Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Human saliva is a valuable and flexible source of endocrine biomarkers, from which several significant steroids representing indices of development, well being, stress and reproduction can be quantified. Although for many disciplines blood represents the ‘gold standard’ for endocrine measurement, it also has its limitations, specifically requiring trained phlebotomists and appropriate facilities. The painful and invasive nature of blood draws can deter re...

Aim: Management of type 1 diabetes in children is a complex process. Active participation of the child and family in diabetes care is essential for achieving good glycaemic control. A good parental understanding of diabetes and its management would be considered a prerequisite for their involvement in the care of their children’s diabetes. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between parental knowledge of diabetes self management and glycaemic control of ...

Hypercalcaemia is a rare, albeit well-described feature of hypoadrenalism, although the mechanism underlying this is remains controversial. Primary adrenal failure is known to occur secondary to infective agents, and indeed tuberculous infiltration of adrenal tissue represents one of the leading aetiologies worldwide. Primary adrenal failure has also been shown to occur secondary to sepsis with Meningococcus or Pseudomonas species, but classically this presents w...

Advancements in medical care have significantly improved survival rates following major traumatic injury. An understanding of the hormonal, inflammatory and metabolic changes that occur following trauma is still evolving but it is clear that they impact significantly upon patient prognosis. To date, studies that have examined trauma-induced changes in steroid metabolism have analysed samples taken from patients post-hospital admission, culminating in marked variability in the ...

Advances in trauma care have improved survival resulting in more severely injured individuals surviving to enter the trauma care pathway. A significant threat to recovery is now the dysregulated immune response to injury. The hyperinflammatory response of the innate immune system (SIRS), combined with immunoparesis, leads to complications such as multi-organ failure and sepsis. Moreover, recovery from trauma is significantly affected by age, which may be due to changes in the ...

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is a G protein coupled receptor that is expressed widely, including pancreatic beta cells where it has been shown to modulate insulin secretion in vitro. However, the role of the CaSR in regulating in vivo insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis remains unknown. We have therefore investigated the Nuf mouse, which has an activating CaSR mutation (Leu723Gln), to determine whether abnormal CaSR function in vivo affects gl...

Familial juvenile hyperuricaemic nephropathy (FJHN), an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by raised serum urate, reduced fractional excretion of uric acid (FEUA), a urine concentrating defect, and progressive renal failure, is caused by mutations in the UMOD gene, encoding uromodulin (Tamm–Horsfall glycoprotein). The FJHN-causing UMOD mutations are missense mutations (>90%) or inframe deletions (<10%), and none result in prematurely truncated...

Inbred laboratory mice are widely used to generate, by homologous recombination, transgenic and chemical mutagenesis routes, genetic models of human disease. However, physiological studies of such models are hampered by the lack of normal ranges for serum and urinary biochemistry, particularly in relation to acclimatisation following placement in metabolic cages. To establish such values, we investigated urinary and serum parameters in forty, 24–30 week-old C3H/HeH, BALB/...

Progesterone receptors (PR) are long recognized to suppress estrogen receptor (ER) mediated transcription in breast cancers. However, a mechanistic basis for this repression has been lacking. Recent reports indicate this occurs, in part, through global repositioning of ER on chromatin in the presence of selective PR modulators (SPRMS), both agonists and antagonists [1, 2]. The goal of our studies was to further understand the mechanisms by which PR impacts estrogen-dependent g...

Background: Advancements in medical care have significantly improved survival after major traumatic injury and the main risks are now sepsis and multi-organ failure. An understanding of the hormonal, inflammatory and metabolic changes that occur following trauma is still evolving but it is clear that they impact significantly upon patient prognosis. To date, studies that have examined trauma-induced changes in steroid metabolism have analysed samples taken from patients post-h...