Endocrine Abstracts

Various psychiatric conditions have been associated with stress and alterations in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity. Yet while stress is a general phenomenon, illness is only seen in a proportion of individuals, suggesting genetic modifiers of ability to cope with stress. 11-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD1) regenerates corticosterone from inert 11-dehydrocorticosterone, amplifying the levels of glucocorticoids and is expressed in the brain. To deter...

Introduction: Results of many studies indicate that the BsmI and FokI polymorphisms in the VDR gene may influence bone tissue metabolism and may be useful in means of identifying patients at greater risk of osteoporosis.Aim of the study: To determine frequency of polymorphic variants of VDR gene (BsmI and FokI) and its relationship to phenotypic features characterizing bone status (BMD).Materials and methods: 176 randomly selected ...

Introduction: It was found that vitamin D could have a direct effect of on adipocyte differentiation and metabolism and might be involved in glucose regulation of insulin secretion, which may be speculated from finding of a nuclear localization of 1,25-(OH)2D3 in the pancreatic islets. In recent years several polymorphisms in VDR gene, which are potent to alter the activity of VDR protein, have been described. BsmI and FokI polymorphisms were described in...

Free radicals are continuously produced during normal metabolism. They play important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, carcinogenesis, degenerative processes of the brain and skin, and some diseases connected with aging. Among several natural antioxidants, estrogens are important free-radical scavengers due to the hydroxyphenolic structure of their molecules Some authors have suggested that estrogens may also influence the activity of the cellular antioxidative enz...

Osteoporosis has a strong genetic component and is a common side-effect in patients with long-term glucocorticoid (GC) treatment. Vitamin D plays an important role in bone metabolism, and polymorphisms in its receptor (VDR) gene have been implicated in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. On the other hand, variability in the sensitivity to GCs, due to polymorphic variants of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene was observed in patients treated with GCs, both with regard to the ...

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) regulate adipocyte differentiation and gene expression by an interplay with other transcription factors. They are the nuclear receptor that are mostly expressed in adipocytes and some nonadipose tissues like intestinal wall, muscles, liver and macrophages. The aim of the study was to assess the possible association between Pro12Ala PPAR-gamma2 receptor gene polymorphism and satiety factors, insulin resistance and androgen exc...