Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Hydrocortisone therapy in adrenal insufficiency and medical management of Cushing’s syndrome requires accurate monitoring of glucocorticoid status. Currently, this necessitates admitting patients to hospital for serial measurements of serum cortisol. From previous studies in Cushing’s, the goal of medical therapy is a mean (based on five samples) serum cortisol of 150–300 nmol/l, which is known to equate to a normal cortisol production rate. Saliva...

Glucocorticoids are widely prescribed therapeutic agents, however long term treatment can cause increased morbidity from adverse metabolic events, including weight gain and hyperglycaemia. The mechanisms and site of action which underpin these side-effects are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to characterise phenotypic, biochemical and neurohormonal responses in mice administered corticosterone, with a particular focus on changes seen in the early stages of chro...

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely prescribed to treat a number of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. However, patients receiving GCs often develop adverse metabolic effects such as hyperphagia leading to weight gain and hyperglycaemia. Little is known about the central effects of GCs; however they can act in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC), a region involved in the integration of other energy regulatory hormones such as leptin, insulin and ghrelin. Therefore, the ai...

Glucocorticoids (Gcs) are used in the treatment of inflammatory disorders including asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. However, long-term use can cause metabolic side-effects including obesity and diabetes. Previous studies have shown that Gcs increase Agrp expression and that AgRP/NPY/GABA (ANG) neurons can regulate appetite and insulin sensitivity. To investigate the effects of chronic Gc treatment directly on ANG neurons, we crossed AgRP-IRES-Cre with GR...

Glucocorticoid (Gc) excess, either from endogenous overproduction in disorders of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis or exogenous medical therapy, is recognized to cause adverse metabolic side effects including obesity, hyperphagia, and hyperglycemia. The Gc receptor (GR) is widely expressed in the brain including the hypothalamus which is known to regulate energy balance. We have previously established through the administration of corticosterone (Cort) in the drinking w...

Glucocorticoids (Gcs) are widely prescribed to treat a number of conditions, such as arthritis and asthma. However, patients receiving Gcs often develop metabolic complications such as obesity and hyperglycaemia. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular mechanisms in the hypothalamus which drive these adverse effects. Male C57BL/6J mice were given ad libitum access to either corticosterone (CORT; 75 μg/ml) or vehicle (V; 1% ethanol) in their drinkin...

Background and objective: The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide and it is known that intra-uterine experience can program metabolic disorders. The hypothalamic appetite regulatory system is a key target of developmental programming by maternal nutrition. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of maternal overnutrition on the expression of hypothalamic genes controlling energy homeostasis.Research design: Eight week ol...

Glucocorticoid (Gc) excess, either endogenously produced (Cushing’s syndrome) or as a result of exogenous steroid treatment, can cause metabolic disorders such as obesity and hyperglycaemia. The contribution of centrally acting corticosterone in the development of these metabolic disorders is unknown. Gcs regulate the anorexigenic and orexigenic neuropeptides (POMC and AgRP) within the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus to modulate energy balance. This study investigated...