Endocrine Abstracts

In acromegaly symptom control can be achieved by lowering insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) concentrations to the age-adjusted normal range. However, even with optimal surgery and current medical therapies (dopamine agonists, somatostatin analogues), 30–50% of patients do not achieve target concentrations of IGF1 and GH. Pegvisomant (PEGV), a new GH-receptor antagonist, given as s.c. injections at variable dosages, could normalises IGF1 concentrations in ~70% of acromeg...

In acromegaly, an excessive GH secretion by pituitary adenoma, minimal active disease may be defined as slow progression of characteristic signs and symptoms at presence of slightly elevated or normal IGF1 levels and lack of GH suppression after glucose load. Nadir post-glucose GH level defining active disease is under permanent discussion and depends on assessment methods. IGF1 reference range is wide, must be age-adjusted and often is sex-dependent. From mid-00’s excess...

Neonatal diabetes or monogenic diabetes of infancy can manifest as a transient or permanent condition. TNDM is most commonly caused by imprinting disorders on chromosome 6q24 (TNDM1.Uniparental Isodisomy Chromosome 6, Paternal Duplication of 6q24, loss of maternal methylation). Recently it has been identified that over half of those with maternal hypomethylation at 6q24 have relaxed maternal methylation at other imprinted loci and that the majority of these patients have mutat...

Introduction: Obesity has become an international epidemic, with complex multifactorial aetiology. Both modifiable and unchangeable risk factors must be identified, to target public health interventions. Some studies have suggested that earlier pubertal maturation increases risk of adult obesity, although others have found no relationship. We aimed to meta-analyse existing data and hypothesised that any association is likely to be confounded by childhood adiposity.<p class...

Data from the literature suggest that endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is an unusual disorder in the general population with a reported incidence of 2–3 cases per 1 million inhabitants per year. Patients who are not cured from CS have a poor prognosis with an increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease and significant morbidity that impairs quality of life. Recently published screening studies performed in obese patients with type 2 diabetes or patients with ...

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P E Clayton, Endocrinology and Diabetes Group, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK AbstractPeter Clayton is Professor of Child Health and Paediatric Endocrinology in the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences at the University of Manchester. He is an honorary consultant at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and at the Christie Hospital and is the Director of t...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common and incompletely understood endocrinopathy in women that has both metabolic and reproductive features. Pathophysiologic constructs often guide the design and interpretation of studies by researchers and the choice of treatment by clinicians. Voids in evidence lead to consensus conferences to guide the diagnosis and treatment of the syndrome, yet these remain the lowest level of evidence. This lecture will explore the role of metform...

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signalling pathways are now accepted to be widely important in the mechanisms by which a variety of cell surface receptors can regulate critical cellular functions, such as cell growth, survival and movement. Class I PI3Ks generate the messenger lipids PtdIns(3,4,5)P3 and PtdIns(3,4)P2 in the inner leaflet of the plasma membrane. These two lipids then co-ordinate the regulation of multiple protein targets by binding, with ...

Background: Numerous studies have provided evidence of the link between low testosterone levels and obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. A recent UK study revealed 20% of type 2 diabetics had testosterone levels <8 nmol/l and 31% between 8 and 12 nmol/l. Hypogonadism in men can present with a variety of clinical symptoms which could include erectile dysfunction (ED). However, diabetic patients infrequently volunteer information regarding ED and is often not...