Endocrine Abstracts

An 18 year old nursery nurse suffered two probable seizures. She was commenced on Phenytoin. She had had a cleft palate repair. Clinical examination revealed hypertelorism and short fourth metatarsals. Early papilloedema was noted. Routine blood tests showed profound hypocalcaemia of 1.2 mmol/l. Serum phosphate , magnesium and parathormone levels were normal. She suffered a further seizure and was given intravenous calcium. She suffered no further seizures and calcium levels w...

Calcitonin assays remain a key requirement for the diagnosis and monitoring of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC). Until recently calcitonin assays were mainly competitive radioimmunoassays (RIA) but there are now more specific immunometric assays (IMA) available. Cost and staffing pressures are emcouraging routine clinical chemistry laboratories to perform easier kit methodologies rather than refer samples to specialist centres. However, endocrine tumours are known to secrete ...

Vitamin D is essential to the control of calcium homeostasis and is mainly provided by exposure to sunlight. In the UK circulating Vitamin D is subject to seasonal variation with peak values occurring in early Autumn and trough values in late Spring. Requests for Vitamin D assays are increasing but few laboratories quote seasonal reference ranges and many commercial suppliers quote reference ranges for populations living in warmer, sunnier climates. This study established seas...

Obesity is a life-threatening, yet common condition that often lies at the root of other serious illnesses such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other neuroendocrine disorders. The central nervous system signalling pathways regulating food intake are complex and the precise mechanisms remain to be determined. Cocaine- and amphetamine- regulated transcript (CART) is a CNS neuropeptide involved in the regulation of feeding.Development of a two-site immunometric assay ...

11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) regenerates active glucocorticoids thus amplifying their intracellular actions. 11β-HSD1 deficiency or inhibition, which improve metabolic syndrome and attenuate atherosclerosis in vulnerable rodent strains, is a target for drug development. However, 11β-HSD1 also converts 7-ketocholesterol (7KC) (which accumulates in fatty tissues), to the potentially more atherogenic, 7β-hydroxycholesterol. Whether a...

Glucocorticoids are potent anti-inflammatory agents. Endogenous glucocorticoid action is modulated by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD) which interconverts active (cortisol, corticosterone) and intrinsically inert glucocorticoids (cortisone, 11-dehydrocorticosterone). 11β-HSD type 1 regenerates active glucocorticoids. 11β-HSD 1 highly expressed in the lung but its role is little explored.Immunohistochemical staining of mouse ...