Endocrine Abstracts

Over the last decades, studies using pharmacological approaches and transgenic mouse models have defined the major roles of bile acids as signaling molecules. Bile acids control many physiological functions such as lipid homeostasis, glucose, and energy metabolisms. In the last years, bile acids have been demonstrated to control male reproductive function. Here, we will highlight the impacts of bile acids on testicular physiology fo...

Dr David Unwin MbChB FRCGP Our GP practice of 9500 people has suffered an eight-fold increase in the number of patients with T2D since 1986. In addition, those affected now develop this condition decades earlier than was the norm back in 1986. A situation replicated all over the developed world. Nationally there are 122,780 children and young adults under the age of 40 years with type 2 diabetes, 1,560 (around 1.3 per cent) are under the age of 19 years. In 2013 our practice d...

Introduction: The Adolescent type 1 Diabetes cardio-renal Intervention Trial (AdDIT) is a collaboration across 32 sites in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom exploring the early detection and prevention of complications in adolescents with type 1 diabetes.Methods: Over 4,000 young people aged 10–16 years were screened to identify 450 high risk (based on urinary albumin excretion) for a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of statins and ACE inhib...

Adipose inflammation is increasingly percieved to be a major factor in the pathogenesis of obesity associated insulin resistance. However, human evidence supporting this hypothesis remains largely unconvincing. An alternative model is suggested by observations made in patients with rare forms of lipodystrophy; namely that a relative inability to cope with sustained surplus energy intake underpins insulin resistaance. Recent data suggesting that subtle forms of lipodystrophy ar...

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) currently affects ~10% of the UK adult population and is one of the foremost health challenges currently facing society. This syndrome can be described as a failure of the pancreatic beta cell mass to secrete sufficient insulin to counteract elevated blood glucose levels. It is largely believed that all beta cells are the same. However, recent studies have shown that beta cells in fact comprise discrete subpopulations, some of which may contribute to insu...

We all live in an oscillating environment driven by the Earth’s rotation. This imposes predictable patterns of light and dark, to which almost all of life responds. There is a survival advantage in anticipating such environmental change, which has led to evolution of the autonomous circadian clock.The circadian clock controls up to 40% of biochemical pathways, often acting to control a rate-limiting enzymatic step. Therefore, design and interpretati...

Paragangliomas are rare neuroendrocrine tumours arising from extra-adrenal paraganglia of the autonomic nervous system and excess catecholamine secretion is associated with higher cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We present the case of a 56-year old male referred to our outpatient clinic with symptoms of sympathetic-hyperactivity, including excessive sweating, palpitations and diastolic hypertension (140/100 mmHg). He had undergone...

Adipose inflammation is increasingly percieved to be a major factor in the pathogenesis of obesity associated insulin resistance. However, human evidence supporting this hypothesis remains largely unconvincing. An alternative model is suggested by observations made in patients with rare forms of lipodystrophy; namely that a relative inability to cope with sustained surplus energy intake underpins insulin resistaance. Recent data suggesting that subtle forms of lipodystrophy ar...

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) currently affects ~10% of the UK adult population and is one of the foremost health challenges currently facing society. This syndrome can be described as a failure of the pancreatic beta cell mass to secrete sufficient insulin to counteract elevated blood glucose levels. It is largely believed that all beta cells are the same. However, recent studies have shown that beta cells in fact comprise discrete subpopulations, some of which may contribute to insu...

We all live in an oscillating environment driven by the Earth’s rotation. This imposes predictable patterns of light and dark, to which almost all of life responds. There is a survival advantage in anticipating such environmental change, which has led to evolution of the autonomous circadian clock.The circadian clock controls up to 40% of biochemical pathways, often acting to control a rate-limiting enzymatic step. Therefore, design and interpretati...