Endocrine Abstracts

A 71-year-old man with carcinoma of prostate and bony metastasis, presented with acute bradyarrhythmia, severe hypocalcaemia and acute renal failure 72 h after intravenous infusion of zoledronate. Before therapy, serum calcium was 2.14 mmol/l (normal, 2.10–2.55 mmol/l), serum phosphate 1.4 mmol/l (normal, 0.8–1.5 mmol/l), serum creatinine 95 umol/l and eGFR 74 ml/min. 25OH vitamin D was not measured. Three days later he presented with a syncopal episode. Initial bloo...

A 27-year-old woman presented with severely symptomatic Graves and ophthalmopathy (FT4 49.1; TSI 53). Despite 60 mg carbimazole and 240 mg propranolol she required admission to control her symptoms and thyroid function, changing to propylthiouracil 800 mg daily with propranolol (FT4 19.9). Whilst considering thyroidectomy a 6-week pregnancy was confirmed. She relapsed (? compliance) and was admitted at 14 weeks with hyperemesis gravidarum (FT4 >77.2), which responded to an...

Obesity is a major worldwide health problem with limited treatment options. Recent research has highlighted the importance of gastrointestinal (GI) nutrient sensing in the regulation of food intake and metabolism. Protein as a macronutrient induces the strongest feeling of satiety per calorie. However, different types of protein have varying effects on appetite, suggesting protein induced satiety may be due to the specific amino acids generated by protein digestion. We have id...

High protein diets suppress appetite, but are difficult to adhere to. Understanding how the gut senses protein may identify mechanisms to drive satiety. Amino acid products of protein digestion are thought to be sensed by G protein coupled receptors in the gut, including the calcium sensing receptor (CaSR). Calcium ions are the major ligand of the CaSR, but aromatic amino acids, particularly L-phenylalanine (L-Phe), allosterically modulate CaSR activity....