Endocrine Abstracts

IntroductionThe association between Type 2 diabetes and decreased quality of life (QoL) scores has been well documented. Insulin resistance (IR) is a key factor in the pathogenesis of both cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. In this study we assess the impact of increasing IR on QoL scores in patients yet to develop or with previously unknown diabetes diagnosed at screening review, and consider the effect of IHD as a potential confounder of these...

IntroductionThe association between Type 2 diabetes and decreased quality of life (QoL) scores has been well documented. Insulin resistance (IR) is a key factor in the pathogenesis of both cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes. In this study we assess the impact of increasing IR on QoL scores in patients yet to develop or with previously unknown diabetes diagnosed at screening review, and consider the effect of IHD as a potential confounder of these...

A role for local corticosteroid metabolism by 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11b-HSD1) has been proposed in bone and adipose tissue physiology. In vivo, 11b-HSD1 predominantly converts inactive cortisone to active cortisol and enzyme activity is critically dependent on substrate concentration. To examine 11b-HSD1 activity in vivo we have analysed the relationship between serum cortisone and markers of bone turnover, BMD and adipose tissue mass in a c...

We have previously proposed a central role for locally generated glucocorticoids in the periarticular and systemic osteoporosis seen in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Synovial fibroblasts (SFs) express the 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) enzyme and this expression increases dramatically with inflammation. Recently, production of DKK-1 (a Wnt signalling inhibitor known to inhibit bone formation) by SFs in response to inflammation has been proposed to ex...

Growth hormone (GH) has profound anabolic effects on bone, but its use as a treatment for patients with osteoporosis has only resulted in small increases in BMD. The low serum IGF-I demonstrated in men with idiopathic osteoporosis may be important in the aetiology of this disease and has been attributed to GH hypo-secretion, though there are conflicting reports of this. Insensitivity to the actions of GH has also been suggested. We studied the GH-IGF-I axis in otherwise health...