Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: Patients with acquired growth hormone (GH) deficiency secondary to hypopituitarism, have a significant increased risk of cardiovascular events. However, variable data of the effects of GH replacement and its benefits reducing such risk, is available. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of 0.4 milligrams of GH on cardiovascular markers in severe GH deficient adults with hypopituitarism.Methods: A total of 17 patients (10 males an...

There has been controversy over the diagnostic utility of the LH/FSH ratio in polycystic ovarian syndrome, with more recent guidelines excluding it as a diagnostic test. However, LH/FSH is still often requested for that purpose and in our institution, 20% of the 12,000 annual requests for LH/FSH tests requested in a one year period had PCOS detailed on the card, at a cost of over £37,000.Objective: The aim of this study was to ascertain the biologi...

Natriuretic peptides BNP and NTpro-BNP have been suggested as being useful for the diagnosis of congestive heart failure, and have been shown to have excellent negative predictive value for excluding severe systolic left ventricular dysfunction.We have shown previously that changes in thyroid function are associated with changes in concentrations of other low molecular weight molecules through the changes on renal function. Therefore, the aim of this stu...

Somatostatin (SST) modulates exocrine and endocrine secretion, proliferation and apoptosis, via 5 transmembrane receptors (SSTRs 1 to 5), which predominantly signal through inhibitory G proteins. Stable analogs such as Lanreotide and Octreotide have been developed for use in clinical practice. Both have high affinity for SSTR 2, and moderate affinity for SSTR 5. Octreotide has been shown to inhibit endothelial proliferation, probably via SSTR 2, which is expressed by prolifera...

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A 63-year old woman presented with a 3 weeks history of sweating, panic attacks and vomiting. Urine dipstick on admission was positive for glucose (3+) and ketones (2+) and lab glucose was elevated at 26 mmol/l. Based on the findings she was treated as diabetic ketoacidosis and commenced on insulin. Further investigations showed an elevated urinary catecholamines and marked hypercalcaemia (adjusted calcium 3.10 mmol/l) with unsuppressed PTH at 71 pg/ml (normal 12–72 pg/ml...

Background Somatostatin has various biological effects such as modulation of exocrine and endocrine secretions, proliferation and apoptosis. These effects have been shown to be mediated via G-protein linked receptors known as somatostatin receptors 1-5 (SST 1-5). It has been shown that SST 2 in particular can be modulated by estrogen. The phytoestrogen genistein acts through the estrogen receptor beta and has been shown to have opposing effects on cell proliferation at differe...

Introduction. Lipocortin-1 (annexin-1 and p35) is a 37-kDa Ca2+-dependant membrane-binding protein that hasanti-inflammatory, anti-mitotic and anti-proliferative properties.With these properties in mind it was hypothesised that lipocortin-1 may have an important role in the endometrium. Therefore, the aim ofthis study was to determine the distribution of lipocortin-1 in normal and abnormal endometrial tissue.Methods. Formalin fixed paraffin embedded sect...

Somatostatin (sst) modulates exocrine and endocrine secretions, cellular proliferation and apoptosis, via a series of 5 G-protein linked transmembrane receptors (sstrs 1-5). Sstrs 2 and 5 have been reported on vasculature but their role remains obscure. Here, we report the expression of sstrs in endothelial cells in vitro, during both proliferative and quiescent states to determine whether these receptors may change dynamically. Endothelial cells were harvested from ten...

Somatostatin (sst) acts via five G-protein-coupled receptors (sstr) that effect angiogenesis, cell proliferation and apoptosis. We have reported the expression of these receptors in normal endometrium and in this study we have extended those observations to the expression of sstr subtypes 1, 2, 3, and 5 within hyperplastic and neoplastic endometrium using immunohistochemistry. METHOD The avidin-biotin-peroxidase method was used to immunostain formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded ...