Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: There is a rare but well documented association between thymic hyperplasia and Graves’ disease particularly in young patients. It is important to recognise this as patients presenting with an anterior mediastinal mass will often undergo extensive investigations to exclude an underlying lymphoproliferative disorder.Case study: A 19-year-old female with symptomatic Graves’ thyrotoxicosis (TSH <0.01 mU/l; FT4 46.8 pmol...

Introduction: Radioactive iodine (RAI) is a commonly used treatment modality in Graves’ hyperthyroidism. Patient choice is a major factor in advising radioiodine but there are few data on patient satisfaction following treatment.Method: QuestionnaireAn anonymised questionnaire was distributed to 100 individuals on the thyroid register with RAI treated Graves’ hyperthyroidism. The survey included questions relating to side...

Background: Hypertension (HT) is common in adults with Turner Syndrome (TS) but less is known about HT in children with TS.Aim: To determine the frequency of HT in girls with TS in West of Scotland and to assess its association with clinical characteristics. Patients and methods Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 126 girls with TS in the West of Scotland, with at least 2 clinic blood pressure (BP) measurements in the preceding 12 months. HT was de...

11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) is an NADPH-dependant oxo-reductase located in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) lumen of skeletal muscle. It generates active glucocorticoids to regulate permissive and adaptive metabolism. Hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PD) interacts with 11β-HSD1 to generate an appropriate NADPH/NADP+ ratio to support activity. H6PD depletion impairs SR NADPH generation triggering 11β-HSD1 to assume glucocorticoid ina...

Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in pregnant women and associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including pre-eclampsia. Active vitamin-D (1,25(OH)2D3) exerts important non-classical immune-regulatory effects, and the maternal placenta (decidua) appears a key target. Uterine natural killer cells (uNKs) are the most prominent decidual immune cell during early pregnancy. Given their critical role in fetal implantation and placentation, we hypothesised uNKs are a local source...

Reduced renal synthesis of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) from 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) in end stage renal disease (ESRD) results in low serum 1,25(OH)2D. This appears to be due to reduced renal cell function and elevated serum fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). Treatment strategies have therefore focussed on 1,25(OH)2D or its synthetic analogues, alfacalcidol or paricalcitol. However this overlooks 25-hydroxyv...

11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) is an NADPH-dependant oxo-reductase located in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) lumen of skeletal muscle. It generates active glucocorticoids to regulate permissive and adaptive metabolism. Hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (H6PD) interacts with 11β-HSD1 to generate an appropriate NADPH/NADP+ ratio to support activity. H6PD depletion impairs SR NADPH generation triggering 11β-HSD1 to assume glucocorticoid ina...

Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in pregnant women and associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including pre-eclampsia. Active vitamin-D (1,25(OH)2D3) exerts important non-classical immune-regulatory effects, and the maternal placenta (decidua) appears a key target. Uterine natural killer cells (uNKs) are the most prominent decidual immune cell during early pregnancy. Given their critical role in fetal implantation and placentation, we hypothesised uNKs are a local source...

Reduced renal synthesis of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)2D) from 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) in end stage renal disease (ESRD) results in low serum 1,25(OH)2D. This appears to be due to reduced renal cell function and elevated serum fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23). Treatment strategies have therefore focussed on 1,25(OH)2D or its synthetic analogues, alfacalcidol or paricalcitol. However this overlooks 25-hydroxyv...

Background: It is widely believed that increased circulatory concentrations of long-chain saturated fatty acids (LC-SFA) significantly contribute to the death and dysfunction of pancreatic β-cells in the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). The mechanism by which LC-SFA cross the β-cell plasma membrane has not been fully established. This work aims to characterise the mechanism underpinning this uptake. Ultimately, regulation of LC-SFA entry may maintain β-cell...