Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology

ea0077oc1.1 | Reproductive and Neuroendocrinology | SFEBES2021

Melanocortin-4 receptor agonism improves sexual brain processing in women with low sexual desire

Thurston Layla , Hunjan Tia , Mills Edouard , Wall Matthew , Ertl Natalie , Phylactou Maria , Muzi Beatrice , Patel Bijal , Alexander Emma , Suladze Sofiya , Modi Manish , Eng Pei , Bassett Paul , Abbara Ali , Goldmeier David , Comninos Alexander , Dhillo Waljit

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is the most prevalent female sexual health complaint worldwide, affecting 1-in-10 women. It is characterised by a persistent lack of desire for sexual activity and sexual fantasies, causing distress or interpersonal difficulties. Treatment options are limited, however, melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonists have emerged as a promising therapy for HSDD, through unclear mechanisms. Investigating the pathways involved is crucial for our u...

ea0081oc7.2 | Oral Communications 7: Pituitary and Neuroendocrinology 2 | ECE2022

Kisspeptin administration has therapeutic potential for men with low sexual desire by increasing penile tumescence and sexual brain processing

Mills Edouard , Ertl Natalie , Wall Matt B , Thurston Layla , Yang Lisa , Suladze Sofiya , Hunjan Tia , Phylactou Maria , Patel Bijal , Muzi Beatrice , Ettehad Dena , Howard Jonathan , Rabiner Eugenii A , Bech Paul , Abbara Ali , Goldmeier David , Comninos Alexander , Dhillo Waljit

Background: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is associated with dysfunctional brain activation in regions governing sexual responses, resulting in a deficiency/absence of sexual desire with marked distress. It affects up to 8% of men with detrimental effects on quality of life, interpersonal relationships and fertility, but so far has no licensed treatment options. The reproductive neuropeptide kisspeptin offers a putative therapeutic target owing to its emerging role ...

ea0081p151 | Pituitary and Neuroendocrinology | ECE2022

Sexual brain processing is enhanced by melanocortin-4 receptor agonism

Thurston Layla , Hunjan Tia , Mills Edouard , Wall Matt B , Ertl Natalie , Phylactou Maria , Muzi Beatrice , Patel Bijal , Alexander Emma , Suladze Sofiya , Modi Manish , Eng Pei , Bassett Paul , Abbara Ali , Goldmeier David , Comninos Alexander , Dhillo Waljit

Introduction: Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is characterized by a persistent deficiency of sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity, causing marked distress or interpersonal difficulty. It is the most prevalent female sexual health problem worldwide, affecting approximately 1 in 10 women, but has limited treatment options despite its substantial health, social, and economic burden. Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonists have emerged as a promising therapy fo...

ea0081p445 | Reproductive and Developmental Endocrinology | ECE2022

Kisspeptin improves sexual brain processing in women with low sexual desire

Thurston Layla , Hunjan Tia , Ertl Natalie , B Wall Matt , Mills Edouard , Suladze Sofiya , Patel Bijal , Alexander Emma , Muzi Beatrice , A Rabiner Eugenii , Bech Paul , Goldmeier David , Abbara Ali , Comninos Alexander , Dhillo Waljit

Introduction: Sexual desire is a key component of the sexual response model. Absence or deficiency of sexual desire can lead to marked distress or interpersonal difficulty, termed ‘hypoactive sexual desire disorder’ (HSDD). HSDD is the most common female sexual health complaint worldwide, affecting up to 10% of women. Despite its detrimental impact on psychological well-being and quality of life, treatment options are currently limited. The hormone kisspeptin is a ke...

ea0086oc3.6 | Reproductive and Neuroendocrinology | SFEBES2022

Kisspeptin enhances sexual and attraction brain processing in women with low sexual desire

Thurston Layla , Hunjan Tia , Ertl Natalie , Wall Matthew , Mills Edouard , Suladze Sofiya , Patel Bijal , Alexander Emma , Muzi Beatrice , Bassett Paul , Rabiner Eugenii , Bech Paul , Goldmeier David , Abbara Ali , Comninos Alexander , Dhillo Waljit

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is a persistent lack of sexual desire, causing marked interpersonal distress. It is the most common global female sexual health problem, although the precise pathophysiology remains uncertain. Existing treatment options are limited by their efficacy and side effects. The neuropeptide kisspeptin offers a potential therapeutic target given its emerging role in modulating reproductive behaviour. Using a combination of psychometric, neuroim...

ea0099p142 | Reproductive and Developmental Endocrinology | ECE2024

Decoding desire: a neurofunctional exploration of distressing low sexual desire reveals sexually dimorphic brain responses

