Endocrine Abstracts

QLS-H is a new, weighted QoL questionnaire developed for patients with hypopituitarism. We evaluated QLS-H data from UK patients in the HypoCCs International surveillance study, and compared results with a sample of the general UK population (n=1090).The QLS-H questionnaire was administered at baseline and at yearly intervals. Scores were corrected for age and gender differences, and expressed as Z-scores based on UK-specific reference ranges. Using this...

Ghrelin is a brain-gut peptide originally identified in the stomach. It binds to and stimulates the growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a (GHS-R). The presence of ghrelin in hypothalamic tissue was studied. It has been previously established that neither the synthetic GHSs, nor the endogenous hormone ghrelin, is specific for GH stimulation: they generally also stimulate the HPA axis as well as prolactin release. Since there is no direct stimulatory effect on ACTH releas...

Background: The GH/IGF-I axis has been implicated in the development of breast cancer. However the regulation of local expression of the GH/IGF-I axis in breast tissue is unknown. In vitro studies have suggested an inhibitory effect of ghrelin on the proliferation of breast cancer cell lines, although the mechanisms for this action are unknown.Aims: Using a physiologically relevant culture system for breast tissue explants, to investigate the effects of ...