Endocrine Abstracts

Sporadic Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is an uncommon thyroid cancer. The prevalence has been studied in two large European studies(1,2). Serum calcitonin provides a highly sensitive and specific tumour marker for this. We shall present a case which typifies the presentation of MTC and discuss its relevance.A 71-year-old gentleman of Italian descent was admitted in 2001 with left lower limb cellulitis. It was documented that he had an incidental goitre, that had been p...

Older population and people with type II diabetes have a significantly higher rate of decline in cognitive function. However, the mechanisms are poorly understood. There are strong links between insulin and cognitive function supported by epidemiological data from humans and animal studies and in vitro research. Protein kinase C (PKC) signaling cascades and insulin pathways are closely integrated. The consequences of PKC activation by insulin in the CNS influence memory...

Lithium-induced hyperparathyroidism was first described in 1973 by Garfinkel et. al.The two cases aim to illustrate Lithium-induced hyperparathyroidism which was previously thought to be a rare occurrence and outline characteristic features of this disorder.Case 1.A 51 year old male presented with polydipsia and polyuria. He was known to suffer from bipolar affective disorder with lithium treatment was admitt...

Lithium-induced hyperparathyroidism was first described in 1973 by Garfinkel et. al.The two cases aim to illustrate Lithium-induced hyperparathyroidism which was previously thought to be a rare occurrence and outline characteristic features of this disorder.Case 1.A 51 year old male presented with polydipsia and polyuria. He was known to suffer from bipolar affective disorder with lithium treatment was admitt...

Schizophrenia is associated with higher risk of Type 2 diabetes. There are several reports of Type 2 diabetes presenting as diabetic ketoacidosis, particularly in young obese African-Caribbean subjects. We report 3 cases of new onset diabetes presenting with diabetic ketoacidosis (see Table 1) in African-Caribbean males treated with olanzapine for chronic schizophrenia.Table 1 Metabolic parameters on admissionCase</td...

Background- The reduced survival in acromegaly is strongly related to high serum Growth hormone (GH) concentrations. This increased mortality is proportional to the GH excess on day curve data and hence reduction can improve mortalilty to normal levels. The threshold ofcure has changed over the last three decades and additional parameters have been introduced to assess disease activity.Aim- To compare GH measurement equivalence dur...

Introduction: Insulinomas are the most common, functioning, pancreatic neuro-endocrine tumours. The minority of patients <10% who present with metastatic disease have a median survival of <2 years.We present a case of a gentleman with a 30 years history of Multiple Endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), which highlights the various modalities of treatment and the challenges from his progressive disease and marked symptomatic hypoglycaemia.<p clas...

Background: The hypothalamus is a critical area of the brain involved in the regulation of appetite. Cerebellin1 (Cbln1) is a highly conserved 16 amino acid neuropeptide. High levels of Cbln1 mRNA expression are found in specific hypothalamic areas involved in appetite regulation.Aim: To examine the effects of Cbln1 on food intake in rodents.Methods: 1. Ad libitum fed rats were injected intracerebroventricularly (ICV) with Cbln1 (1...

The Charcot joint was originally described as tabetic arthopathy and published in 1868. This occurs in approximately 0.2% of people with diabetes and usually involves a prior peripheral neuropathy. Other factors involved in the pathogenesis of this osteoarthropathy are autonomic neuropathy & trauma.A 74-year-old male presented in August 2004 with a subacute history of right foot swelling & discomfort. There was no discreet history of preceding tr...

Background: Kisspeptin is a critical regulator of normal reproductive function. In humans inactivating mutations of the kisspeptin receptor GPR54 cause hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism and pubertal failure. Activating mutations of GPR54 cause precocious puberty. Hypothalamic amenorrhoea (HA) accounts for over 30% of cases of amenorrhoea in women of reproductive age. Current treatments have limited success rates and side effects. In rodent models of HA hypothalamic KISS1 expressi...