Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Using a deuterated tracer (D4-cortisol) to measure cortisol regeneration from cortisone in vivo we have quantified tissue-specific 11βHSD1 activity in health and disease, and acute regulation eg by insulin. These studies relied on tracer enrichment in the total plasma cortisol pool, assuming rapid equilibration between free and protein-bound pools. Slower equilibration would result in underestimation of enzyme activity, and has implications for the co...

Tissue cortisol levels are amplified by the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1). In mice, transgenic overexpression of 11β-HSD1 causes the metabolic syndrome, consequently 11β-HSD1 inhibitors are a promising therapeutic target. However, determining the importance of 11β-HSD1 in humans has proved more complicated, in part due to difficulty quantifying in vivo activity. We hypothesized that cortisol regeneration by 11β-H...

Background: Aldosterone levels in plasma are reported to be associated with risk of hypertension. Aldosterone secretion from the zona glomerulosa is regulated acutely by the renin/angiotensin system and plasma potassium. The role of ACTH in regulation of aldosterone secretion is disputed.Aim: We have utilised a large population study of middle aged adults to test the extent to which acute aldosterone responses to ACTH are associated with cortisol respons...

Objective: To assess adherence to RCP guidelines on radioiodine (RAI) treatment (1995) and management of thyroid eye disease, and also to look at patterns of thyroid function following RAI treatment.Method: Retrospective case notes review of 78 randomly selected patients from one acute trust. An audit performa was developed, based on the RCP guidelines.Results: The audit demonstrated significant deviations from standards. Communica...