Endocrine Abstracts

A 65-year-old lady presented to the emergency department with breathlessness due to an exacerbation of chronic airways disease. Her past medical history included laryngeal carcinoma treated with total-laryngectomy, thyroidectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy in 2003. She remained on stable post-operative replacement doses of 125mcg of levothyroxine and 1mcg 1-Alfacalcidol/1g Sandocal TDS for hypoparathyroidism for several years. Three days prior to her admission, strontium ranelat...

Lithium increases retention of Iodine-131 in the thyroid gland and inhibits thyroid hormone release following radioactive iodine (RAI) administration. However, outcomes of studies of the effects of lithium on the efficacy of RAI are conflicting. The aim of this study was to assess whether adjuvant lithium increases the efficacy of RAI treatment in hyperthyroidism. A retrospective cohort study was performed of 204 hyperthyroid patients (163 Graves’ disease, 26 toxic multin...

A 31-year-old male presented to A&E with confusion, lethargy, polyuria and blurred vision. The previous month he had been diagnosed with diabetes and started on metformin by his GP. On examination he was cachectic (BMI 17 kg/m2), dehydrated and hypotensive (88/56). Baseline investigations revealed a metabolic acidosis (pH 7.30), with capillary glucose 20 mmol/l and moderate ketonuria. Treatment for diabetic ketoacidosis was commenced. Further results revealed he...

Monogenic diabetes is estimated to account for 1-2% of all diabetes cases diagnosed before the age of 45. It is caused by mutations in genes encoding for beta cell development, function and regulation. We present three cases of monogenic diabetes in pregnancy.Case 1: Age 30, Para 3, White ethnicity. This individual was screened for a GCK mutation at 18 weeks gestation (third pregnancy) on the basis of family history. She required metformin and insulin to...

The amelioration of type 2 diabetes and sustained weight loss after bariatric surgery are thought to be due to elevated circulating levels of the gut hormones peptide YY3–36 (PYY3–36) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). GLP-1 augments the insulin response to an oral glucose load. PYY3–36 has appetite-inhibitory effects and contributes to longer-term weight loss. Rodent studies provide conflicting data regarding the effects of PY...

Background: Kisspeptin is a novel hypothalamic hormone with powerful stimulatory effects on the hypothalamo-pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis. Inactivating mutations in the kisspeptin receptor lead to pubertal failure. We have previously demonstrated that injection of kisspeptin-54 stimulates LH release in healthy men and women. Recent studies in animals suggest that endogenous kisspeptin may be involved in stimulating the GnRH pulse generator. Determining whether exogenous ad...