Endocrine Abstracts

Excess weight/obesity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Mechanisms linking obesity to insulin resistance in other liver and skeletal muscle are of considerable interest and the role of adipokines, in particular adiponectin, has come under considerable interest. Adiponectin is exclusively produced by fat cells but its circulating levels are paradoxically reduced in obesity. Current weight of evidence from prospective studies suggest that high adiponectin levels are pr...

Women with PCOS show increased cardiovascular risk factors compared to weight matched controls with normal ovarian function. The evidence is broadly consistent for deranged lipids (in particular elevated triglyceride and low HDL-cholesterol) and greater glucose intolerance in women with PCOS. Evidence of hypertension is less consistent. There are also preliminary data now for altered haemostatic (t-PA antigen) and inflammatory (C-reactive protein concentrations) factors. All s...

There is increasing interest in insulin resistance as a candidate pathway in the pathogenesis of vascular disease. Part of this interest stems from the rapidly increasing rates of obesity worldwide which fuel insulin resistance particularly in susceptible 'at risk' individuals. Insulin resistance is associated with a plethora of metabolic perturbances (dyslipidaemia, hypertension, abnormal haemostasis, low grade inflammation, altered adipokine levels) and many of these abnorma...

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a marker of inflammatory processes which predicts vascular disease, and is raised in the circulation of women with PCOS. Metformin can be used to reduce insulin resistance in women with PCOS, leading to improved ovarian function and circulating lipid profiles. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of protracted metformin treatment on circulating CRP in women with PCOS.Methods: CRP was assessed in women with PCOS (n...

Serum ALT concentrations give some insight into liver fat accumulation and relate to metabolic syndrome: values >29 IU/L double risk of type 2 diabetes independent of other risk predictors. Women with PCOS are at increased risk of diabetes and CVD whereas metformin treatment modulates the progress of metabolic syndrome. Consequently, we investigated the effects of protracted metformin treatment on circulating ALT in obese women with PCOS.Metformin tr...

Serum ALT concentrations give some insight into liver fat accumulation and relate to metabolic syndrome: values>29 IU/L double risk of type 2 diabetes independent of other risk predictors. Women with PCOS are at increased risk of diabetes and CVD whereas metformin treatment modulates the progress of metabolic syndrome. Consequently, we investigated the effects of protracted metformin treatment on circulating ALT in obese women with PCOS.Methods<p...

Hypopituitary patients receiving conventional hormonal therapy, excluding Growth Hormone, have an increased risk of vascular mortality. Significant endothelial dysfunction with impaired aortic distensibility has been demonstrated in these patients with some improvement in arterial stiffness after GH therapy. Inflammation is central in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and C-reactive protein is a validated marker for predicting cardiovascular risk.Fo...

Background: Use of metformin in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is becoming increasingly accepted and widespread but clinical practice is ahead of the evidence.Methods: We extracted results from the seven published studies of metformin use in PCOS that include control elements quantifiably similar to the experimental arm. We also restricted our analysis to the studies with a systematic longitudinal examination of ovulatory function and metabolic parameters....

Metformin treatment of women with PCOS has been shown to improve ovarian function, reduce hyperandrogenicity and induce weight loss. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the nature of the weight loss in obese women with PCOS, using 2 dose regimes.Methods: Obese (body mass index [BMI] > 29 kilograms /m2) women with PCOS (n = 44) were recruited to the study, and randomised to receive either 1500mg metformin daily (n = 22), or ...

Elevated circulating concentrations of non-esterified free fatty acids (NEFAs) are observed in states of insulin resistance and may be associated with increased cardiovascular risk. We hypothesised that NEFAs directly impair endothelial NO bioavailability via increased oxidative stress, in addition to their proposed indirect effect via VLDL. The study was designed to investigate the effect of monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids on endothelium-dependent and -independent v...