Endocrine Abstracts

Clomiphene is commonly first-line treatment for ovulation induction in women with PCOS. Clomiphene results in a rise in serum FSH concentration; its effect upon FSH glycosylation is less clear. Glycosyl components of serum gonadotrophins are important determinants of their bioactivity.We compared serum FSH glycosylation in blood samples taken from healthy women with regular ovulatory cycles (group A; n=8) and anovulatory women before (group B; ...

Corticotropinomas represent only a small fraction of all the cases of pituitary adenomas, yet they have the potential for great morbidity and mortality. Presenting clinically as Cushing’s disease (CD), corticotropinomas are characterized at the molecular level by resistance to glucocorticoid negative feedback, dysregulation of proteins controlling cell cycle progression, and overexpression of pathways that sustain overactive ACTH production and secretion. Until recently, ...

Background: Familial male-limited precocious puberty (FMPP) or ‘testotoxicosis’ is a rare form of gonadotrophin-independent precocious puberty. There is a paucity of data on final adult height in these patients and no consensus on what constitutes appropriate treatment. Our aim was to assess the management and final height of patients with FMPP under our care as well as those reported in the literature.Methods: Growth data were obtained from no...

Introduction: Despite public health interventions, paediatric obesity in the UK is increasing, with almost one third overweight or obese. The direct cost of obesity to the NHS is estimated at 4.2 billion a year. The North-East has some of the highest rates of obesity in the country. A recent clinical practice guideline (March 2017) from European and US Endocrine societies aims to inform assessment, treatment and prevention of paediatric obesity.Aim: To e...

Introduction: B lymphocyte activating factor (BAFF), a member of the tumour necrosis factor family, is essential for B cell activation, differentiation and survival. It promotes autoantibody production and as Graves’ disease is caused by thyroid stimulating autoantibodies, it is an excellent functional candidate gene. Indeed, elevated serum BAFF levels have been found in patients with several autoimmune diseases, including Graves’ disease (GD). The T al...

Introduction: B lymphocyte activating factor (BAFF), a member of the tumour necrosis factor family, is essential for B cell activation, differentiation and survival. It promotes autoantibody production and as Graves’ disease is caused by thyroid stimulating autoantibodies, it is an excellent functional candidate gene. Indeed, elevated serum BAFF levels have been found in patients with several autoimmune diseases, including Graves’ disease (GD). The T al...

Glucocorticoids (GCs) act through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) to regulate immunity, energy metabolism, and tissue repair. The inactive GR is held in the cytoplasm in a multi-protein complex, which upon ligand binding undergoes a conformational change. Activated GR translocates to the nucleus to regulate gene expression (over hours), but some effects occur more rapidly. GCs inhibit cell migration through an uncertain mechanism. We now show a very rapid effect, and surprisi...

Background: A founder mutated AIP allele, R304* was previously identified in several Irish familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA) pedigrees from a small region within Mid Ulster, Northern Ireland, but the allele’s general population impact remains unknown.Aims: To estimate R304* prevalence in the general population and pituitary adenoma (PA) patients and to calculate the allele’s time to most recent common ancestor (tMRCA).<p c...