Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia (FHH) is an autosomal dominant disorder affecting the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) expressed in the chief cells of the parathyroid glands and in the renal tubules. The CaSR permits the parathyroid gland to sense variations in serum calcium thus regulating parathyroid hormone (PTH) secretion; it also regulates calcium excretion in the kidneys. In FHH, loss-of-function mutations in the CaSR result in a higher serum calcium d...

Angiogenesis, which is tightly regulated in health and disturbed in many diseases, is inhibited by glucocorticoids. Local glucocorticoid availability within the vessel wall is determined by the pair of enzymes 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 and 2 (11HSD-1 and 2) that catalyse the interconversion of active glucocorticoid (corticosterone in mice, cortisol in humans) with inactive 11-dehydrocorticosterone or cortisone. We hypothesized that regeneration of active gluco...

Glucocorticoids possess potent angiostatic properties. 11β-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11βHSD1) amplifies local glucocorticoid action in a tissue-specific manner, and we have shown that inactivation of this enzyme enhances angiogenesis within sponges implanted subcutaneously, wounds and infarcted myocardium. 11βHSD1 is present within ocular tissues but its role in the pathogenesis of proliferative retinopathy is unknown. We hypothesised that inhibition ...

Glucocorticoids (cortisol in man, corticosterone in rodents) can inhibit angiogenesis, alter contractile function and reduce the inflammatory response to injury in the vascular wall. These effects are regulated by the 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (11HSDs) which inter-convert active glucocorticoids and their inactive 11-keto metabolites (cortisone; 11-dehydrocorticosterone) within target tissues. 11HSD2 is a unidirectional, exclusive dehydrogenase which inactivates gluc...

The metabolism of glucocorticoids within adipose tissue, by the enzyme 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11HSD1), is known to be altered in obesity and following high fat feeding. Until recently, little attention has been paid to the fat depots found directly adjacent to blood vessels. Emerging evidence suggests that perivascular adipose may play a key role in modulating vascular function. The presence of steroidogenic enzymes within perivascular adipose, and the eff...

Introduction: The destination of young people referred from the NHS Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) to the two paediatric endocrine centres covering England and Wales has not been analysed previously.Methods: 1151 young people identifying as gender variant were referred from GIDS for an endocrine opinion: 827 patients to University College London Hospital (UCLH) from 2008; 324 to Leeds Children’s Hospital (LCH) from 2013. Outcomes were no...