Endocrine Abstracts

A clinical career in Endocrinology is full of research opportunities, be they in basic science, patient cohorts, or at the population level. Research enriches clinical practice, offers new skills, and presents new challenges. Here, partly based on my own experiences as a current Clinical Research Training Fellow, I discuss how to make the most of these opportunities, UK clinical academic training routes, funding options, and where to go for further support and advice....

A clinical career in Endocrinology is full of research opportunities, be they in basic science, patient cohorts, or at the population level. Research enriches clinical practice, offers new skills, and presents new challenges. Here, partly based on my own experiences as a current Clinical Research Training Fellow, I discuss how to make the most of these opportunities, UK clinical academic training routes, funding options, and where to go for further support and advice....

Case history: Hereditary paragangliomas (PGLs) associated with loss of function mutations in SDHx and VHL genes have revealed a remarkable connection between these conditions and the hypoxia signalling pathway: with a ‘pseudohypoxic profile’ driving hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) activity and tissue-limited cellular proliferation. We present a case of sporadic, multiple PGL mediated by HIF activation through true hypoxia. A 32 year old female was re...

We present two patients with significant hypokalaemia initially attributed to liquorice use.Case 1: A 52-year-old engineer was noted to have a potassium level of 2.5 mmol/l (3.5–5.3 mmol/l) at a Well Man check-up. He had no significant past history, and took no medications. He was normotensive. The patient reported regular liquorice use. The hypokalaemia corrected with supplementation equivalent to 48 mmol K+ daily, and with cessation of ...

Introduction: The prevalence of clinical obesity in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is 50%. Weight loss is effective at enhancing insulin sensitivity, reducing hyperandrogenaemia, improving hirsutism and restoring menstrual regularity and fertility in PCOS. However, women with PCOS appear to be less responsive to weight loss interventions including some bariatric surgical procedures. The aim of this study was to compare weight loss outcomes of gastric bypass surg...

Background: One percent of the adult population are, at any one time, prescribed oral glucocorticoids (GC). GCs are known to be associated with hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis suppression. However, there remains uncertainty regarding: i) the prevalence of GC-induced adrenal insufficiency (AI); ii) the effects of GC dose and duration; and iii) the time course of adrenal recovery and how GCs should be withdrawn. We undertook a systematic literature review to addres...

Background: Lifelong surveillance should be offered to people with hereditary phaeochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPGL), including asymptomatic carriers of pathogenic gene variants. Regular biochemical and radiological surveillance aims to improve disease detection and prognosis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, outpatient appointments were cancelled or postponed. Departments continue to face large backlogs of work. Clinicians in the USA reported 15% PPGL patients missing at lea...