Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Spinal Epidural Lipomatosis (SEL) is an excessive fat deposition in the spinal canal which can lead to compression of nervous structures. SEL is a rare but recognised side effect of exogenous steroid excess. There are only six previously reported cases of SEL associated with endogenous steroid excess in the available literature. We present a case of SEL, caused by Cushing’s disease, that presented in the immediate post-operative period.C...

Introduction: There is increasing evidence suggesting that adiponectin plays a role in the regulation of bone metabolism. We have studied the changes in the circulating concentration of adiponectin in lean and obese post-menopausal women with and without osteoporosis and its association with a marker of bone formation – type 1 procollagen amino-terminal pro-peptide (P1NP) and a marker of bone resorption – type 1 collagen C-telopeptide (βCTX).<p class="abstex...

In patients with autoimmune Addison’s disease (AAD), exogenous glucocorticoid (GC) therapy is an imperfect substitute for physiological GC secretion; patients on long-term steroid replacement have increased morbidity, reduced life expectancy and poorer quality of life. Recent early-phase studieshave demonstrated that some endogenous steroidogenic function – Residual Adrenal Function (RAF) - is maintained at the point of diagnosis in a proportion of AAD patients; this...