Endocrine Abstracts

I have now lived with my Addison’s (adrenal failure) for 7 years. I have achieved a lot during that time and am grateful for the medical care I have received. I was in my 30s when diagnosed, whilst living and working in Germany, after having felt ill for a few months. I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at the same time, and started on 50 mcg thyroxine and 20 mg hydrocortisone, with doses of 10 mg - 5 mg - 5 mg. When I was given my first dose of hydrocortisone, it was ama...

Case history: A 74 year old female was treated for hyperthyroidism of uncertain aetiology by her general practitioner. Carbimazole had been continued for 15 years - current dose 5 mg daily. Following referral to endocrine outpatients, consideration was given to stopping carbimazole as this treatment was possibly no longer required, although a small risk of relapse was accepted. Prior to stopping carbimazole, Free T4 - 10.5 pmol/l (7.5–21.1), TSH - 0.61 mU/l (0.35–4.7...

Background: Hyponatraemia is the commonest electrolyte abnormality. It carries a mortality rate of above 50% when plasma sodium concentration falls below 115 mmol/L. We present a case of severe hyponatraemia complicating pre-eclampsia in a primiparous woman.Case Report: A 23-year old healthy primigravida was admitted at 34 weeks’ gestation following an episode of reduced foetal movements. She was hypertensive (BP 171/98 m...

Background: Hyponatraemia is the commonest electrolyte abnormality. It carries a mortality rate of above 50% when plasma sodium concentration falls below 115 mmol/L. We present a case of severe hyponatraemia complicating pre-eclampsia in a primiparous woman.Case Report: A 23-year old healthy primigravida was admitted at 34 weeks’ gestation following an episode of reduced foetal movements. She was hypertensive (BP 171/98 m...

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are both associated with the metabolic syndrome and are each associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Endothelial function, an early feature in the development of atherosclerosis, has been shown to be abnormal in both PCOS and NAFLD.The aim of this study was to determine if NAFLD conferred additional cardiovascular risk compared to PCOS alone.<p class="ab...

Background: Obesity is associated with increased insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and increased cardiovascular risk leading to atherosclerosis. Bariatric surgery has been shown to improve some of these factors in obese patients with glucose intolerance. A form of bariatric surgery is the Roux-en-Y procedure which can result in greater weight loss and restriction with less malabsorption than other procedures (such as the bilious-pancreatic diversion); but the effect of some ...

A 73 years old female presented in 2005 with 8 year history of face and body hirsutism. Examination confirmed hirsutism but there were no other masculinization features. Her initial investigations revealed a high testosterone of 13 nmol/l, normal androstenedione, DHEA-S and 17 hydroxy progesterone. CT and U/S of pelvis and abdomen, showed normal adrenals, ovaries and a large calcified uterine fibroid. Urinary steroid metabolites ruled out adrenal testosterone source and exogen...

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 ...

Background: Absorption of levothyroxine is significantly reduced in the presence of oral iron if these two medications are ingested simultaneously, possible as a result of the formation of an insoluble complex with these 2 medications. Ideally all hypothyroid pregnant women on thyroid replacement therapy should be advised to avoid simultaneous ingestion of levothyroxine and iron containing medicines.Patients and methods: We conducted a retrospective obse...

Background: Thyroid hormone is essential in foetal neurological development and thyroid hormone deficiency in pregnant women has been linked to lower intelligence quotient and underperformance in their children later in life. Thyroid hormone requirement increases during pregnancy by approximately 50% in the first trimester. We audited our practice of increasing thyroid hormone dose at booking and thereafter in pregnant women attending our combined obstetric medical clinic....