Endocrine Abstracts

Orexin-A (OR-A) and orexin-B (OR-B) play an important role in the regulation of energy balance and the control of sleep-wake cycle. They act via G-protein coupled receptors, namely orexin receptor-1 (OX1R) and orexin receptor-2 (OX2R). OX2R has equal affinity for both OR-A and OR-B, whilst OX1R has a 10-fold greater affinity for OR-A. Orexin-mediated functions have been extensively explored, however, the intracellular signalling pathways remain poorly understood. Using HEK-293...

Obesity is linked to the development of insulin resistance, diabetes and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome. Adipose tissue-derived proteins so termed ‘adipokines’ have been implicated in cardiovascular disease and the metabolic syndrome although the molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. Adiponectin, unlike other adipokines, has been shown to have anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic, and insulin-sensitising effects. Import...

Background: Clinical manifestations of hyperthyroidism resemble those of hyperadrenergic state. Previous studies of linear analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) revealed cardiac autonomic dysfunctions in hyperthyroidism. In recent years, increasing attention is being directed to the nonlinear analysis of HRV to gain insight into neural modulation of heart rate dynamics. Based on the chaos and fractal theory, an attractor in phase space can characterize the dynamics of a cha...

The adrenal gland is implicated in energy homeostasis, and dysfunction of this gland contributes to a variety of metabolic disorders including the development of hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis, and obesity. Recently, adipokines have been implicated in adrenal function. Adiponectin, an adipokine, with insulin sensitising and anti-inflammatory properties, exerts its effects by activating two distinct seven transmembrane domain receptors, adiponectin-R1 (adipoR1) and -R2 (a...

Aim: Antithyroid drugs (ATD) methimazole and propylthiouracil (PTU) are the drugs of choice for treatment of hyperthyroidism. Agranulocytosisis, the most severe side effect of these medications, occurs in 0.2–0.5% of patients. ATDs are used also in patients with amiodarone-induced thyrotoxicosis (AIT). Our objective was to evaluate the risk for agranulocytosis, associated with ATDs, in patients with AIT, and to compare the risk with the risk of ATD-associated agranulocyto...

We report a 36 year old woman of African origin with a background of HIV and previous AIDS defining pulmonary tuberculosis. The patient has been well on highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) since May 2000. She presented in March 2001 with a four weeks history of fatigue, weight loss, palpitations, polyuria and weakness. Her mother had type 2 diabetes. There is no family history of thyroid disease. Examination showed a thyrotoxic state, a smooth diffuse goitre and prox...

Introduction: Hybrid closed-loop system (HCS) in Type 1 diabetes (T1D) management uses an automated algorithm to adjust basal insulin and administer correction doses to maintain glucose homeostasis. We have more children with HbA1c <58 mmol/mol. We aim to investigate if HCS contributed to this improvement.Methods: We identified TID children who started on HCS in our hospital from the year 2019–2023. Our HCS are ...

Background: Styrene and ethylbenzene (S/EB), the monomers found in polystyrene (PS) and polyethylene (PE), are known to continuously leach into the environment and food products. The prevalent use of hand sanitizers containing S/EB during the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened concerns about the health implications of S/EB exposure. Notably, the impact of S/EB exposure on the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its interaction with genetic factors in the general populati...

Background: Patients with acromegaly have an increased risk of vertebral fractures, yet normal or elevated bone mineral density (BMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). This suggests that DXA may not be a reliable tool for assessing BMD in acromegalic patients. Multiple studies have suggested that patients with acromegaly have compromised trabecular bone but not cortical bone. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) represents a three-dimensional technique for quantifyi...

Aims: An increased risk of mortality in patients with uncontrolled acromegaly has been reported in several studies. We aimed to assess the impact of co-morbidities on the survival of patients with acromegaly after long-term treatment and follow-up.Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed for 285 patients with active acromegaly who were admitted to the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan between 1978 and 2012.Results: Of the...