Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Metformin is an established treatment of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) but patient-reported outcomes with respect to its effects and tolerability have not been widely reported. About 68 patients with PCOS treated with metformin in our clinic were surveyed by questionnaire.Results: a. Demographics: 42/68 patients were currently, and 26 previously treated with metformin for PCOS. Median age and BMI was 31 years (range 16–49), and ...

A 35 year-old lady presented with classical acromegaly. Headache was a significant feature of her presentation. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) confirmed acromegaly, with growth hormone (GH) levels of 21.6, 21.5, 27.0, 25.0 and 24.7 mU/l at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes respectively. A large pituitary tumour invading the left cavernous sinus was found. Trans-sphenoidal hypophysectomy lowered GH levels but did not provide biochemical cure (10.2, 7.2, 8.1, 9.6, 9.3 mU/l). ...

Hyperprolactinaemia in the presence of pituitary tumour can occur from tumour secretion or from stalk compression causing loss of dopaminergic inhibition. It is generally accepted that, in the presence of a large pituitary mass, a serum prolactin level up to 3000mU/l indicates stalk compression rather than a prolactinoma; the clinical diagnosis of prolactinoma depends on the degree of hyperprolactinaemia in the context of pituitary tumour size. Our aim was to examine more form...

Pituitary apoplexy is a rare condition caused by haemorrhage or infarction into a pituitary tumour. The majority of patients do not have any identifiable triggering event, although situations altering the blood flow to the pituitary gland and pre-existing systemic hypertension have been identified as potential causal factors.We retrospectively reviewed the presentation and outcome of 15 patients with pituitary apoplexy (8 men, 7 women; age 16-87, mean 5...

Since 1994, after initial outpatient review (OPD) for thyrotoxicosis, we have minimised OPD attendance and provided shared-care advice to primary care physicians on thyroid function tests (TFT) and anti-thyroid drug (ATD) and levothyroxine (T4) dose titration using our electronic patient record (EPR). Using EPR data we analysed treatment (Rx) choice, effectiveness and outcomes, classifying patients as autoimmune (+ve TPO or other Graves’ features), nodular, mix...

Ghrelin is a 28 amino acid n-octanoylated peptide which is the natural agonist for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor and which potently stimulates GH release in vivo (1). We studied the effects of a somatostatin infusion on Ghrelin release in normal subjects.STUDY PROTOCOLFour females and five males, 25-40 years of age, body mass index < 28 kg per m2 were studied. Local ethics committee permission was obtained for ...

We examined the results of treatment of adult Cushing's disease by transphenoidal surgery by a single neurosurgeon (MP). Patients with Nelson's syndrome and those who previously had received treatment for Cushing's by a different surgeon were excluded. We reviewed the pituitary database and patient records for all patients operated between 1988 and 2000 with clear pre-operative evidence of Cushing's disease. 117 patients had clear evidence of a pituitary source of excess ACTH....