Endocrine Abstracts

A 60-year-old woman presented with 2 months of aching limbs and 2 weeks of nausea and a left sided neck mass. She was clinically euthyroid with a 5 cm non-tender left thyroid nodule. There was no cervical lymphadenopathy and the remainder of the examination was unremarkable. There was no family history of any endocrine disorder.Investigations showed serum TSH concentration 5.94 μ/l and serum free T4 concentration 12 pmol/l. Thyroid peroxi...

Background: Contrast procedures are frequently performed in diabetic patients and are the third most common cause of hospital-acquired renal failure1. Diabetic patients are at risk of Metformin associated lactic acidosis in the presence of renal failure2.Standards: RCR guidelines3 recommend:• Recent serum creatinine should be available for patients with renal disease or diabetes<p class="ab...

A 17-year-old female was referred to the adult endocrine clinic with a history of primary amenorrhoea. She was short in stature with a height below the 4th centile for her age. Her BMI was 24 kg/m2 with a weight below the 25th centile and there was delay in bone-age 2 years.She had an interesting past medical history of late-onset central nocturnal hypoventilation from the age of 8 years when she presented with apnoeic episodes and weight gain...

Introduction: SOCS2 is an important negative regulator of post-natal growth, as demonstrated by the SOCS2 null overgrowth phenotype. We have used SOCS2−/− mice, alongside chondrocytes overexpressing SOCS2, to investigate the mode of action of SOCS2 at the epiphysis. SOCS2 maybe involved in growth retardation associated with chronic inflammatory disorders, therefore we studied LPS induced growth retardation in wild type (WT) and SOCS2−/−<...

The actions of SOCS2 on GH and IGF-1 signalling in growth plate chondrocytes have yet to be reported. During chronic paediatric inflammatory diseases retarded growth is seen in association with increased inflammatory cytokine levels, which is an effect that may involve SOCS2. The primary aim of this study was to investigate STAT signalling in chondrocytes in response to GH, IGF-1 and IL-1β. We also investigated the temporal expression of SOCS2 in response to GH and IGF-1 ...

History: A 27-year-old woman with a background of HIV presented to the GUM department with sudden onset of weight gain (approximately five stones over 3 months). She had been started on kaletra (Lopinavir with Ritonavir) for her HIV, about 11 months previously, while she was on fluticasone (seretide) for her asthma. Clinically, she had a cushingoid appearance with extensive purplish striae marks over her abdomen and arms. Her Seretide was stopped and changed to ventolin- due t...

Background: Recent studies show that Infliximab (IFX), an antibody against tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα), may improve growth in children with Crohn’s disease (CD). These studies have not adequately addressed the concomitant factors such as medication, nutrition and puberty that may also improve growth.Methods: Retrospective study of 22 children (13 M) with CD, median age at start of IFX 13.2 years (7.4, 16.1) with auxology at 6 months be...

Background: Children receiving chemotherapy for ALL may be susceptible to fractures and avascular necrosis (AVN).Aim: To determine the incidence and risk factors for bone-related morbidity in children on ALL chemotherapy.Patients and methods: The medical records of all (n, 186, male: 122) children presenting with ALL between 1997 and 2007 and treated with ALL97/01or UKALL 2003 at one centre were studied. Bone morbidity was d...

Background: Growth retardation and pubertal delay is frequently encountered in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). There are currently no published data on sitting height (SH), subischial leg length (SILL)and growth rates in relation to pubertal status in these children.Objective: To assess skeletal disproportion and growth rates in children with IBD.Methods: Retrospective study of 40 children (32M):35 Crohn’s dise...

Background: Recent studies show that infliximab (IFX), an antibody against tumour necrosis factorα (TNFα), may improve growth in children with Crohn’s disease (CD). These studies have not adequately addressed the concomitant factors such as medication, nutrition and puberty that may also improve growth.Methods: Retrospective study of 22 children (13M) with CD, median age at start of IFX 13.2 years (7.4, 16.1) with auxology at 6 months befo...