Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The presence of glandular breast tissue in males around puberty, pubertal gynaecomastia, is a very common (40–60%) condition although the aetiology behind is poorly understood. It is generally accepted that pubertal gynaecomastia is caused by an excess of estrogens and/or a deficit of androgens. However, other hormones such as prolactin, GH and IGF1 may also affect ductal growth of the breast.Design: A cross-sectional study of 518 heal...

Context: Potency of the FSH-pathway varies according to polymorphisms in the promoter of the gene encoding the FSH beta subunit (FSHB −211 G>T, rs10835638) and in the gene encoding the FSH receptor (FSHR 2039 A>G, rs6166). A recent study suggested that carriers of the combination of FSHB GG and FSHR AA had the most reproductive ‘fit’ phenotype (higher serum FSH and a more sensitive FSH receptor). In pre-pubertal girls...

Background: Over the last 60 years body composition of young people have changed towards increased fatness. Whole body fat percentage (%BF) derived from dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) scans are (although often not available) widely recognized as a better measure of fatness than BMI.Objective: We aimed to provide reference materials for %BF of healthy Danish children evaluated by skinfold measurements and DXA and to compare sensitivity and specifi...

Background: Little is known about the possible deleterious effects of phthalate exposure on endogenous sex steroid levels in childrenDesign: A longitudinal study.Materials and methods: 168 Healthy children (84 girls) were examined every 6 months for 5 years, with pubertal staging, measurements of serum levels of DHEAS and Δ4-androstenedione (Adione) and repetitive longitudinal morning urinary measurements of 14 phthalate metab...