Endocrine Abstracts

The Metabolic Syndrome (insulin resistance, hyperglycaemia, dyslipidaemia, hypertension) amplified by visceral obesity resembles Cushing's but plasma cortisol levels are not usually elevated. To explain this paradox altered tissue sensitivity to glucocorticoids has been invoked. 11b-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11b-HSD1) reactivates cortisone to cortisol, thus amplifying local glucocorticoid action. An adipose-selective increase in 11b-HSD1 may underlie the Metabolic S...

Background: The aldosterone to renin ratio (ARR) is a useful screening test for primary aldosteronism. Renin can be measured as activity or concentration; the accuracy of the ARR depends on these measurements and the factors that may affect them. We carried out two studies; the first assessed the correlation between plasma renin concentration (PRC) and renin activity (PRA) and the agreement between them using two anticoagulants (EDTA and lithium heparin). The second evaluated ...

Objective: The spontaneously hypertensive stroke prone rat (SHRSP) is a model of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Feeding a 60% fructose diet exaggerates these phenotypes. It has been suggested that the Y chromosome may influence lipid levels in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). Therefore we examined the effects of Y chromosome on lipid phenotypes in the SHRSP after fructose feeding.Design and Methods: The S.W. Y consomic strain was construc...