Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: To audit the endocrine referrals from a High Secure Hospital (HSH) to a department of endocrinology.Methods: During the study, the HSH had approximately 400 beds, 75% male, 75% mental illness (mostly schizophrenia), 25% psychopathic personality disorders. The average length of stay in the HSH was 8 years, the majority of patients receive antipsychotic drugs (APD) and obesity and cigarette smoking is common.Results: Over...

Several studies suggest that mortality rates due to cardiovascular disease (CVD) are increased in patients with hypopituitarism. We retrospectively assessed the prevalence of known diabetes, treated hypertension and dyslipidemia, known risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), in a large population (n:250) of patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disease. We then prospectively screened 90 such patients for the following CVD risk factors: obesity, diabetes mellitus, smoking...

A 53 year old woman developed a firm thyroid mass which was removed. The histology of the thyroid mass showed auto-immune thyroiditis and Langerhans cell Histiocytosis ( LCH). She also complained of thirst and polyuria. A water deprivation test confirmed cranial diabetes inspidus (CDI) ,the symptoms of which resolved on DDAVP . A glucagon stimulation test showed a blunted growth hormone (GH) response of 13.3 milliU per litre with an IGF-1 level of 16 nanomol per litre. The cor...

Objectives: Prolactinomas can extend out of the sella turcica and invade surrounding structures and the brain. The prevalence and natural history of epilepsy at presentation of macroprolactinoma is not clear.Methods: The case records of 62 patients (34 male) with macroprolactinoma attending a neuroendocrine clinic were studied.Results: Four patients (6.5%, 3 males) had experienced epileptic seizures before the diagnosis of macropro...

Objectives: GHR in adults with GHD favourably effects body composition (reduces fat and increases lean body mass) although body weight usually remains unchanged. However the effect of GHR on ingestive behaviour and voluntary physical activity in adults has not been studied.Methods: We studied 10 hypopituitary adults (8 males, 2 females, mean age 49.7 years) with severe GHD (mean peak GH response to glucagon 3.26 mU/l, baseline IGF-1 level 14.5 nmol/L) be...