Endocrine Abstracts

Studies show men and women differ in their aptitude towards different cognitive tests, which may be attributable to hormonal differences. It has also been postulated that oestrogen has disease-assuaging properties in some mental illness. The aim of this study was to assess the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) as a tool for measuring cognitive differences between the sexes.A total of 43 volunteers, 20 women and 22 men, aged bet...

Prostaglandin E (EP) receptors have been characterised in human myometrium from non-pregnant and pregnant (non-labouring) donors (Senior et al. 1991; 1993). However. the response to PGE2 in tissue taken at labour has not been investigated. The aim of the present study was to compare myogenic activity and the effects of PGE2 in myometrium from donors at different stages of the menstrual cycle and at pregnancy (labouring and non-labouring).<p cla...

Novel object discrimination is a widely used ethologically relevant working memory task. However, there is little information regarding gender differences in performance of this test. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of male and female rats in this task following increasing intertrial intervals.Subjects were 24 female and 24 male adult hooded-Lister rats (250±10 g) group housed under standard laboratory conditions. Testing consis...

Background: The influence of the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis is not limited to reproduction. Female sex steroids influence learning and memory and the neurobiology of brain regions involved in memory processing such as the hippocampus. Pregnancy allows overriding of regulatory feedback loops leading to elevation of endogenous serum hormone levels, depending on concentration; oestradiol can be either neurologically protective or toxic. This investigation aims to increas...

Prostaglandin (PG) E2 acts through its receptors (EP1–4) to modulate myometrial contractions and cervical ripening at term gestation. Although uterine PGE2 biosynthesis is augmented with labour progression (Durn et al. 2008); functional EP1–4 receptors have yet to be determined. To characterise these receptors in gravid human myometrium, in vitro responses to selective and novel EP agonists were investigated b...

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and a PGE analogue, sulprostone with isoprenaline (β1/β2 agonist) on mouse uterine tissue taken during labour.Uterine tissue was taken and set up for superfusion (Krebs’ solution at 2 ml/min and 37°C) as previously described by Senior et al (1991). After allowing the tissue to equilibrate for approximately 20 ...

Introduction: Unexplained or a cluster of non diabetic hypoglycaemia has at times been the only clue to malicious use of Insulin in hospitals. We wished to establish the incidence of hypoglycaemia in non-diabetic adult patients outside the intensive care unit (ICU) in a 1200-bed university hospital.Methods: We retrospectively analysed data for 2010 from three distinct sources to identify patients: bedside and laboratory blood glucose measurements; medica...

Objectives: The UK TFT Guidelines (2006) recommend screening for heterophilic antibodies (HA), thyroid hormone resistance (THR) and TSHoma in samples with raised FT4 and detectable or raised TSH levels. The aim was to determine the frequency and aetiology of such ‘abnormal’ thyroid function tests (TFTs) and to evaluate the use of further analyses for this common biochemical abnormality.Design: Six-month retrospective study (1/08/06&#...