Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is a group of autosomal recessive disorders that arise from enzyme deficiencies in biosynthetic pathways of the adrenal. The most common enzyme deficiency, 21-hydroxylase deficiency, results in cortisol deficiency, androgen excess and variable aldosterone deficiency. Current guidelines recommend a standard dose short Synacthen test (SDSST) is performed between 24 and 48 hours of life, with measurement of corti...

Background: Saliva is ideal for measuring free, biologically active hormones. Measurements of salivary androgens may be valuable in diagnosis and monitoring of adrenal disorders, however the diurnal profile and robust reference ranges in healthy children are currently undefined. We report salivary testosterone, androstenedione (A4), 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT), 11-β hydroxyandrostenedione (11β-OHA4) concentrations measured throughout the day in healthy children.<...

In humans glucocorticoid (GC) excess can promote hepatic glucose and triglyceride production contributing to obesity, fatty liver and diabetes. 11β-HSD1 activates GCs (11-DHC to corticosterone in mice), thereby increasing tissue concentrations. The liver has the highest 11β-HSD1 activity, and its inhibition has emerged as a therapeutic option. To investigate this we generated 11β-HSD1 liver-specific knockouts (HSD1LKO) and examined GC metabolism and responses to...