Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Graves’ disease is an autoimmune disorder which may lead to thyroid overactivity and eye disease. Oestrogen and progesterone are thought to be immunomodulatory and have been postulated to play an important role in the difference in prevalence of autoimmune disorders between men and women. Autoimmune disorders, including autoimmune thyroid disease, are often quiescent during pregnancy with an increased prevalence postpartum. The increase in immune mediated th...

We are reporting a rare case of ectopic ACTH secreting tumour causing cyclical Cushing’s syndrome. A 63-year-old lady presented in March 2013 with tiredness and bilateral leg swelling and weakness associated with easy bruising. She was admitted to local hospital in April 2013 with worsening proximal myopathy and peripheral oedema. Her midnight cortisol was elevated at 1710 nmol/l. ACTH 610 mU/l, prolactin 476 mU/l, GH 0.21 IU/l, TSH 0.73 mU/l, free T4 of 11.0 p...

A 53-year-old Asian supermarket produce supervisor was noted at work to have slurred speech, sweating, and to feel lightheaded. Paramedics were called and on arrival his capillary blood glucose (CBG) was 1.7 mmol/l. This rose to 2.7 mmol/l after he was given glucose gel followed by complex carbohydrate. He remained lightheaded so was taken to hospital. CBG on admission was 2.0 mmol/l, so samples were taken for plasma glucose, insulin, C-peptide and sulphonylurea screen. Plasma...

A 25-year-old pregnant lady presented to the accident and emergency department at 16 weeks gestation with intractable vomiting, weight loss and lethargy. She reported a 2 months history of hyperemesis gravidarum managed in the community prior to admission.She had no past medical history and her only medication was of a Polish antenatal vitamin containing 400 IU of Vitamin D (D2). Her blood biochemistry revealed a markedly raised corrected calcium at 3.57...

Background: IVF is an effective treatment for infertility, however it may be complicated by the potentially life-threatening ‘ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome’ (OHSS). OHSS is an iatrogenic condition, resultant on the mode of triggering oocyte maturation. Kisspeptin safely triggers oocyte maturation in women at high risk of OHSS, but has yet to be compared with current triggers of oocyte maturation (hCG or GnRH agonist).Meth...

Background: IVF is an effective treatment for infertility, however it may be complicated by the potentially life-threatening ‘ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome’ (OHSS). OHSS is an iatrogenic condition, resultant on the mode of triggering oocyte maturation. Kisspeptin safely triggers oocyte maturation in women at high risk of OHSS, but has yet to be compared with current triggers of oocyte maturation (hCG or GnRH agonist).Meth...

Background: Kisspeptin is an endogenous neuropeptide that regulates GnRH release from the hypothalamus. Kisspeptin-54 has been shown to effectively trigger oocyte maturation during in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment, but with markedly reduced rates of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS). The kisspeptin receptor agonist, MVT-602, has a longer half-life than native kisspeptin-54 (1.5–2.2 h vs. 0.5 h) and has potential for development as a novel trigger of oocyte ma...

Background: Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) and Antral Follicle Count (AFC) are both principally used as markers of ovarian reserve and available in all UK hospitals. The utility of these markers in the binary diagnosis of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) by published criteria, such as Rotterdam, has been previously reported. We evaluated their utility in the evaluation of oligo/amenorrhoea in healthy young non-obese women.Methods: Women with both ov...

Background: Kisspeptin stimulates gonadotropin secretion indirectly by stimulation of hypothalamic GnRH neurons. Kisspeptin and kisspeptin receptor, a G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR), are also expressed in the human ovary, but their direct actions on ovary, if any, are unclear.Objectives: To examine the direct actions of kisspeptin on granulosa lutein cells (GL cells) and the role of kisspeptin in steroidogenesis.Materials and me...

Introduction: Macroprolactin is a physiologically inactive form of prolactin, usually composed of a prolactin monomer and an IgG or anti-prolactin antibody molecule. Whilst clinically non-reactive, it interferes with immunological assays used for prolactin detection. It is identified by polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation, and levels of macroprolactin are generally believed to remain stable over time.Case: We present the case of a 36-year-old gentlem...