Endocrine Abstracts

IGF-1 generation tests (IGF-1GT) have been used extensively in children to investigate growth hormone (GH) responsiveness. To help understand differences in the GH/IGF-1 axis in health and disease in adulthood interest has turned to the use of the IGF-1GT in adults. Different designs of IGF-1GT have been used with no clear evidence delineating which is the most sensitive to describe subtle changes in GH responsiveness. In order to design an IGF-1GT we have performed the first ...

Epidemiological and clinical studies provide evidence for sex differences in the incidence or severity of certain neurological conditions. For example Parkinson's disease, which is characterised by a progressive degeneration of dopaminergic (DA) neurones in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and a reduction in DA levels in the striatum, is more prevalent in men than women. Therefore, our work aimed to establish whether physiological levels of sex steroid hormones confer ...

Introduction: The MEN1 is inherited as autosomal dominant trait. In MEN 1 families a deletional mechanism of the regulatory gene appears to be the base of the syndrome.Case 1: 40-year-old lady presented with a two-day history of headaches, blurred vision and funny turns, culminating in loss of consciousness and a generalised tonic-clonic seizure. Her GCS was 3; she was intubated, ventilated and referred to ICU. U+Es normal, Calcium high, phosphate low, a...

Background: Growth Hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) are the biomarkers used to assess disease activity in acromegaly. Consensus guidelines from the Endocrine Society (2014) recommend a normal (age/sex-adjusted) IGF-1 in combination with a suppressed random GH<1 μg/l for biochemical remission. However, these results are discordant in some patients. The clinical significance of the IGF-1/GH dichotomy in the follow-up of these patients is unclear and...

Background: Acromegaly is characterised by growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) hypersecretion. The disease is associated with increased cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and metabolic co-morbidities, resulting in excess mortality. A target GH <1 μg/l and normalised IGF-1 values correlate with mortality risk reduction. However, there is lack of consensus over which biomarker, GH or IGF-1, better predicts increased morbidity and/ or mortality.<p...