Endocrine Abstracts

Sleep and cortisol cycles have a complex inter-relationship that is not fully understood. Slow wave sleep appears to have an inhibitory effect on cortisol production but the effect of other stages is not so clear. From diseases, such as Addisons disease and Cushings syndrome, we know that cortisol levels have an impact on the quality of sleep. In insomnia and depression, both sleep and cortisol is altered.To investigate this relationship properly a minim...

A 40-year-old woman, who had developed oligomenorrhoea after discontinuing the contraceptive pill at age 30, presented with a 6-month history of intermittent vomiting associated with abdominal discomfort and distension. Ultrasound, followed by laparotomy, revealed multiple bilateral ovarian luteal cysts consistent with hyperoestrogenism and ovarian-hyperfunctioning.Only 9 months post-operatively her bilateral theca ovarian cysts had recurred. Over 4 mont...