Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Octreotide LAR is used in the treatment of Acromegaly and is effective in reducing growth hormone levels in the majority of patients. With the introduction of the Endocrine Specialist Nurse it has been possible to take their care into the community.Method: A questionnaire was administered for both patients and practice nurses, to enable us to highlight the benefits and identify any problems. It was sent to 27 patients who receive Octreotide LAR and 27 GP Surger...

IntroductionTestosterone replacement for hypogonadism comes in a variety of galenical forms. Side effects include prostatic enlargement and polycythaemia. Furthermore careful scrutiny for prostatic carcinoma is essential. We audited 205 male patients from one clinical centre to assess dose, frequency and complications profile and the effectiveness of biochemical and haematological monitoring. Data of this type in a group of this size has not been previously published.M...

Background & Methods: Occasional case reports of individual patients with scalp hairloss while receiving somatostatin analogues for acromegaly led us to audit similar patients in our departments.Results: Ten patients (four men, mean age at diagnosis 44.7years [range 26-65years]) who have received somatostatin analogues either initially as primary therapy (50%) or as post-surgical treatment (50%) for uncured acromegaly reported significant scalp hair...

Patients with Cushing's disease are well known to develop easy bruising due to cortisol excess but are also predisposed to thrombembolism.We present four patients who developed thromboembolism during active Cushing's disease.Case 1- Four year history of hypertension, osteoporosis and central obesity. A DVT developed prior to referral. Initial urinary free cortisol(UFC)was 524nmol/24hrs. Inferior petrosal sinus sampling indicated ...

Background: Anecdotal reports have suggested that silent ACTH tumours behave in an aggressive fashion, however, clear comparative data are lacking.Methods: 28 patients (16 men, mean age 51.3years [range 30-80years]) who underwent trans-sphenoidal surgery in Oxford between 1975 and 2001 for clinically non-functioning adenomas where the subsequent immunostaining was positive for ACTH were identified from the patient database. The mean follow-up period was...

Background: The symptom triad of ’headaches, palpitations and sweating’ along with elevated urinary catecholamine levels are commonly used to diagnose phaeochromocytoma. We wanted to assess how often patients with histologically verified phaeochromocytoma did not have this triad or had normal urinary catecholamine excretion on one occasion or more.Methods: Retrospective analysis of clinical presentation and urinary catecholamine levels in 75 pa...

BACKGROUND: Dopamine agonists are the treatment of choice in macroprolactinomas. A number of these tumours do not respond to the commonly used doses. In such cases the outcome after alternative approaches has not been clarified.AIM: To assess the response of macroprolactinomas to bromocriptine (BRC) or cabergoline (CAB) and the result of further interventions in resistant cases.PATIENTS AND METHODS: All records of the patients pres...

BACKGROUND: Lymphocytic hypophysitis (LHy) is an uncommon inflammatory disorder of the pituitary with features mimicking those of sellar tumours, thereby often being misdiagnosed. However, no long-term follow-up studies have been published.OBJECT: To evaluate the clinical/radiological characteristics and the prognosis of patients with LHy.PATIENTS-METHODS: The records of the patients who presented to the Department of Endocrinology...

Background: In clinical practice there is considerable confusion as to whether pituitary imaging is indicated in patients presenting with a marginally elevated serum prolactin level (<1000 milliunits per litre) and no other discernible cause of hyperprolactinaemia.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of radiological abnormalities of the pituitary in patients presenting with marginal hyperprolactinaemia (<1000 milliunits...

Background: Long-acting depot somatostatin analogues injections are useful drugs in the medical treatment of acromegaly. No previous study has assessed the value of acute octreotide suppression test in predicting responses to depot injections.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the value of the acute octreotide suppression test (100 micrograms subcutaneously, GH measurements hourly for 8 hours) in predicting the long-term response to long...