Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: There has been much interest recently in measuring both salivary cortisol and cortisone due to the presence of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 enzyme in the salivary glands. This enzyme facilitates the conversion of cortisol to cortisone; hence the concentration of cortisone in saliva may also be of interest. Studies have shown recently that salivary cortisone and cortisol are good markers of serum free cortisol status.Methods:...

Introduction: The stress response post-operatively increases glucocorticoid concentration and a higher cortisol response is associated with better recovery. The measurement of cortisol concentrations post-operatively can be unreliable due to altered binding protein concentrations. Free serum cortisol is felt to be the better marker of bio-active glucocorticoid concentrations but is difficult to measure. Salivary cortisol and cortisone have been shown to correlate well with ser...

Obesity is a growing global epidemic and current medical therapies have proven inadequate. Endogenous satiety hormones provide an attractive target for the development of drugs which aim to cause effective weight loss with minimal side effects. Two related peptide hormones, glucagon and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), are the subject of this investigation. Both have been found to reduce appetite and cause weight loss. Additionally, glucagon increases energy expenditure. It is...