Endocrine Abstracts

The establishment of pregnancy requires dynamic remodelling of the endometrium. Decidualization, a key part of this process, is characterised by differentiation of endometrial stromal fibroblasts (ESF) which secrete factors that regulate implantation and placental development. We recently discovered that ESF synthesise androgens which modulate the expression of endometrial receptivity and decidualization markers. Utilisation of the circulating androgen precursor DHEA within ta...

Background: Congenital leptin deficiency (CLD) is characterized by severe early-onset obesity due to hyperphagia and impaired satiety. The impact of obesity in obstructive sleep apnoea hypopnoea syndrome (OSAHS) was originally reported as mechanical, but recent data suggest that adipokines may influence central ventilation. We highlight that treatment with recombinant human leptin (RHL) in CLD with OSAHS improves ventilation before weight loss.Case prese...

Background: Many premature infants experience significant early growth failure in the weeks following delivery. Subsequent catch-up growth has traditionally been assumed to have occurred by early childhood. Most studies have focused on cohorts defined by birth weight, for example, <1500 g resulting in disproportionate numbers of small for gestational age (SGA) infants as opposed to those small solely as a consequence of prematurity. Few studies have examined growth compare...

The uterus is an androgen-responsive tissue and AR is expressed in cells within the endometrium and myometrium. We have demonstrated that treatment of ovariectomised mice with the potent androgen dihydrosterone (DHT) induces a uterotrophic response with changes in expression of genes involved in cell-cycle progression, Wnt signalling and an expansion of the glandular epithelium. Selective androgen receptors modulators (SARMs) are AR ligands in development as potential therapeu...

The Competency Framework for Adult Endocrine Nursing was launched at the Society for Endocrinology (SfE) BES conference in March 2013 and was made available to Endocrine nurses and Endocrine centres in the UK. It was also made accessible via the SfE website. Questionnaires were sent out 6 months later to audit its use.Results: 80.4% of nurse respondents had heard of the document and 69.6% had read it. 100% of those who had read it found it easy to use an...

The uterus is an androgen-responsive organ; androgen receptors (AR) are expressed in human endometrial stromal fibroblasts and can regulate proliferation and survival of this cell type. Although chronic androgen exposure results in atrophy of human endometrium, previous studies have suggested that it may have trophic effects in the rodent uterus. We hypothesised that androgens may have different impacts on endometrial function in the presence or absence of oestrogens. In the c...

Background: Limited evidence exists regarding the effect of antenatal prednisolone (ANP) on neonatal adrenal function. Our regional neonatal unit screens these babies by measuring three random serum cortisol levels 8 h apart on day 3 of life. Adrenal function is considered adequate if two cortisol levels are >100 nmol/l. Those with inadequate random cortisol levels undergo a low-dose Synacthen test (LDST). Our survey of UK tertiary Paediatric Endocrinology centres revealed...

Cushing’s syndrome is a rare disease with an incidence of 0.72–2.4/million per year. Approximately 14% of patients are over 60 years of age but <1% are over 80 years of age. In a 2-month period, we diagnosed three females over 80 years of age as having Cushing’s syndrome. None of them had a typical cushingoid appearance.Patient 1, 80 years of age. Presentation: coincidental finding of bilateral adrenal hypertrophy on CT scanning as par...

High IGF2 has been associated with longitudinal weight loss. We wished to study associations of genes coding for IGF2 and for binding proteins that have preferential IGF2 affinity (IGFBP2, IGFBP5 and IGFBP6) in 991 Caucasian subjects from Salford with type 2 diabetes.Fifteen IGF2, four IGFBP2, eight IGFBP5 and one IGFBP6 SNPs were successfully genotyped. Longitudinal BMI data for the years 2002 to 2009 was obtained fro...

Background: Gonadal failure is a well-recognized long-term complication of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Identifying key risk factors is helpful in planning and counselling for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and in targeting future research.Objectives: To determine the prevalence and risk factors for primary gonadal failure (PGF) in childhood ALL treated with BMT in a single centre.<p class=...