Endocrine Abstracts

Background: It is apparent that COVID-19 may cause persistent symptoms beyond 12 weeks (‘long COVID’). However its underlying pathophysiology is unclear. Several symptoms of long COVID draw similarities to that of endocrine diagnoses. We recently observed that adrenal and thyroid function were normal in survivors of COVID-19 at follow-up. Here we assess additional endocrine axes that could plausibly have a role in long COVID to determine their relationship to ongoing...

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is the most prevalent female sexual health complaint worldwide, affecting 1-in-10 women. It is characterised by a persistent lack of desire for sexual activity and sexual fantasies, causing distress or interpersonal difficulties. Treatment options are limited, however, melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonists have emerged as a promising therapy for HSDD, through unclear mechanisms. Investigating the pathways involved is crucial for our u...

Background: Kisspeptin is a critical activator of hypothalamic gonadotrophin-releasing hormone neurons, inducing release of downstream reproductive hormones. Intravenous or subcutaneous kisspeptin administration has been shown to have significant potential to treat reproductive disorders. However, intranasal administration could offer a novel non-invasive delivery route, which would be clinically preferable. We therefore sought to determine the effects of intranasal kisspeptin...

Background: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is associated with dysfunctional brain activation in regions governing sexual responses, resulting in a deficiency/absence of sexual desire with marked distress. It affects up to 8% of men with detrimental effects on quality of life, interpersonal relationships and fertility, but so far has no licensed treatment options. The reproductive neuropeptide kisspeptin offers a putative therapeutic target owing to its emerging role ...

Introduction: Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is characterized by a persistent deficiency of sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity, causing marked distress or interpersonal difficulty. It is the most prevalent female sexual health problem worldwide, affecting approximately 1 in 10 women, but has limited treatment options despite its substantial health, social, and economic burden. Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) agonists have emerged as a promising therapy fo...

Background: Kisspeptin is a critical activator of hypothalamic gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons and has significant potential to treat common reproductive disorders. To date, kisspeptin has solely been administered to humans via the intravenous or subcutaneous routes, however intranasal administration could offer a novel non-invasive delivery route. We therefore sought to determine the effects of intranasal kisspeptin on reproductive hormone release in humans for...

Introduction: Sexual desire is a key component of the sexual response model. Absence or deficiency of sexual desire can lead to marked distress or interpersonal difficulty, termed ‘hypoactive sexual desire disorder’ (HSDD). HSDD is the most common female sexual health complaint worldwide, affecting up to 10% of women. Despite its detrimental impact on psychological well-being and quality of life, treatment options are currently limited. The hormone kisspeptin is a ke...

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) is a persistent lack of sexual desire, causing marked interpersonal distress. It is the most common global female sexual health problem, although the precise pathophysiology remains uncertain. Existing treatment options are limited by their efficacy and side effects. The neuropeptide kisspeptin offers a potential therapeutic target given its emerging role in modulating reproductive behaviour. Using a combination of psychometric, neuroim...

Background: There is emerging evidence that kisspeptin, a hormone with well-established reproductive effects, may also have important metabolic effects. Acute kisspeptin administration enhances insulin secretion under hyperglycaemic conditions in male rodents and men, and kisspeptin receptor agonism improves steatohepatits in male mice in a rodent model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. However, the metabolic effects of kisspeptin may exhibit sexual dimorphism as female (b...

Background: Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) is associated with a deficiency of sexual desire with marked distress. It affects up to 8% of men, but has no licensed treatments. The reproductive neuropeptide kisspeptin offers a putative therapeutic target owing to its emerging role in modulating reproductive behaviour in animal models and healthy men. However, there are no studies examining its effects in HSDD. To address this, we performed the first clinical study of ki...