Endocrine Abstracts

Radioiodine is a central treatment modality for differentiated thyroid cancer. Whilst its utility for post-surgery ablation in some patients remains controversial, the importance of radioiodine in the treatment of recurrent and metastatic disease is clear. Advanced disease which no longer takes up radioiodine (radioiodine-refractory DTC (RR-DTC)) is commonly associated with a poor prognosis, with 10-year survival rates for metastatic RR-DTC <10%. Although new systemic ther...

Radioiodine is a central treatment modality for differentiated thyroid cancer. Whilst its utility for post-surgery ablation in some patients remains controversial, the importance of radioiodine in the treatment of recurrent and metastatic disease is clear. Advanced disease which no longer takes up radioiodine (radioiodine-refractory DTC (RR-DTC)) is commonly associated with a poor prognosis, with 10-year survival rates for metastatic RR-DTC <10%. Although new systemic ther...

Background: Thyroid peroxidase antibodies are associated with increased risk of miscarriage and preterm birth, even when thyroid function is normal. Small trials indicate levothyroxine could reduce such adverse outcomes.Methods: We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to investigate whether levothyroxine treatment would increase live birth rates among euthyroid women with thyroid peroxidase antibodies and a history of miscarriage or inferti...

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The autoimmune regulator protein (AIRE) is a critical component of thymic education which leads to immune tolerance. Its recent detection in extrathymic tissues has prompted inquiry into potential roles for this protein beyond the thymus. We have reported detecting AIRE in circulating CD34+ fibrocytes, monocyte progenitor cells that are involved in tissue reactivity and remodeling. These fibrocytes have been detected in orbital connective tissue from individuals with thyroid a...

Inability to store excess lipids in the subcutaneous adipose tissue leads to ectopic lipid deposition in several sites including the liver, skeletal muscles, intra-abdominal and pericardial depots. This, in turn, has negative consequences for degree of insulin sensitivity and the dysmetabolic state associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.Storage of fat in the adipose tissue can either lead to inappropriate cellular enlargement (hypertrophi...

In males androgens are primarily made by testicular Leydig cells and act as essential regulators of both fetal masculinization and adult reproductive function. The impact of androgens on gene transcription is largely mediated by the androgen receptor (AR), a member of the steroid hormone super-family of ligand activated transcription factors. AR is expressed widely throughout the body, including several key somatic cell-types in the testis. Although we have known for many year...

In males androgens are primarily made by testicular Leydig cells and act as essential regulators of both fetal masculinization and adult reproductive function. The impact of androgens on gene transcription is largely mediated by the androgen receptor (AR), a member of the steroid hormone super-family of ligand activated transcription factors. AR is expressed widely throughout the body, including several key somatic cell-types in the testis. Although we have known for many year...

In most mammals the onset of labour is regulated by an abrupt fall in circulating progesterone concentrations or a rise in circulating oestrogens. In humans, however, no dramatic change is observed in circulating steroid concentrations prior to labour and the mechanisms regulating the onset of labour have remained obscure. In a series of studies we have shown that placental production of the peptide hormone CRH increases exponentially across gestation peaking at the time of la...

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