Endocrine Abstracts

Case history: A 42-year-old lady was referred from neurology clinic after being assessed for symptoms of headaches, dizziness, transient visual problems and paraesthesia over her limbs for 2 months. On review, she complained of amenorrhoea and was noted to be pale, however, her neurological examination including visual fields to confrontation and ocular movements were normal. Subsequent investigations were consistent with pan-hypopituitarism and she was promptly commenced on h...

Case report: Central neurocytomas are well-differentiated rare central nervous system tumours. These tumours when identified in brain parenchyma or spinal cord are termed as extra ventricular neurocytomas. We report a case of 40 year old lady with mild hypertension who presented with long standing history of intermittent headaches which got worse 2 months before presentation, mainly affecting her forehead and left retro-orbital region. She also noted blurring of vision in her ...

Objectives: Examine the effect of maternal Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) on newborn 25-hydroxyvitaminD (25OHD) levels in a multi-ethnic newborn cohort.Design: 3000 dried blood spots (DBS) were gathered from newborns at a regional newborn screening laboratory over two 1-week periods [February 2019 (winter) and August 2019 (summer)]. Data on birth weight, gestational age, maternal age, ethnicity, and post code were collected. Post code was replaced w...

Introduction: It has been suggested that sexual dysfunction affects as many as 43% of women in the population. In relation to this, symptoms of hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) can be alleviated with testosterone replacement.Aim: To determine what is the pre- and 24-hour post dose circulating level of testosterone in women applying Testogel 16.2 mg/g.Methods: In a group of 10 menopausal women applying Testogel 16.2 mg/g at ...

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) causes synthesis of 90% of pro-hormone tetraiodothyronine (T4) and 10% of active triiodothyronine (T3) from thyroid gland. T3 regulates energy metabolism, thermogenesis, body temperature and normal brain development. T3 is produced from deiodination of T4 and circulating levels of T3 are regulated by deiodinases in response to body’s needs. The peripheral conversion of T<su...

The hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid axis undergoes adaptive changes in response to increased energy expenditure at puberty, a process called thyroidarche. Furthermore, the secretion of thyroid hormones (THs) is influenced by various kinds of acute and chronic stresses. Amongst others, persistent and severe physical stress may affect the secretion of THs. The present study investigates changes in the secretion of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TSH), trioiodothyronine (T3) and tet...

Arginine vasopressin (AVP) is a neurohormone, which regulates blood and extracellular fluid volume and hence blood pressure (BP). AVP has its chief action in kidneys where it reduces flow of urine, increases permeability of convoluted tubules of kidneys to water and its reabsorption. It binds to receptors on sweat glands and decreases water loss by perspiration from the skin. Also, AVP binds to peripheral arteriolar receptors, causing vasoconstriction and increase in BP. The s...

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is an endocrine system within the body that is essential for regulation of blood pressure (BP) and fluid balance. The system is mainly comprised of three hormones renin, angiotensin II (Ang II) and aldosterone. The RAAS pathway is initiated in the kidney with the proteolytic conversion of liver derived angiotensinogen to angiotensin I (Ang I) by renin secreted by juxtaglomerular apparatus of the nephron. Ang I is cleaved by angio...

Background: The short synacthen test (SST) is the most commonly performed investigation to assess for suspected adrenocortical dysfunction. We investigated how random cortisol levels may relate to pass/fail on the STT.Methods: We analysed the relation between random cortisol measurements taken between 04.40 and 20.52 in the day and results of SST baseline and 30/60 min cortisol performed over a 12 month period (338 SSTs) at Salford Royal Hospital. Serum ...

Introduction: Many people with type 1 diabetes continue to experience suboptimal glycaemic control. We now also know that often HbA1c levels are an inaccurate reflection of glycaemic patterns and variability. We describe here how the systematic use of the FreeStyle Libre flash monitor helped improve the glycaemic control of many people with type 1 diabetes.Methods: We report the outcomes of 92 consecutive adults (18 years of age or more) with type 1 diab...