Endocrine Abstracts

Endometriosis is a chronic incurable hormone dependent condition characterized by growth of endometrial tissue in sites outside the uterus: 30–40% of women with endometriosis have sub/infertility however the underlying cause is unknown. We have previously demonstrated that steroid-induced differentiation of endometrial stromal cells (hESC) (decidualisation) is associated with increased expression of metabolic genes that are thought to be essential to support the implantin...

Introduction: Short Synacthen tests (SST) are expensive, inconvenient, time consuming and subject to Synacthen availability. Any strategy reducing the need for SSTs will improve its cost effectiveness and also improve patient satisfaction. In this regard indications for SST and assay specific pre-test cortisol levels (not all SSTs are done at 0900 h) may have clinical utility.Methods: We retrospectively examined the indications for, time and place of tes...

Mice with congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to a null mutation of cyp11b1, the gene encoding the steroidogenic enzyme 11β-hydroxylase, have low glucocorticoid levels, reduced adiposity and increased liver weight. It is notable that null mice are also glucose intolerant. Here, we have investigated these phenotypes in more detail. Plasma corticosterone levels were less responsive to restraint stress and cholesterol and triglyceride levels were not significantly different i...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which affects 7% of the female population, is associated with established cardiovascular risk factors including obesity, dyslipidaemia and insulin resistance. Thrombus formation represents the final step in the atherothrombotic process and clot structure has been shown to predict the predisposition to cardiovascular events. The aim of the present work was to assess the effects of commonly used therapeutic agents on clot structure and fibrinoly...

A 50-year-old man with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus on oral hypoglycaemics was under review as a diabetic outpatient. In April 2007, he developed idiopathic thrombocytopaenic purpura which, on a background of probable diabetic nephropathy, precipitated end-stage renal failure. He was treated with oral steroids and was established on haemodialysis. To achieve better glycaemic control, he was converted to twice daily insulin. His treatment dose of prednisolone was ...

Objective: Insulin resistance (IR) has been reported in first-degree male relatives of patients with IC (FDMR). Retinol binding protein-4 (RBP4) has been shown to be increased in IR. We hypothesized that RBP4 would be: 1) increased in FDMR compared with controls and 2) correlated with features of IR.Methods: The study was approved by Leeds (West) Research Ethics Committee. We measured RBP4 in 162 healthy FDMR previously found to be more insulin resistant...

The IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR) growth/survival pathways are engaged in crosstalk with pathways induced by cell-cell interactions. Different elements of the IGF-IR signalling system also affect the phosphorylation status of molecules involved in the regulation of cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion, such as catenins. In addition, the IGF-IR has been shown to co-precipitate with cell adhesion complexes.In this study, the crosstalk between IGF signalling and ...

Igfbp5 is the most conserved of the six members of the Igfbp family, which orchestrate the actions of the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) systemically via blood and locally within tissues. Igfbp5 is upregulated in key lineages during development (e.g. muscle) and pathologies (e.g. rhabdomyosarcoma).To highlight the range and extent of Igfbp5 actions in vivo, we generated novel lines of transgenic mice t...

IGFBP-5 is the most conserved of a family of high affinity proteins that modulate IGF activity. It is upregulated in key lineages during their differentiation and development. In addition to domains associated with IGF binding, IGFBP-5 also possesses motifs that may be involved with its recently demonstrated IGF-independent actions. We have therefore examined the hypothesis that IGFBP-5 is important during development. We have generated mice overexpressing IGFBP-5 using an ear...

Introduction: This case series consist of three brothers who are aged 24, 27 and 28. The eldest brother was diagnosed with CAH at 18 days when he presented with poor weight gain, vomiting and persistent jaundice with hyponatraemia. The parents received genetic counselling for the next two pregnancies and all three children were managed with hydrocortisone and fludrocortisone maintainence therapy. They were closely monitored for their growth rates, signs of precocious puberty a...