Endocrine Abstracts

With the right balance of daily medication, individuals with adrenal insufficiency can expect to have a normal life span and to lead busy and rewarding lives. Despite this, research finds that people with adrenal insufficiency often feel below par compared to healthy individuals.(1)(2) One recent study found that the rate of hospital admission for adrenal crisis is almost three times higher for women with autoimmune adrenalitis than it is for patients with secondary adrenal in...

Patients with chronic adrenal insufficiency (Addison’s) have mildly but significantly increased mortality from cardiovascular, malignant, and infectious diseases, predominantly pneumonia (Bergthorsdottir et al. 2006). Death from adrenal crisis is rare and largely preventable, but life-threatening adrenal crisis is a regular event in treated Addison’s with a previously reported annual incidence of 8% in the UK.We analysed the frequency of...

Primary adrenal insufficiency is a relatively rare endocrine condition requiring life-long glucocorticoid and mineralcorticoid replacement therapy. Unlike other endocrine conditions - such as diabetes - complications associated with early mortality are unusual and well-medicated patients can expect to have a normal life span. Nevertheless, patients typically report a variety of symptoms which reduce their quality of life.Data from an international survey...

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) is an important signal for mammary gland development and epithelial cell survival. Following lactation, the mammary gland undergoes involution through extensive epithelial cell apoptosis and thus, the IGF-I survival signal must be inhibited. IGF actions are regulated by association with high affinity binding proteins (IGFBPs) and the aim of this study was to investigate the expression of IGFBPs during mouse mammary gland development to determ...

Relaxin-3 (INSL-7) is a recently discovered member of the insulin superfamily, a group of structurally related hormones whose precursors have a domain arrangement similar to that of pro-insulin. Relaxin-3 mRNA is expressed in the nucleus incertus of the brainstem which has projections to the hypothalamus, an area important in appetite regulation. Relaxin-3 binds with high affinity to the recently discovered previously orphan G-protein-coupled receptor, GPCR135, which is expres...