Endocrine Abstracts

Section 1: Case history: A 68 year old lady presented with a 2 week history of pedal swelling, with large blisters appearing on her feet. Her past medical history included adrenal Cushing”s treated with a right laparoscopic adrenalectomy on a 4.7x5.2 cm lipid poor adenoma 12 years previously; she had been discharged 7 years ago after repeated normal overnight dexamethasone suppression tests. Over the last year she had gained 12 kg in weight and been diagnosed with type 2 ...

A 67 year old female presented with hypertension, oedema and cough. A CT scan of her abdomen showed an enlarged left adrenal gland. Urinary free cortisols were grossly elevated and low dose dexamethasone suppression testing confirmed Cushing’s Syndrome. 24 hour catecholamines were also elevated consistent with a diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma. ACTH levels were high (690 pg/ml) but pituitary MRI was normal. She was commenced on alpha and beta blockade in preparation for su...

Background: Vitamin D deficiency/insufficiency and adiposity have deleterious effects on skeletal health and can increase arterial stiffness. Additionally, low bone mass is associated with increased arterial disease, but little is known about the association of bone geometry with arterial disease.Objective: To determine the association between bone geometry and arterial stiffness in overweight (body mass index >25 kg/m2], older adults [50&...

ARMC5 mutations are associated with PBMAH risks, but the ARMC5 action mechanism remains unknown. We discovered that ARMC5 was part of a novel ubiquitin ligase (E3) specific for RPB1, the largest Pol II subunit. ARMC5 deletion significantly reduced RPB1 ubiquitination and increased RPB1 accumulation. Surprisingly, the degradation of not only RPB1 but all the 12 subunits of Pol II was compromised in the absence of ARMC5, suggesting that this E3 acts on RPB1 and molecules in its ...