Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The association between diabetes and dementia has been well documented (1, 2, 3) and with Australia’s aging population, the already significant disease burden of both pathologies will inevitably progress over time. Despite both being progressive pathologies which escalate over time, there have not been any studies pertaining to degree of glycaemic control and the extent to which this relates to prevalence of dementia.Aims: To determine a...

Introduction: Several biomarkers are elevated in late pregnancy in women with preeclampsia (PET), but none have been sensitive or specific enough to be used routinely in early pregnancy to predict the condition. We measured plasma levels of the anti-angiogenic peptides FMS-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFLT-1), soluble endoglin (sENG), placental growth-factor (PGF), and an array of cytokines and adhesion molecules in early and mid pregnancy to assess their ability to predict PET.</p...

Introduction: In paediatric practice hydrocortisone (HC) is frequently prescribed in doses of ≤2.5 mg. HC tablets are only available in 10 mg strengths or as 2.5 mg Corlan pellets, a formulation designed for oro-mucosal delivery. Thus, tablets are segmented to obtain an appropriate dose. This study examines the accuracy of obtaining 2.5 mg HC doses from quartered tablets.Materials and methods: Of 10 mg Hydrocortone tablets were studied. Weight unif...

A 37 year-old gentleman presented following an episode of dizziness while at work operating a fork-lift truck. There was no collapse or associated symptoms. He had been diagnosed with autoimmune hypothyroidism two months previously; commenced levothyroxine, currently at a dose of 75 micrograms daily; and lost ten kilograms in weight. On examination there were no signs of hypoadrenalism aside from a significant postural drop in blood pressure (lying 1...

A 37 year-old gentleman presented following an episode of dizziness while at work operating a fork-lift truck. There was no collapse or associated symptoms. He had been diagnosed with autoimmune hypothyroidism two months previously; commenced levothyroxine, currently at a dose of 75 micrograms daily; and lost ten kilograms in weight. On examination there were no signs of hypoadrenalism aside from a significant postural drop in blood pressure (lying 1...

Background: Transsphenoidal tumour resection (TSS) is the first-line treatment for Cushing’s disease (CD). With an experienced neurosurgeon, immediate remission rates >80% are expected for patients with microadenomas (<10 mm).Aim: To report initial and long-term remission rates in a specialist centre, and to ascertain factors associated with disease recurrence after TSS.Methods: Patients with CD (n=101, 28M, 7...

Whilst the majority of differentiated thyroid cancers (DTC) have oncogenic mutations, a significant minority may be driven by the overexpression of proto-oncogenes. PTTG and PBF are proto-oncogenes which are induced in DTC, elicit tumours in xenograft models and interact in vitro, where PBF shuttles PTTG into the nucleus. However, the relative contributions of each gene to DTC has not been delineated. Here, we constructed a bi-transgenic murine model over-expressing b...

Introduction: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy is the gold standard treatment for adrenal lesions. High volume centres with input from endocrinologists and urologists with a special interest in adrenal lesions may have best outcomes. Aims: To audit our practice and set standards with reference to preoperative workup and postoperative follow-up. This is a single centre, single surgeon experience of surgical adrenalectomy.Material & Method: Over a 10 year pe...

The pituitary tumor-transforming gene-binding factor (PBF) is a relatively uncharacterised proto-oncogene, which is overexpressed in thyroid tumours. PBF elicits tumor growth in nude mice, whilst thyroid targeted transgenic overexpression in the PBF-Tg mouse induces hyperplasia and macrofollicular lesions, accompanied by induction of the E2 ubiquitin ligase Rad6. Our previous unpublished data showed that PBF binds to p53, and reduces stimulation of downstream target genes by c...

PTTG is a multifunctional proto-oncogene overexpressed in thyroid cancers, which binds to p53 and modulates its function. PBF, a binding partner of PTTG, is also overexpressed in thyroid cancer and can transform cells independently of PTTG. Moreover, subcutaneous expression of PBF elicits large tumours in nude mice. Given the established role of ionising radiation in thyroid tumourigenesis, we investigated the relationship between PBF and the tumour suppressor protein p53. PBF...