Endocrine Abstracts

Case history: A 58 year old woman presented to her GP when her family members noted prominence of her left eye. She had a background history of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Her main symptom of PCOS was hirsutism. She had been treated initially with the combined oral contraceptive pill ‘Dianette’ (ethinyloestradiol/cyproterone) but had also been treated intermittently with varying doses of 25–100 mg cyproterone acetate (CPA) 10 days/cycle. Post menopause she...

Craniopharyngioma is a rare benign pituitary tumour that occurs in children and adults. Recurrence rates are high (up to 90%) but factors underpinning this are unclear, particularly in cases of childhood onset. We aimed to investigate factors that may influence subsequent recurrence rates in childhood onset craniopharyngiomas in patients attending our centre. A retrospective study of patients followed up at the Oxford Late Effects of Childhood Cancer service was conducted. Pat...

We present a case of 71-year-old gentleman who presented with bitemporal hemianopia in 2008 with pituitary apoplexy compressing the optic chiasm. Prolactin was 55287MU/l, with deficiency of all other anterior pituitary hormones. He underwent transphenoidal adenectomy (TSA). Prolactin was 35633MU/l post-operatively and cabergoline was commenced. Histology was consistent with a lactotroph adenoma with MiB-1 index of 3–5%. Visual fields recovered and prolactin was normal unt...

Background: Diabetes insipidus (DI) is a recognised complication of pituitary surgery, with current diagnosis requiring clinical observation aided by plasma and urine electrolytes and osmolalities. Copeptin, a 39 amino acid glycopeptide secreted in equimolar quantities to ADH, is a stable surrogate marker of ADH release and has potential to facilitate prompt diagnosis of post-operative DI. This assay has been shown to accurately predict which patients are likely to develop DI ...

Rathke’s cleft cysts (RCC) arise from the embryonic remnants of Rathke’s pouch in the anterior pituitary gland. The majority are asymptomatic and incidentally diagnosed when the pituitary is imaged for other reasons. RCCs can progress to requiring surgical intervention for hormonal and structural effects. It is unclear what factors determine RCC enlargement and over what period this occurs, hence need for long term follow-up is uncertain. We analysed our conservative...