Endocrine Abstracts

BACKGROUNDAngina and Myocardial infarction have been reported in hyperthyroidism. Intense coronary artery spasm can be life threatening as it can lead to ventricular fibrillation and haemodynamic instability as reported in this patient.CASE HISTORYA 45-year-old lady was admitted with a history of head aches, palpitations, diarrhoea and weight loss. She was subsequently found to have thyrotoxicosis with the th...

Cardiovascular disease and diastolic hypertension are major causes of morbidity in Cushing’s although left ventricular failure is more rarely described. There are three other cases of documented dilated cardiomyopathy with subsequent left ventricular failure.Thirty-five year old lady who presented with obesity and striae was found to have a suppressed ACTH, elevated cortisol (914 post dexamethasone suppression test) and a right adrenal adenoma (on C...

The TRH test is used in the diagnosis of hypothalamic-pituitary (hp) disorders in children. It is unclear how often the result of this test is helpful. We have examined the results of TRH testing in 143 children investigated primarily for disordered growth. Children with hp axis tumours were excluded.The TSH response to TRH (5microg/kg iv) was defined as abnormal if the peak TSH was <5mU/L (pituitary), or if the peak TSH at 60 mins was higher than at ...

Regulation of many pituitary-specific genes involves calcium signalling, yet the mechanisms and signalling molecules involved have yet to be established. CaMK's are expressed in a wide variety of tissues, and are known to modulate transcriptional regulators such as MAPK's and CREB. It is unclear as to which anterior pituitary cell types express CaMK's, or which isoforms are present. We have examined the presence and localisation of type II and IV CaMK's in alphaT3-1, LbetaT2 (...

IntroductionThe IGF-system has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We report the effects of total energy intake on the IGF-system in two populations with a markedly different dietary macronutrient intake and cardiovascular event rate.MethodDietary macronutrient intake was measured in a specific Gujarati migrant community in Sandwell UK (n=205) compared with people ...