Endocrine Abstracts

Radioimmunoassays are used to measure hormones and the technique is based on recognition of an antigen by antibodies largely derived from animal sources. Heterophilic antibodies have been reported to cause interference in 0.05–0.5% of immunoassays. We present a case in which the presence of heterophilic antibodies led to unnecessary interventions.A 32 year old gentleman was referred to our centre to localise neuroendocrine tumour. He presented with ...

IntroductionThe Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is a validated simple method of measuring subjective daytime sleepiness in a variety of situations whereby patients are asked to score the probability of dozing as no chance, slight, moderate or high chance. An ESS>10 is regarded as excessive daytime sleepiness which may be a result of sleep apnoea or sleep disorders. The British Thoracic Society advise that patients who have ESS>10 or sleepiness in ...

DIPNECH is pre-invasive precursor to carcinoid tumors and tmorlets, most of which present with pulmonary symptoms. We present a case of ectopic cyclical ACTH producing DIPNECH.33-year lady presented with a short history of weight gain, abdominal striae, proximal myopathy and secondary amenorrhoea. She reported a previous episode with similar symptoms one year earlier which resolved spontaneously after a few weeks. Random cortisol 4000 nmol/l, ACTH 98 ng/...

BACKGROUND: Patients with dyspepsia are treated with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) which reduce acid secretion and therefore give rise to a secondary hypergastrinaemia. Gastrinomas are a rare cause of dyspepsia diagnosed on the basis of a raised fasting gastrin measurement. Therefore, when screening patients with dyspepsia for a gastrinoma, PPIs must be withdrawn for 2 weeks, prior to the measurement of fasting gastrin levels to ensure that fasting gastrin levels are back to b...

A 55 year old lady presented to our hospital in 1991 with a year's history of diarrhoea, weight loss and abdominal pain. On examination, she had 5cm hepatomegaly. Serum gastrin was elevated (148 pmol per litre NR < 40), as was GAWK (276 pmol per litre NR < 150). Basal gastric acid secretion was increased (39 mmol per hour NR < 5). CT abdomen showed multiple hepatic metastases, confirmed to be neuroendocrine in origin on biopsy. There were no clinical or biochemical fe...

Kisspeptin-54 is a neuropeptide encoded by the Kiss-1 gene with an important role in the regulation of reproduction and puberty. Acute peripheral or intra-hypothalamic administration of kisspeptin-54 potently stimulates the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis via hypothalamic gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons. However, the effects of chronic continuous kisspeptin administration are poorly characterised. Our studies investigated the effects of chronic, continu...

The kisspeptins are KiSS-1 gene-derived peptides which signal through the G protein coupled receptor 54 (GPR54), and have recently been shown to be critical regulators of reproduction. Acute intracerebroventricular (ICV) or peripheral administration of kisspeptin to rodents and primates, and peripheral administration to humans, stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary gonadal (HPG) axis. This effect is thought to be mediated via the hypothalamic gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (G...

Alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH) is an agonist at the melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3-R) and MC4-R and stimulates corticosterone release from rat and human adrenal cells. Patients with Cushing's syndrome have elevated levels of serum alpha-MSH. Agouti related protein (AgRP) is an endogenous antagonist at the MC3-R and MC4-R and is expressed in the rat adrenal cortex. AgRP antagonises alpha-MSH-induced corticosterone release from rat and bovine adrenal cells. This ...