Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Microalbuminuria is an early marker of diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) which predicts the development of later stages of nephropathy. Thiazolidinediones are a class of oral hypoglycaemic drugs used in diabetes glycaemic management that act through PPARγ receptors. Studies have suggested they significantly reduce urinary albumin excretion; however, most trials were small. We therefore performed a systematic review to clarify the effectiv...

Hypothalamic MC4R receptors are Galphas-coupled GPCR’s that mediate the satiety response to αMSH. MC4R expression predominates in the PVN/VMH regions of the hypothalamus, regulating satiety gene expression (e.g. Bdnf). Human MC4R mutations often result in compromised Galphas-cAMP-PKA signalling and obesity onset. However, downstream signalling pathways have yet to be elucidated. We have investigated the potential for αMSH to stimulat...