Endocrine Abstracts

The morphology of individual ovine placentomes is known to be influenced by several factors including; hypoxia (Gardner et.al, 2002, Placenta 23:459-466), heat stress (Bell et.al, 1987, J.Dev.Phys. 9:17-29) and the fetal and maternal nutrition (McCrabb et.al, 1991, B.J.Nutrition 65:157-168). These conditions are associated with elevated fetal plasma cortisol concentrations. However, the direct effects of fetal cortisol on placental morphology remain unknown. Hence, this study ...

In ovine placenta, binucleate cells (BNCs) are formed from trophectodermal uninucleate cells and produce placental lactogen (PL) and pregnancy associated glycoproteins (PAGs). BNC numbers cells are stable throughout most of pregnancy, yet fall abruptly just before term (Wooding et al., 1994), at a time when endogenous fetal cortisol levels are rising. This study looked at the effect of abolishing the normal prepartum cortisol rise by fetal adrenalectomy on the BNC population i...

Exposure to soy isoflavones (ISO), abundant in soy protein infant formula, during early postnatal life has benefits to bone health in female mice. Moreover, exposure during the first 10 or 21 days of life has been shown to interfere with structural development of female reproductive organs and results in heavier body weight. The study objective was to compare if shorter exposure to ISO, during the first 5 vs 10 days of life, results in lesser adverse effects on ovarian and ute...

The possibility of optimal testosterone replacement is hotly debated. Conventional testosterone ester injections give widely fluctuating testosterone levels and may be painful. Testosterone patches currently available in the UK frequently cause intolerable skin irritation and are conspicuously large. The only safe oral preparation testosterone undecanoate rarely provides sustained sufficient circulating testosterone concentrations. Testosterone pellets have been used since sho...