Endocrine Abstracts

Apparent Mineralocorticoid Excess (AME) resulting from liquorice ingestion is rare. Liquorice is still popular, however, and must be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with hypertension and hypokalaemia.A 62 year-old woman presented with refractory hypertension (blood pressure 200/118 mmHg) and hypokalaemic alkalosis (serum K 2.98 millimoles per litre; bicarbonate 30 millimoles per litre). There was no sign of Cushing's Syndr...

We present a fascinating and instructive case of unexplained suppression of thyroglobulin (Tg) levels following resection of a presumed carcinoid tumour, subsequent re-examination of which revealed it to be a solitary metastasis from a follicular thyroid carcinoma.The patient, RB is a 79-year-old woman who presented 11 years ago with a 2-week history of neck swelling. Examination revealed a 5 cm diameter nodule in the left lobe of the thyroid, confirmed ...

Hyperinsulinaemia has an important role in the aetiology of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Logical candidate genes for the development of PCOS therefore include those genes that influence β-cell insulin secretion such as ABCC8 and KCNJ11 on human chromosome 11. These two genes encode the SUR1 and kir6.2 components of the β-cell kATP channel respectively. To our knowledge, these genes have not been studied in women with PCOS previously.<p class="a...

Background: There is uncertainty regarding the selection of obese patients for metabolic procedures, how to define a successful outcome and pre-operative predictors of success. Our aim was to explore the influence of obesity on preoperative quality of life in patients awaiting bariatric surgery.Methods: Pre-operative data were accrued for morbidly obese patients (n=70) at the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) during the last ...

Background: Pre-operative predictive measures of post-metabolic surgery success would facilitate a more refined evidence-based selection of patients. This study aimed at identifying those clinical and psycho-social predictors of success (defined as weight-loss) following metabolic surgery.Methods: Pre-operative data including IWQOL-Lite questionnaire (a validated self-reported 31-item measure of physical function, self-esteem, sexual life, public distres...