Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The steroidogenesis inhibitors ketoconazole and metyrapone are frequently used for treatment of Cushing’s syndrome, but can cause side effects. LCI699 is a known 11β-hydroxylase inhibitor, but effects on other steroidogenic enzymes are unknown. We aimed to compare effects of LCI699, ketoconazole, and metyrapone in vitro.Methods: HAC-15 cells, with or without 10 nM ACTH, and three primary human adrenocortical adenoma cultu...

Introduction: Maternal thyroid hormone during early pregnancy is important for proper fetal growth and development. Thyroid hormone receptors are widely expressed in placental tissue. Interestingly, thyroid dysfunction and suboptimal placental function have both been associated with pregnancy complications including preeclampsia, premature delivery and fetal growth restriction. First, we studied the association of the maternal thyroid and placental function and second, we inve...

Background: Endogenous Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is caused by overproduction of cortisol. Current first-line screening tests for CS can produce false positive results due to medication use and stress, rely heavily on patient adherence to sampling instructions, and only measure short-term cortisol exposure which limits sensitivity. In general multiple tests are required to establish a diagnosis. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) offer a minimally invasive way to measure lon...

Background: Childhood obesity is an increasing health problem, affecting over 40 million children aged 0–5 years worldwide. It is associated with premature onset of diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Pathologically elevated cortisol is known to induce obesity and cardio-metabolic complications, suggesting cortisol is implicated in the onset of obesity. Indeed, recent pilot-studies showed an increase in hair cortisol concentrations in obese adults and adoles...