Endocrine Abstracts

β-catenin is thought to play an important, intrinsic role in early pituitary development by regulating adenohypophysis (anterior pituitary) transcription factor activity. Expression of β-catenin is detected in the adenohypophysis, rostral mesenchyme, and neural ectoderm, including the area that develops into the infundibulum and neurohypophysis, and nearby regions. The importance of β-catenin expression in the neural ectoderm and mesenchyme has not been addresse...

Background: Hypoparathyroidism (HP), a condition of parathyroid hormone (PTH) deficiency, leads to abnormal calcium metabolism. Standard of care (SOC), ie, large amounts of calcium and active vitamin D, leads to hypercalciuria and increased calcium x phosphate. Daily Natpara, PTH(1-84), injections reduced calcium and active vitamin D doses but not 24-hour urinary calcium (uCa) excretion or incidence of hypo- and hypercalcemia due to its 3-hour half-life (Natpara label). NIH st...

Objective: The risk of aortic dissection is 100-fold increased in Turner syndrome (TS). Increased blood pressure (BP) and heart rate is present as well as an increased risk of ischemic heart disease and diabetes. This study aimed to prospectively assess heart rate variability (HRV) in TS and its relation to aortic dimensions.Methods: Adults with TS (n=91, aged 37.4±10.4 years) recruited through the Danish National Society of Turner Syndrome...

Background: Aortic dissection causes excess mortality in Turner syndrome, and this increased risk is associated with aortic dilation, congenital cardiovascular abnormalities, karyotype, and blood pressure. But risk factor identification is inadequate, and the natural course of aortopathy in Turner syndrome is poorly investigated.Design and methods: Prospective follow-up study in women with Turner syndrome (n=102, examined twice) and healthy age-ma...

Background and Purpose: Infertility affects 15% of couples globally, and only few treatment options are available. Gonadotropins are classic and potent regulators of ovarian and female reproductive function, but novel endocrine crosstalk appears to exist between gonads and the skeleton that may influence female fertility. One of the new players include the RANKL signalling system, which consists of the receptor activator of nuclear factor κβ ligand (RANKL), the recep...

Objective: QT interval prolongation of unknown aetiology is common in Turner syndrome (TS). This study set out to explore the presence of known pathogenic long QT (LQT) mutations in TS and to examine the corrected QT interval (QTc) over time and relate the findings to the TS phenotype.Methods: Adult females with TS (n=102) were examined thrice with a mean follow-up of 4.7±0.5 years, and 68 age-matched healthy controls were examined once. QT...

Currently, no treatment options exist to improve semen quality for the majority of infertile men. Proper interaction between germ and Sertoli cells in the testis is critical for sperm production, and a recent study suggested that Denosumab, an inhibitor of RANKL signaling, may stimulate sperm production in some infertile men. Here, we show in animal and human studies how expression of the RANKL signaling system is critical for both Sertoli cell function and the testicular resp...