Endocrine Abstracts

Aim: We present an unusual case of long-term accidental ingestion of androgenic steroid in a young female.Case: A 28-year-old lady presented with male pattern of hair growth, weight gain of three stones, change in voice, and secondary amenorrhea. On direct questioning she admitted she was taking ‘fat bursting pills’ for nearly 6 months, obtained from a gym, to lose weight. Examination revealed a blood pressure of 150/77 mmHg, increased muscle b...

A 39-year-old lady with severe primary hypothyroidism was referred to the endocrine clinic. Her past medical history includes intermittent colitis and Irritable Bowel syndrome. There was no history of diarrhoea for the last 1 year. TSH 97.2 mU/l (0.3–5.0) and free thyroxine (T4) was 5.0 pmol/l (10–22). The dose of levothyroxine was increased gradually from 100 to 300 μg/day. Despite this, TSH level remained high at 96.1 and freeT4 was 4.0. ...

Introduction: We present a case of Dunnigan Kobberling type of lipodystrophy in a young female.Case report: A 25-year-old woman presented with hirsuitism, secondary amenorrhoea, increase in neck size and reduction in breast size. On examination she had moon like facies, broad neck, small breasts and well defined male pattern musculature. Testosterone and lutenising hormone were marginally raised, serum alanine transminase was raised. Overnight dexamethas...

Objective: To test the hypothesis that poor adolescent diabetic control results in poor adult control.Methods: We conducted a retrospective case notes study involving 57 patients (M:F 30:27) in a teaching hospital. Patients who had diabetes atleast for a minimum period of 10 years were selected and their HbA1c when they were between 17 and 19 years of age were compared with the most recent HbA1c.The adolescent control was divided i...

Insulinoma is a tumour of the endocrine pancreas, usually benign, with an annual incidence of 1–2 new cases per million population. We describe a case of Insulinoma complicated by the simultaneous development of diabetes.A 72year old lady had episodes of funny turns and confusion following her meal. She had lost a stone in weight over 6–8 months. There was no history of sulphonylurea ingestion. Examination revealed low BMI and no evidence of ra...

Introduction: Aminoglycoside exposure may result in hypomagnesemia, hypocalcaemia and hypokalemia. We describe a case of severe hypomagnesemia due to gentamicin therapy.Case report: A 46-year-old lady presented with ‘pins and needles’ and muscle cramps two weeks after being treated with gentamicin for biliary sepsis. Trosseau and chovstek signs were positive. Investigations showed hypokalemia, hypocalcaemia and hypomagnesemia (0.25 mmol/l (0.74...

Introduction: We report a case of adrenal insufficiency as the first clinical manifestation of antiphospholipid syndrome.Case report: A 56-year-old male with no previous history of thrombosis was admitted with 3 stone weight loss and feeling generally unwell. He was hypotensive, pigmented and had a slate grey pigmentation of the nose. Chest auscultation revealed reduced breath sounds. Investigations revealed low sodium and high potassium levels with meta...

Introduction: Hypothyroid myopathy with moderate elevation of muscle enzymes is not uncommon. However rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure due hypothyroidism is rare and only few cases have reported. We describe a patient with rhabdomyolysis due to primary hypothyroidism.Case report: A 45-year-old male was admitted with 6 weeks history of generalised muscle weakness. He described his gait as ‘walking like a drunk’ in the absence of alcohol. H...

Hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HPP) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder characterised by episodic muscle weakness associated with hypokalemia. Hypolemic paralysis can also occur due to other causes including renal tubular acidosis (RTA). We describe 2 cases of hypokalemic paralysis of different aetiologies.Case:1: A 23 year polish man who speaks no English was admitted with profound weakness in his limbs. Laboratory investigations revealed normal rena...

Swyer-James syndrome or 46, XY female is an unusual condition, characterized by pure gonadal dysgenesis in a phenotypic female patient. Successful pregnancy is even rarer as these patients will require oocyte donation program. We present a 39 year old lady with 46, XY pure gonadal dysgenesis who had a successful pregnancy through in-vitro fertilization by oocyte donation.At her original presentation in 1984, our patient’s main complaint was primary ...