Endocrine Abstracts

Many laboratories offer a simple ratio of total testosterone (T):SHBG as an index (FAI) of free androgens. Methods for measuring free T (fT) are time consuming (equilibrium dialysis, ED) or reveal concentrations at odds with accepted values (RIA). The validity of FAI has been questioned and an alternative assessment by computation of fT recommended (1). We use a simpler calculation (2) producing results comparable to established literature. We have compared results obtained by...

A 60 year old pest control worker presented to the dermatologists with a 3-month history of progressive thickening and change in texture of skin lesions affecting the face, lips and eyelids. Histology revealed papular mucinosis/lichen myxoedematosus and he was treated with plasma exchange, high dose steroids and cyclophosphamide. Investigations for associated tiredness, four months following presentation and initiation of therapy revealed impaired GH and cortisol responses to ...

TESTOSTERONE-REPLACEMENT STIMULATED HYPERPROLACTINAEMIAR Sodi, R Fikri, M Diver, L Ranganath & J Vora*.Departments of Clinical Chemistry and Endocrinology*Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital,Liverpool, UK. L7 8XP.Around half of all men with macroprolactinomas have hypogonadism and may require exogenous testosterone replacement. However, testoste...

Objective: Bioavailable testosterone (BioT) is measured directly by bioassay or estimated by calculating the free androgen index (FAI) and reflects hyperandrogenaemia more accurately than measurement of total testosterone in plasma. A comparison of the biological variation of FAI and measured BioT was undertaken to determine the relative suitability of these estimates in PCOS.Method: The biological variation of BioT and FAI was assessed in 12 PCOS patients (median age 28yr...

Many cases of hypertension are associated with inappropriately high levels of aldosterone secretion and it has been proposed that microRNAs play a role in this dysregulation. Previously, we showed that microRNAs expressed within the adrenal cortex significantly repress aldosterone production. Furthermore, stimulation of aldosterone secretion by three different means in the H295R cell line – the most commonly-used in vitro model of the human adrenal cortex – ...

Aims: The majority of patients with Cushing's disease have pituitary microadenomas and preoperative localization can be helpful during transphenoidal surgery. Inferior petrosal sinus sampling (IPSS) of ACTH and responses to CRH may show higher levels on the side ipsilateral to the tumour, although this remains controversial. A few small studies suggested a prolactin response to CRH during IPSS. We assessed whether prolactin responses to CRH can help lateralize the microadenoma...