Endocrine Abstracts

Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) production is a rare cause of Cushing’s syndrome. It is usually seen with small cell lung cancer, bronchial carcinoid, or medullary thyroid cancer. Rarely, the source of ectopic ACTH production can be a phaeochromocytoma. A 55 year old gentleman presented to a general physician following an episode of presumed gastroenteritis with vomiting and general malaise. Further episodes of diarrhoea, joint pains and palpitations followed. ...

Due to availability of easy routine blood testing, normocalcaemic primary hyperparathyroidism is increasingly seen. However, due to its mild nature, it often poses diagnostic difficulties. We present a case of 65 year old gentleman who was diagnosed with osteoporosis in 2015. He had a history of traumatic fractures of tibia, fibula and calcaneum in 2013. He was later diagnosed with unexplained osteoporosis in 2015 (T-score of hip −2.5 and T-score of spine −1.2) and...

Endocrinopathies are common complications following cancer therapy and may occur decades later. We present a case of 37 year old lady with a background of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) which was treated with sibling allogenic stem cell transplant and total body irradiation in 2002. She was noted to have elevated calcium levels with raised PTH 10 years later. In view of young age, she underwent genetic screening for MEN1 through buccal swab as her lymphocytes were not suitabl...

Hypogonadism persisting in males with macroprolactinoma requires exogenous testosterone replacement therapy but this may cause secondary elevations of prolactin. We present a case of a 44 year old gentleman who was diagnosed with macroprolactinoma after being investigated for ‘abnormal thyroid function tests’ with a low T4 and a normal TSH. He reported a few years’ history of increasing weight gain, lethargy, generalised aches and pains, occasional headaches and...