Endocrine Abstracts

A 44 year old woman presented with leg swelling. Past history included hypothyroidism and ulcerative colitis treated with eltroxin (100 mg/day) and azathioprine (100 mg/day) respectively. Clinical examination revealed pitting oedema to knees and a ’puffy face’. Free T4 was 5.8 pmol/l (12–22 pmol/l), TSH 84.61 mU/l (0.27–4.20), serum albumin 24 g/l (40–49 g/l). She reported good compliance with L-thyroxine and no recent gastrointestinal symptoms. L-thyr...

11-oxygenated androgens are a group of adrenal-derived C19 steroids that require activation in peripheral tissues. 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (HSD11B2) has been shown in vitro to be essential for 11-oxygenated androgen activation, converting 11β-hydroxyandrostenedione (11OHA4) to 11-ketoandrostenedione (11KA4), the direct precursor of the potent androgen 11-ketotestosterone (11KT). As the kidney is the major site of HSD11B2 expression, we hypoth...