Endocrine Abstracts

Cyclical Cushing’s syndrome is typically detected by collecting sequential daily early morning urine (EMU) samples for cortisol to creatinine ratio over a 28 day period. More recently nocturnal salivary cortisol (NSC) measurement has been shown to be a sensitive means of screening for Cushing’s syndrome. The Endocrine Society have suggested that NSC may be used to assess patients for cyclical Cushing’s however there is limited evidence that it correlates with th...

Aberrant and upregulated eutopic receptors have been identified in vitro in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA). We previously identified an exaggerated aldosterone response to synacthen in patients with PA versus healthy controls. In this study we aimed to evaluate whether the synacthen test differentiates between patients with PA and essential hypertension (EH).The 250mcg intramuscular synacthen test was performed after 30 minutes recumbenc...

There is limited evidence on the effect of potassium (K+) supplementation on endothelial function. Three studies suggest a beneficial effect in healthy volunteers and mild hypertensives. However potassium increases aldosterone due to a direct effect on the adrenal gland and there is evidence that aldosterone excess is detrimental to cardiovascular health. We therefore aimed to determine the effect of potassium supplementation on endothelial function in patients with >10% c...

Familial hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia (FHH) is an autosomal dominant disorder of mineral metabolism that is characterized by lifelong elevation of serum calcium concentrations associated with inappropriately low urinary calcium excretion (calcium clearance:creatinine clearance <0.01). Three separate FHH loci have been identified (FHH1-3). Loss-of-function mutations of the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) gene located on 3q21.1, which account for the majority of FHH c...