Endocrine Abstracts

Clinical biochemistry is a branch of laboratory medicine in which chemical and biochemical methods are used to detect changes in the composition of body fluids (e.g. blood) as a result of disease. The results of biochemical tests may be of use in screening for disease, diagnosis, monitoring treatment and assessing prognosis. This presentation will focus on the role of the clinical biochemist, who works as part of a team including chemical pathologists and biomedical scientists...

A 55-year-old female presented to her General Practitioner with hirsutism, male pattern baldness, weight gain and a deepening of voice. Her past medical history included well controlled type 2 diabetes on gliclazide, and hysterectomy for menorrhagia. She had an elevated serum testosterone after solvent extraction (18 nmol/l) and free androgen index (17.6). The patient was referred for further investigation.17-Hydroxyprogesterone and dehydroepiandrosteron...