Endocrine Abstracts

Leptin, a 167 aminoacid protein product of the ob gene, is an adipocyte-derived hormone that acts as a major regulator for food intake and energy homeostasis. Leptin is expressed mainly in white adipose tissue, but also in stomach and placenta. Leptin circulates in the serum in a free form or bound to leptin-binding proteins. Since its discovery, our understanding of leptin’s biological functions has expanded from antiobesity to broad effects on reproduction, hemat...

Background and aims: Mechanism underlying the IR (Insulin-resistance) remains yet to be identified. Resistin has been shown to antagonize insulin action, and thus might be implicated in the pathogenesis of IR. In contrast, adiponectin has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and improve glucose tolerance. We aimed to test the hypothesis that resistin levels might correlate positively with the indices of insulin resistance, while the opposite might be true for adiponectin...

Orexins (A & B) are derived from a common 130 amino acid precursor peptide, prepro-orexin, by proteolytic cleavage, and orchestrate their actions by binding and activating two types of G-protein coupled receptors, orexin-1 receptor (OX1R) and orexin-2 receptor (OX2R). The OX1R preferentially binds orexin-A, whilst OX2R binds both orexin-A and ?B, with similar affinity. Besides playing a role in the regulation of feeding and energy homeostasis, orexins appear to increase se...

Recently, two new peptides named Orexin-A and Orexin-B, have been implicated in the regulation of feeding behaviour. Studies in starved rats have shown that catabolic activity quickly predominates, reinforced by elevated corticosterone, not driven by ACTH, implicating adrenal activity as a metabolic regulator. In view of these findings, we sought to investigate whether orexin and orexin receptors are present in human fetal and adult adrenals, and therefore may be implicated in...

Introduction: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is classified on the basis of molecular genetics, mode of inheritance, clinical and radiological findings. The genes implicated are either COL1A1 or COL1A2. We report a case of a novel mutation of OI in the COL1A2 gene.Case: A 24-year-old teacher with type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, presented to our Endocrine Clinic with recurrent fractures since childhood. At 7 months old, she fractured her left leg. At...

Introduction: Plasma cell neoplasms include a variety of clinicopathologic entities including; multiple myeloma, solitary plasmacytoma of bone and extramedullary plasmacytoma. Plasma cell neoplasms of the pituitary area are very rare, with only 19 cases in the literature. We report a rare case of multiple myeloma presenting with parasellar mass.Case: A 44-year-old lady was admitted with sudden onset of diplopia and blurring of vision. She also mentioned ...

Orexin-A (OR-A) and orexin-B (OR-B) play an important role in the regulation of energy balance and the control of sleep-wake cycle. They act via G-protein coupled receptors, namely orexin receptor-1 (OX1R) and orexin receptor-2 (OX2R). OX2R has equal affinity for both OR-A and OR-B, whilst OX1R has a 10-fold greater affinity for OR-A. Orexin-mediated functions have been extensively explored, however, the intracellular signalling pathways remain poorly understood. Using HEK-293...

Obesity is linked to the development of insulin resistance, diabetes and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome. Adipose tissue-derived proteins so termed ‘adipokines’ have been implicated in cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome although the molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Adiponectin, unlike other adipokines, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, and insulin-sensitising effects. Import...

The adrenal gland is implicated in energy homeostasis, and dysfunction of this gland contributes to a variety of metabolic disorders including the development of hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, and obesity. Recently, adipokines have been implicated in adrenal function. Adiponectin, an adipokine, with insulin sensitising and anti-inflammatory properties, exerts its effects by activating two distinct seven transmembrane domain receptors, adiponectin-R1 (adipoR1) and -R2 (a...

A 44-year old man, previously well, presented with acute confusion and having collapsed at home. His capillary blood glucose was 2.2mmol/L and he was resuscitated with an intravenous dextrose infusion. His collapse had resulted in a fracture to his right neck of femur.Given the possibility of a pathological fracture he had a bone scan, which revealed widespread bony metastasis. In search for the primary source, an abdominal computerised tomography (CT) s...