Endocrine Abstracts

Full replacement dose of thyroxine should not be administered initially to elderly hypothyroid patients, those with a history of coronary artery disease and to patients with long-standing severe hypothyroidism. Here, we present a 27-year-old lady with profound longstanding hypothyroidism, who developed cardiac failure on a small dose of thyroxine.She presented to her General Practitioner with longstanding symptoms of lethargy, poor concentration, constip...

There is a relative lack of data regarding the timing and in particular the severity of hypothyroidism post Radioiodine (RI). We retrospectively examined the timing and severity of hypothyroidism following RI in 213 patients, in relation to ‘target’ and actual follow up appointments, and the introduction of a nurse-led follow-up clinic. Hypothyroidism was defined as persistent elevation of TSH – mild (TSH 6.1–10 mU/l), moderate (TSH 10.1–50 mU/l) and s...

In cases of ret-oncogene positive Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma (MTC), national guidelines advocate screening of 1st degree relatives with the Pentagastrin Stimulation Test (PST) to identify those with C-cell hyperplasia, and therefore at risk of MTC. Prophylactic thyroidectomy is recommended in those with positive tests. We highlight the difficulties of quantifying risk in the relatives of a ret-negative patient.A 30 year-old man presented with a tender n...

The peptide hormone ACTH stimulates lipolysis and suppresses leptin production in adipocytes via the G-protein coupled seven transmembrane receptor, MC2-R. We have shown previously that PPARγ2 is the primary factor responsible for transactivation of the already identified murine MC2-R promoter in the differentiating 3T3-L1 adipocyte cell line. In this study we show that despite the activity of this promoter being transient during differentiation, MC2-R mRNA remains elevat...

Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate is a steroid product of the adrenal gland, which circulates in micromolar concentrations, but whose function is unclear. Epidemiological studies have suggested that high circulating DHEAS levels may be protective against cardiovascular disease. The present study was designed to determine whether DHEAS altered vascular cell growth using the human microvascular endothelial cell line HMEC.HMECs were grown in MCDB131 medium co...

The insulin-like growth factors together with the IGF receptors, IGFBPs and IGFBP proteases are involved in the regulation of somatic growth and cellular proliferation in vivo and in vitro. Our previous studies demonstrated that overexpression of IGFBP-2 in colon cancer cells (Caco-2) was associated with increased cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. The wild-type Caco-2 cells express and secrete IGFBP-2, IGFBP-4, IGF1R and growth hormone receptors but not IGFBP-3. Therefore,...

Introduction: The adult Turner Syndrome (TS) clinic at UCLH has collected data on over 800 women, attending for up to 20 years comprising over 8000 clinic visits. Data from this cohort forms the Turner Life Course Project. This large dataset allows analysis of pathogenesis of common chronic conditions including diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypothyroidism. There is some debate about the classification of DM associated with TS, with an over representation of up to 11-fold of type ...

Introduction: The adult Turner Syndrome (TS) clinic at UCLH has collected data on over 800 women, attending for up to 20 years comprising over 8000 clinic visits. Data from this cohort forms the Turner Life Course Project. This large dataset allows analysis of pathogenesis of common chronic conditions including diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypothyroidism. There is some debate about the classification of DM associated with TS, with an over representation of up to 11-fold of type ...

Turner syndrome (TS) affects over 15,000 females in the UK and is defined by the loss of X chromosome material. In the setting of an adult clinic we can observe adverse outcomes and determine their risk factors. For instance women with TS have an excess risk of hypertension, diabetes, fatty liver and osteoporosis. The Turner Syndrome Life Course Project at UCLH has collected data from over 750 women with TS over 20 years. Here we report the influence of weight on these outcome...

Primary pigmented nodular adrenal disease (PPNAD) is a form of bilateral adrenocortical hyperplasia characterised by small to normal sized adrenal glands containing multiple small cortical pigmented nodules. It may occur independently, but 90% of cases are a manifestation of the Carney complex. Most cases of PPNAD are diagnosed before age 30, and are the result of a germline mutation in PRKAR1A or PDE11A, leading to upregulation of cAMP signalling. It is a cause of ACTH-indepe...