Endocrine Abstracts

There is a reduction in the GH-IGF-1 axis activity with increasing age, but there is evidence that the pool of GH available for release is not diminished in elderly subjects. Furthermore this reduction in GH secretion is not solely responsible for the physical changes associated with ageing. There is a clear distinction between the GH status of normal elderly subjects and elderly subjects with GHD due to hypothalamic-pituitary disease, in whom GH secretion is reduced by more t...

Histiocytosis X is a rare disorder in which proliferating Langerhans cells can infiltrate virtually any site in the body. Bone is the most commonly affected site but endocrine involvement is frequently seen. Diabetes insipidus is the most common abnormality when there is involvement of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis.We report the case of a 42 year old lady who presented with diabetes insipidus in 1997. MR scan of the pituitary showed absence of the post...

Background: Considerable overlap of IGF-I levels exists between normal subjects and those with severe GHD determined by conventional testing of GH status. Recognised factors influencing IGF-I status in GHD patients include age, gender, timing of onset of GHD and exogenous oestrogen therapy, but these do not fully explain the GH/IGF-I discordance in severe GHD. The primary structures of prolactin and GH are similar. Effects of hypoprolactinaemia are not well described in humans...

Although prolactin is well recognised as a cytokine, effects of hypoprolactinaemia on biological endpoints are not well described in humans. In-vitro and clinical studies suggest an influence on humoral and cell mediated immunity and autoimmunity. We studied basal and stimulated immune function in panhypopituitary adults with and without prolactin deficiency and age and gender matched healthy controls. The study was approved by hospital and local research ethics committees. Ni...

Limited data exist describing direct volumetric measures of BMD (g/cm3) in adults with severe GHD or GH-insufficiency. We measured BMD in 30 GHD adults (peak GH to stimulation <3 mcg/l), 24 GH-insufficient adults (GHI, pGH 3 - 7 mcg/l), and 30 age/gender matched control subjects by DXA and pQCT.DXA performed at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and total hip confirmed GHD adults to have reduced BMD (g/cm2) at all sites (p = 0.05, p...

Survival following treatment for childhood malignancy has improved considerably over the last 40 years. Complications of treatment are frequent and although the long-term follow-up of patients is recommended, only 35% of patients are seen regularly. Endocrine complications of cancer therapy, including thyroid dysfunction, are well recognised. The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of hypothyroidism amongst the patients within the Bristish Childhood Cancer Survivor...

Considerable overlap in IGF-I levels exists between normal and severely GHD subjects; the mechanisms underlying this observation remain poorly understood. Under various clinical circumstances therefore, IGF-I estimation is an unreliable marker of GH status. A polymorphism in the IGF-I gene influences IGF-I levels in normal populations; a higher IGF-I is associated with the presence of 2 wild type alleles of the IGF-I gene (WTG). The possibility that an IGF-I gene polymorphism ...

Without adequate treatment patients with acromegaly die prematurely from cardiovascular disease (CVD); however the contribution of atherosclerosis in this process is controversial. Increased carotid IMT is an early morphological marker of atherosclerosis and predictor of subsequent cardiovascular events. Contradictory data exist regarding IMT in patients with acromegaly.We measured carotid IMT in 79 patients with acromegaly (47 male, mean age 55±14 ...

We have previously shown that adults with partial GHD have increased total body and truncal fat mass, an adverse lipid profile, and insulin resistance. In this study we have gone on to analyse suggogate markers of vascular risk and carotid IMT. We defined GH status using the combination of two stimulation tests, the ITT and arginine stimulation test, in to patients with severe GHD (pGH<3 ng/ml, n=30) or GH insufficiency (pGH 3–7 ng/ml, n=24). Thirty age ...

The TSH B/I ratio is normally reduced overnight and is substantially reduced in patients with overt central hypothyroidism due to h-p axis tumours before and after treatment. It is unknown if similar changes in the TSH B/I ratio in the absence of overt central hypothyroidism contribute to the increased TSH levels seen in cancer survivors who undergo h-p axis irradiation. Thus, we selected 9 patients with the highest TSH levels out of a previously reported cohort of 37 euthyroi...