Tsoutsouki Jovanna , Ertl Natalie , G Mills Edouard , B Wall Matt , Thurston Layla , Yang Lisa , Hunjan Tia , Phylactou Maria , Bassett Paul , Patel Bijal , Howard Jonathan , Abbara Ali , Goldmeier David , Comninos Alexander , Dhillo Waljit

Background: Distressing low sexual desire, termed Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD), affects 10% of women and 8% of men. The established ‘top-down’ neurofunctional model of HSDD in women suggests that in response to erotic cues, excessive activation of higher-level cognitive brain regions (involved in introspection/self-monitoring) suppresses lower-level sexual brain centres, thereby impeding normal sexual function. By contrast, the neurodysfunction in men wit...

ea0104p188 | Reproductive Endocrinology | SFEIES24

The neural bases underlying distressing low sexual desire is sex specific

Tsoutsouki Jovanna , Ertl Natalie , Mills Edouard , Wall Matt , Thurston Layla , Yang Lisa , Suladze Sofiya , Hunjan Tia , Phylactou Maria , Patel Bijal , Bassett Paul , Howard Jonathan , Abbara Ali , Golmeier David , Comninos Alexander N. , Dhillo Waljit S.

Background: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) affects 10% of women and 8% of men. In women, the ‘top-down’ neurofunctional HSDD model suggests that hyperactivation of higher-level cognitive brain regions suppresses lower-level sexual brain activity in response to erotic cues, impairing sexual function. Conversely, the neurodysfunction in men with HSDD is not fully characterised and unlike in women where therapies exist, there are no licensed pharmacotherapeuti...

ea0086op3.1 | Reproductive and Neuroendocrinology | SFEBES2022

Kisspeptin enhances penile tumescence and sexual brain processing in men with low sexual desire

Mills Edouard G , Ertl Natalie , Wall Matt B , Thurston Layla , Yang Lisa , Suladze Sofiya , Hunjan Tia , Phylactou Maria , Patel Bijal , Muzi Beatrice , Ettehad Dena , Bassett Paul A , Howard Jonathan , Rabiner Eugenii A , Bech Paul , Abbara Ali , Goldmeier David , Comninos Alexander N , Dhillo Waljit S

Background: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is associated with a deficiency of sexual desire with marked distress. It affects up to 8% of men, but has no licensed treatments. The reproductive neuropeptide kisspeptin offers a putative therapeutic target owing to its emerging role in modulating reproductive behaviour in animal models and healthy men. However, there are no studies examining its effects in HSDD. To address this, we performed the first clinical study of ki...

ea0099oc9.4 | Oral Communications 9: Pituitary and Neuroendocrinology | Part II | ECE2024

Kisspeptin administration does not alter anxiety or circulating cortisol levels in humans

Mills Edouard G , Thurston Layla , Yang Lisa , Suladze Sofiya , Hunjan Tia , Phylactou Maria , Patel Bijal , Clarke Sophie A. , Shah Amar J. , Izzi-Engbeaya Chioma , Tsoutsouki Jovanna , Bech Paul , Ertl Natalie , Demetriou Lysia , Wall Matthew B. , Goldmeier David , Abbara Ali , Comninos Alexander N. , Dhillo Waljit S.

Background: The neuropeptide kisspeptin is a key endogenous activator of the reproductive system. Due to its crucial role in modulating reproductive and behavioural processes, there has been accelerating interest in targeting kisspeptin-pathways to treat reproductive and psychosexual disorders. However, contradictory pre-clinical data from animal models suggests that kisspeptin can have an anxiolytic, anxiogenic or have no effects on anxiety. Given the rapid development of kis...

ea0104p142 | Neuroendocrinology | SFEIES24

Kisspeptin does not induce anxiety in humans

G. Mills Edouard , Thurston Layla , Yang Lisa , Suladze Sofiya , Hunjan Tia , Phylactou Maria , Patel Bijal , A. Clarke Sophie , J. Shah Amar , Izzi-Engbeaya Chioma , Tsoutsouki Jovanna , Young Megan , Bech Paul , Ertl Natalie , Demetriou Lysia , B. Wall Matthew , Goldmeier David , Abbara Ali , N. Comninos Alexander , S. Dhillo Waljit

Background: The neuropeptide kisspeptin is a critical endogenous activator of the reproductive system, with escalating clinical interest as a novel therapeutic agent for reproductive and psychosexual disorders. However, conflicting animal data suggest that kisspeptin can have anxiolytic, neutral, or anxiogenic effects. Given the rapid development of kisspeptin-based therapeutics, it is important to clarify kisspeptin’s effects on psychometric measures of anxiety and assoc...