Endocrine Abstracts

Type 2 diabetes is associated with insulin resistance, failure to suppress lipolysis and EGP and impaired FFA oxidation. It is not known which defect develops first.Eleven European women with previous gestational diabetes (PGDM) and normal glucose tolerance post-partum, as a high risk group for the development of Type 2 diabetes, and 11 matched controls (BMI 23.8±4.5 kg m-2 versus 24.6±4.9 kg m-2 respectively) were stu...

Type 2 diabetes is associated with insulin resistance, failure to suppress lipolysis and EGP and impaired FFA. It is not known which defect develops first.Eleven European women with previous gestational diabetes (PGDM) and normal glucose tolerance post-partum, as a high risk group for the development of Type 2 diabetes, and 11 matched controls (BMI 23.8±4.5 kg m-2 versus 24.6±4.9 kg m-2 respectively) were studied. Insu...

A 31-year-old German lady attended A&E with a 1 week history of bilateral leg swelling. The leg swelling had been gradual in onset and was not associated with shortness of breath, chest pain or haemoptysis. She had no history of renal or cardiac disease. Her only past medical history was of mild indigestion. She did not have any regular medication use. On examination she was systemically well but had bilateral pitting lower limb oedema. Blood pressure was 120/80 mmHg (comp...

Langerhans cell histiocytosis is a disease caused by clonal proliferation of a group of antigen-presenting cells known as Langerhans cells. Its manifestations range from isolated lesions to multisystem disease usually involving bone, skin and the pituitary stalk. Thyroid involvement is rare.A 44-year old woman presented to the joint thyroid clinic with a short history of neck swelling, confirmed to be a smooth goitre on clinical examination. Initial bloo...

Objective: To determine the vitamin D status in pregnancy and to evaluate the effects of daily and of single-dose vitamin D supplementation.Design: A prospective randomised study, in an inner city ante-natal clinic.Participants: Forty-five women in each of the four ethnic groups, Indian Asians, Middle Eastern, Black and Caucasian, were studied (incomplete delivery data at time of submission).Intervention: Wom...

A 52 year old lady was admitted with collapse in May 2001 with h/o being nauseous, generally unwell, off her feet and food for several weeks. GP consultation five weeks before, for similar complaints, resulted in thyroid function tests confirming hypothyroidism. Thyroxine 25 mcg was commenced by the GP and uptitrated to 50 mcg. She however deteriorated despite this treatment becoming increasingly lethargic and sleepy. On admission she appeared tanned, BP was 93/50 she was dysa...

Objectives: The extent and mechanisms of the diurnal variation in insulin sensitivity are poorly described. This study set out to assess the relative contributions of diurnal rhythm and length of fast to insulin sensitivity in normal healthy human subjects.Methods: Nine healthy women (age 25.3±1.2 years, BMI 22.4±0.8 Kg/m2) ate a standardised meal before each of the four fasts, two ten-hour fasts ending at 0900 and 1700 and two thirteen-hou...

A nineteen-year-old primiparous lady was admitted in her 40th week of gestation with irregular painful contractions. Following a prolonged labour (approx. eighteen hours) she underwent an emergency caesarean section because of decelerations in the foetal heartbeat and meconium staining of her liquor. At a vaginal examination performed pre caesarean to assess the state of her cervix, her clitoris was noted to be enlarged. She delivered a healthy girl who was not virilised. Befo...

We report a 36 year old woman of African origin with a background of HIV and previous AIDS defining pulmonary tuberculosis. The patient has been well on highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) since May 2000. She presented in March 2001 with a four weeks history of fatigue, weight loss, palpitations, polyuria and weakness. Her mother had type 2 diabetes. There is no family history of thyroid disease. Examination showed a thyrotoxic state, a smooth diffuse goitre and prox...

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is part of the spectrum of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It is characterised by triglyceride deposition in the liver associated with a lobular hepatitis and elevated circulating aminotransferases. It is associated with insulin resistance and commonly occurs in Type 2 diabetes but is much less widely recognised in patients with Type 1 diabetes.A 29 year old Caucasian male with longstanding Type 1 diabetes presented with ...