Endocrine Abstracts

Patients on hydrocortisone (HC) replacement for pituitary failure, Addisons disease or congenital adrenal hyperplasia are at risk of developing an Addisonian crisis if they become unwell with a severe infection or injury. This can be averted by prompt administration of intramuscular HC, traditionally by a medial professional. From 2004 we offered training to patients and a carer/partner in self-administration of HC. This was time consuming and the take up was slow. We therefor...

Macroprolactin(mPRL)is a high molecular weight form of prolactin(PRL)most commonly due to formation of a complex with IgG.The PRL in mPRL remains reactive in immunoassays for PRL and the complex has a longer plasma half life than monomeric PRL.mPRL is a common cause of hyperprolactinaemia but its origin is not known and the complex has minimal bioactivity in vivo.The clinical significance of hyperprolactinaemia due to mPRL is that it can cause diagnostic confusion and lead to ...