Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Klinefelter’s syndrome (KS) is a genetic condition affecting men with the potential to severely reduce their testosterone levels and affect their physical appearance. Being a syndrome there are a variety of different symptoms, which individuals may experience to a great or lesser extent. While much research has been directed at understanding the cognitive impact of KS much less research has been undertaken considering the psycho-social impact of living with th...

Introduction: Pituitary conditions are rare and diagnosis may be slow because symptoms are ambiguous. The treatment may be a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and medication so patients see many healthcare professionals. This survey sought to assess patient satisfaction with the information and support they receive from GPs, endocrinologists, neurosurgeons, radiotherapists, specialist nurses, and other agencies (e.g. the pituitary foundation).Method: ...

Generalised resistance to thyroid hormone (GRTH), a subset of the syndrome of resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH), is characterised by variable reduced target tissue responsiveness to circulating thyroid hormones. Plasma thyroid hormone levels are raised and TSH levels inappropriately non-suppressed. We describe a 54-year-old female with GRTH diagnosed from the finding of raised fT4 and fT3 levels coincidental with non-suppressed TSH levels. A thyrotropin (TRH) test resulted i...

Pituitary disorders are relatively uncommon conditions which leave patients feeling isolated and distressed. Acromegaly and Cushing’s are associated with obvious and visible differences to appearance, while other pituitary conditions are associated with profound, yet hidden, physical changes which impact significantly on psychological well being.AimTo explore the subjective experiences of patients living with and managing a pi...

ObjectiveThis explorative study is concerned with assessing the psychosocial impact of living with a pituitary condition. In collaboration with the Pituitary Foundation, who work to understand and represent the experiences of patients, this study explored the psychosocial issues that are evident for and identified by patients with a pituitary condition (anxiety, depression and appearance related distress).Method<p class="abstex...

VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) is an endothelial cell mitogen responsible for physiological and pathophysiological angiogenesis. Abnormal regulation of VEGF expression in anterior pituitary folliculostellate (FS) cells has been implicated in pituitary tumour progression. PACAP is a well-documented stimulant of VEGF secretion from the pituitary in which both FS and endocrine cells express VEGF. TtT/GF cells are a mouse pituitary cell line with many characteristics of...

Annexin 1 (ANXA1) is a member of the annexin family of phospholipid- and calcium- binding proteins with a well-demonstrated role in the inhibitory actions of glucocorticoids on the release of ACTH, TSH, GH and PRL from the anterior pituitary. ANXA1 and ANXA1 truncated peptides have also recently been found to mimic glucocorticoid suppression of LH release (John et al, 2003 J Neuroendocrinol 15, 946-57). Here we test the hypothesis that because ANXA1 mediates some of the inhibi...

The cell cycle occupies a pivotal role in the control of cellular proliferation, a critical point being activation of CyclinE which is held in check by the inhibitor p27. CyclinE is targeted for degradation by the F-box protein Archipelago (Ago/Fbw7/cdc4), while p27 is exported out of the nucleus by Jun activation domain-binding protein 1 (Jab1). Over-expression of CyclinE has been reported in breast cancer. We have now explored the role of Jab1 and Ago in mediating changes in...

There is now substantial evidence to suggest that the early life environment can have a permanent effect on adult physiology. Recently we have shown that early postnatal glucocorticoid (GC) exposure produces alterations in midbrain dopaminergic cell number in the adult rat, in a gender-specific manner (McArthur et al., Brit. Neurosci. Assoc. Abstr. 2003;17:27). Since the protein annexin 1 (ANXA1) mediates some aspects of the effects of GCs within the immune system and the hypo...