Endocrine Abstracts

High dose glucocorticoids reduce hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion. However, the metabolic consequences of typical therapeutic glucocorticoid doses (e.g. prednisolone <10 mg/day) are poorly characterised. The aim was to determine the acute effect of low dose prednisolone on carbohydrate metabolism and then assess whether subjects taking chronic prednisolone had increased adiposity that amplified carbohydrate metabolism perturbations.<p cl...

Background: Thyroid volume correlates positively with body mass index (BMI). This correlation holds true for both iodine-sufficient and mild/moderate iodine-deficient areas. We examined the association between thyroid volume and BMI and change in BMI over 4 years in middle-age adults recruited from the general population.Methods: A total of 2495 subjects, for whom thyroid volume, FT4 and TSH were available (women aged 35–60 years and men ...

Many risk factors predict fractures overall, but other factors may be associated with the incidence of vertebral fractures in particular. We carried out a 10-year prospective study of a population-based group of women, ages 50 to 85 years. At baseline we measured bone mineral density (BMD) and collected fasting blood samples for biochemical measurements including serum calcium, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, creatinine, phosphate, albumin and thyroid hormones. Medi...