Endocrine Abstracts

In human granulosa-lutein (hGL) cells, cortisol (F) is inter-converted with cortisone (E) by 11BHSD. To date two isoforms of 11BHSD have been cloned. Human granulosa cells have been shown to express 11BHSD2 mRNA during the follicular phase of the ovarian cycle, switching to 11BHSD1 mRNA expression as luteinization occurs. However, it is not known whether (1) the protein expression, and (2) the 11BHSD enzyme activities reflect this pattern of mRNA expression. Hence, the aims of...

Introduction: The prevalence of pituitary adenoma is estimated to be 17% and about half secrete a distinct hormone. Prolactin secretion is the commonest, followed by GH or adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). TSH producing pituitary adenoma is rare and occurs in less than 1% of pituitary adenomas. We report a challenging case of a 30-year-old man who presented with TSH and GH secreting pituitary macroadenoma with mass effect. Case Report: A 30-year-old ma...

Background: Primary aldosteronism (PA) accounts for a significant proportion of patients with hypertension. There has been a focus on ACTH in the pathogenesis of aldosterone secretion even with suppressed renin. With the link between psychological stress and cardiovascular disease as well as the association between anxiety and PA, there may be broader neurohormonal “stress” stimuli that modulate aldosterone production in PA patients, beyond the HPA axis. PA patients ...

Background: Primary aldosteronism (PA) accounts for a significant proportion of patients with hypertension. There has been a focus on ACTH in the pathogenesis of aldosterone secretion even with suppressed renin. With the link between psychological stress and cardiovascular disease as well as the association between anxiety and PA, there may be broader neurohormonal “stress” stimuli that modulate aldosterone production in PA patients, beyond the HPA axis. PA patients ...

Introduction: Subclinical Cushing’s syndrome (SCS) occurs in up to 12% of patients with incidentally found adrenal masses. Optimal management remains controversial. We report our experience of nine patients with SCS managed at our institution from 2007 to 2016.Methods: All patients were referred for adrenal incidentalomas (AI) and had no discriminatory clinical features of Cushing’s syndrome. SCS was defined using cortisol levels > 138 nmol...

Introduction: We present a rare case of squamous cell carcinoma of the sphenoid sinus presenting as a sellar mass and panhypopituitarism.Case presentation: A 60-year-old Chinese male with schizophrenia and a 20 pack year smoking history, was admitted to our hospital with headache and diplopia without visual field loss. Brain imaging with computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a 2.9 cm sellar mass based in the sphenoid sinu...

Objective: We longitudinally assessed the overall and age- and sex-specific incidence rates and relative risks of newly diagnosed diabetes mellitus in patients surviving the first-attack acute pancreatitis (AP) as compared to matched controls.Methods: Study cohort included 2966 AP patients and 11 864 non-AP controls individually matched on age, sex and date of index admission, with an AP/non-AP ratio of 1:4. Incidence rate was estimated under Poisson ass...

Objective: Aldosterone production can be regulated by adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) which normally controls cortisol secretion. Some cases of aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) display features which may suggest increased sensitivity to the stimulatory effects of ACTH. The aim of this study was to investigate if there is any relationship between the hypothalamic--pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis activity and the characteristics of APAs.Methods:...

Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) act as precursors for prostaglandin (PG) synthesis. PGs both inhibit and stimulate ovarian steroidogenesis. We have therefore examined the hypothesis that high n-3 PUFA diets affect ovarian steroid synthesis through modulating prostaglandin synthesis.Welsh mountain ewes were individually fed a control diet or a diet containing linseed (high in n-3 PUFA) for 6 weeks. To assess the impact of the diet during differe...

Increased dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been reported to be associated with a decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease. Increased dietary intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been reported to be associated with a decreased incidence of cardiovascular disease. We have recently reported that ovarian steroid synthesis in ewes fed a diet high in n-3 PUFAs is significantly compromised1. Hence in this study we have assessed th...