Endocrine Abstracts

A 28-year-old Asian female presented with a 2 year history of abdominal pain and bloating and irregular heavy periods. She had a normal menarche and had 3 uncomplicated pregnancies after conceiving naturally, the last 4 years before presentation. Investigations showed LH 0.7 IU/l (normal range 2-14 IU/l), FSH 8.6 IU/l (2-14 IU/l), oestradiol 2030 pmol/l (80-300 pmol/l), prolactin 346 mU/l, and normal alpha GSU (0.3mcg/l). Ultrasound scanning revealed enlarged multicystic ovari...

Circulating levels of prolactin are subject to acute and long-term regulation by many factors including oestrogen and dopamine. We have studied the regulation of prolactin promoter activity in living pituitary cells using transgenic Fischer rats in which reporter gene expression is regulated by the human prolactin gene locus (hPRL-d2EGFP). We have previously identified pulsatile prolactin transcription patterns in living lactotroph cells in fetal tissue, that became stabilised...

Cytotoxic chemotherapy is a well recognised cause of premature ovarian failure (POF). A proportion of women with biochemical evidence of POF following treatment recover ovarian function with a return of normal menses and fertility, but there are no indicators that allow the identification of this subgroup of patients. In addition, we have previously reported only minor reductions in BMD in a cohort of women with POF following cytotoxic chemotherapy and had postulated that this...

Introduction: The incidence of adrenal insufficiency in cases of unexplained death in young children is unclear. It is also unclear whether there is a relationship between adrenal size and plasma cortisol concentration.Methods: All post-mortem (PM) reports of sudden deaths in children in the West of Scotland between 2010 and 2012 were retrospectively analysed. Combined adrenal weight (g) was recorded and expressed as the percentage of total body weight (...

Background: In XY disorders of sex development, a single measurement of serum Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) may replace the hCG stimulation test.Aim: To assess the level of concordance between serum AMH and hCG stimulated testosterone concentrations.Methods: About 284 children (M:F,154:130) with a median age of 8 years (10th, 90th centiles, 0.25,14) were used to establish a normal reference range for AMH. Clinical data were reviewed...