Endocrine Abstracts

The binding characteristics of maternal serum human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) to immobilised lectins, specifically Concanavalin A (Con A), Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA) and Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), have been shown be compatible with the proposed glycosyl structures of hCG as inferred from other analytical methods. We have shown that serum hCG from groups of pregnant women with or without type 1 diabetes show identical affinity for Con A and LCA, but serum hCG from th...

Introduction: TSH secreting pituitary adenomas (TSHomas) are often large and locally invasive. Following trans-sphenoidal surgery (TSS) patients frequently require adjuvant treatment with either anti-thyroid medication or somatostatin analogue therapy.Objective: To evaluate the value of a single subcutaneous octreotide test dose in predicting the the response to long term treatment in 5 patients with TSHomas.Methods: Five consecutive patients presenting 2000-02 were ev...

Glucokinase (GCK) serves as the blood glucose ‘sensor’ in pancreatic β-cells, being critically involved in transducing elevated blood glucose into increased insulin secretion. Inactivating GCK mutations cause a subtype of maturity onset diabetes of the young (MODY), whereas activating mutations are a rare cause of hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia, usually presenting in infancy.We now describe the case of a 60-year-old woman who first presen...