Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: Gestational diabetes mellitus occurs in 2–9 percent of all pregnancies. It is associated with substantial maternal and perinatal complications which can all be reduced if it is diagnosed. In UK 65% of pregnant complicated by diabetes involve gestational diabetes. Professional bodies disagree about whether to recommend routine screening, selective screening or no screening of gestational diabetes. The NICE guidelines are in progress and are expected by end of 20...

Introduction: Glucocorticoids may exert important actions in early pregnancy on the invading trophoblast. The local actions of glucocorticoids can be modulated by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11β-HSD) enzymes which catalyse inter-conversion of cortisol with its inert metabolite, cortisone. Although two cloned 11β-HSD isoenzymes are known to be expressed in the term placenta, their expression and activity have not been well characterised in the first trimest...

Introduction: The biochemical diagnosis of acromegaly is based on elevated plasma growth hormone (GH) that fail to suppress after an oral glucose load. Elevated insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF1) supports the diagnosis. Traditionally GH level of less than 2 miliunits per litre rules out acromegaly. With advent of recent sensitive GH assays, lower levels of GH are increasingly being recognized. We describe a case of acromegaly which differed from the traditional presentation.<...

OBJECTIVE: To determine the characteristics of the QOL impairment observed in GHD survivors of cancer (group 1), and response to GH replacement in comparison with GHD patients with primary pituitary pathology (non-secreting pituitary adenoma or prolactinoma; group 2).METHODS: Patients were considered for GH replacement on the basis of biochemically established severe GHD and subjectively poor QOL noted at interview. QOL was studied at baseline, and at ea...

We present two patients with unusual manifestations of sarcoidosis and review gonadal involvement in this rare but important disease. A 27 year old man presented to the Ophthalmologists at our hospital with a red eye. He was diagnosed with anterior uveitis and commenced on topical corticosteroids. Following discovery of a testicular mass, he underwent testicular ultrasonography which demonstrated bilateral hyperechoic lesions. Histological examination of an open surgical biops...