuations in food supply has been a key evolutionary shaper of the reproductive process, as illustrated by seasonal breeding species. Humans have echoes of this sea...

After they are released from the testis, spermatozoa pass into the epididymis where they mature. The epididymis is a single, highly coiled duct that develops from a portion of the embryonic Wolffian duct (WD) under the control of testosterone. We have used a model system in which the androgen receptor (AR) antagonist flutamide is administered to pregnant rats to investigate the cellular mechanisms responsible for androgen-dependent WD differentiation.Tim...

Background: Maternal high fat diet (HFD) exposure is thought to perturb offspring metabolism, however the literature on experimental animal studies is inconsistent.Objectives: (i) In experimental studies, appraise data regarding metabolic parameters in offspring of mothers who consumed a HFD, (ii) assess possible predictors for these, and (iii) explore the quality of the evidence base.Methods: Searches were performed in four electr...

Oestrogens can prevent or delay the age-related deterioration of the skin. Post-menopausal women have a reduced rate of wound healing, which can be reversed by oestrogen therapy. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects remain poorly understood. To understand more fully the role of oestrogen in the cutaneous wound healing process we have measured migration, proliferation and the secretion of mitogenic factors by cultured dermal fibroblasts in response to17β-oestra...

Introduction: Diabetic patients on insulin therapy are compelled to use sharps such as insulin needles and lancets on a regular basis. As a result thousands of used sharps and bloodstained materials are generated daily by them. While there is a huge concern over sharps disposal practices in healthcare settings, the sharps disposal practices of diabetic patients living at home has been poorly documented.Methodology: Randomly selected sample of 158 diabeti...

Introduction: Hypo-&hyperkalaemia are common laboratory abnormalities, complicating up to 10% of all hospital admissions and contributing to mortality. Ideally, patients with mild deviations can be treated as outpatients, and only those patients with objectively severe or life-threatening levels are hospitalized. Once admitted, there are few data as to whether the degree of electrolyte disturbance consumes greater resource(s). We analysed the admission and discharge data, ...

Introduction: Hyponatraemia is a common biochemical abnormality, complicating up to 15% of all hospital admissions and associated with increased mortality. Hypernatraemia, occuring less frequently, is strongly associated with mortality and is almost always due to a free water deficit. There is limited data about hospital healthcare burden of these two relatively common electrolyte imbalances. We analysed the length of stay, for acute admissions, with reference to the admission...

Reproductive disorders in males that manifest at birth (cryptorchidism, hypospadias), or young adulthood (low sperm count, lower testosterone levels, testicular cancer) may share a common origin and constitute a ‘testicular dysgenesis syndrome’ (TDS). Normal reproductive tract development is programmed by androgens within the ‘masculinisation programming window’ (MPW, e15.5–e18.5-rats; ~8–14 weeks’ gestation-humans). In rats, TDS disorders ca...