Endocrine Abstracts

Suppression of serum thyrotropin (TSH) is a cornerstone of thyroid cancer treatment, due to the tropic effects of TSH on thyroid cells. However, when deciding on the degree of TSH suppression during initial and long-term management, it is necessary to consider the aggressiveness of the cancer, as well as the potential for adverse effects induced by iatrogenic subclinical or overt hyperthyroidism. More aggressive TSH suppression is indicated in patients with high-risk disease o...

Older population and people with type II diabetes have a significantly higher rate of decline in cognitive function. However, the mechanisms are poorly understood. There are strong links between insulin and cognitive function supported by epidemiological data from humans and animal studies and in vitro research. Protein kinase C (PKC) signaling cascades and insulin pathways are closely integrated. The consequences of PKC activation by insulin in the CNS influence memory...

Introduction: Obesity is characterized by an expanded and chronically inflamed adipose tissue (AT). The galectin (Gal) family of proteins exerts a variety of activities, including regulation of inflammation and adipogenesis.Methods: We used RT-PCR, ELISA and flow cytometry to evaluate regulation of expression and production of 4 members of the Gal family – Gal1, Gal3, Gal9 and Gal12 – in visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) adipose tissue of m...

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...

Our previous studies of the gene responsible for the expression of pituitary GH (GH1 gene) have identified 13 novel missense mutations in 52 children with short stature and 154 controls, which occurred more frequently in patients than controls. These mutations result in expression of variant forms of GH with a single amino acid alteration that could lead to conformational changes within the protein, possibly resulting in cleavage sites hidden in wild-type GH becoming ex...

A child with short stature having height greater than 2 standard deviations below the mean for age and bone age delay of two years but with normal growth hormone secretion tests was identified. Since there was no known clinical cause of the short stature, it was decided to sequence both alleles of the patient's GH1 gene that encodes pituitary GH to determine whether there was a genetic defect responsible for the observed phenotype (with local ethical approval). A 3.2kb fragmen...

Variation in endogenous glucocorticoid (GC) activity during inflammation has been linked to susceptibility to developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It has been shown that in patients with RA inflamed synovial tissue can generate active GCs through the expression of the 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 enzyme (11β-HSD1), which converts cortisone to cortisol. We examined whether the total body activity of 11β-HSD1 or its expression within synovium was assoc...

The pituitary-expressed growth hormone 1 gene was screened for mutation in a group of 74 Spanish children with familial short stature resulting in the identification of a novel Ile179Met missense mutation. Variant and wild-type GH were expressed in insect cells and functional studies were performed. The Ile179Met variant was shown to exhibit a similar degree of resistance to proteolysis as wild-type GH, indicating that the introduction of Met does not cause significant ...