Endocrine Abstracts

Background: The role of post-operative radiotherapy (RT) in the treatment of non-functioning pituitary adenomas (NFA) remains controversial. We compared the difference in outcome between patients receiving transsphenoidal surgery (TSS) alone and TSS plus RT in 93 patients treated for NFA between 1986 and 2005. 64 (69%) had TSS alone whilst 29 (31%) received TSS plus RT (45GY, 25Fr, 3 field). All patients were followed up by CT and then MRI scans repeated at increasing interval...

Localized transitions in chromatin structure accompany nuclear receptor binding events in mammalian cells. These remodeling processes are critical to determine the binding landscape for steroid receptors (SRs) in cancer cells. Multiple reports indicate that steroid receptors (ER, GR, AR, PR) can regulate the binding patterns for each other, particularly during cancer progression. Elucidation of the mechanisms by which these ‘chromatin opening’ processes occur is cent...

It has long been known that the AR is regulated not only by its cognate steroid hormone, but also by interactions with a constellation of co-regulatory and signaling molecules. Checkpoint kinase 2 (CHK2) is a serine/threonine protein kinase whose main function is regulating the DNA damage response (DDR) triggered by double-strand DNA breaks. The androgen receptor (AR) is a major driver of prostate cancer, even at the castration–resistant stage of the disease. Our research...

Subacute Thyroiditis (SAT) is a painful, self-limited inflammation of the thyroid gland. Guidelines recommend Non-Steroid Antiinflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) for mild cases and steroids for moderate to severe cases. Early relapses can be seen in about 9-35%. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical, laboratory, and imaging findings that may affect treatment selection and predict relapse.Materials and Methods: Forty SAT patients who applied to th...

A 45-year-old man with obesity (BMI 36 kg/m2) was admitted with a 12-hour history of headache and confusion and managed for viral meningitis. Treatment was discontinued after CSF viral PCR was negative. At presentation, he was hypoglycaemic with a capillary glucose of 1.6 mmol/l. Past medical history was not significant and there were no similar episodes previously. He denied taking insulin, other medications, illicit drugs or alcohol. Initial investigations reveale...

Introduction: Growth hormone (GH) has multiple metabolic effects in adulthood, pointing to the need of identify those patients who would benefit of GH treatment after achievement of final height.Objective: To assess GH secretion, bone mineral density (BMD) and metabolic profile in patients with childhood-onset GH deficiency (GHD) after completion of recombinant GH (rGH) therapy for linear growth.Methodology: One hundred eleven pati...

Medullary Thyroid Cancer (MTC) is sporadic in approximately 75% whilst 25% of MTC occurs as hereditary forms due to RET mutations. Prognosis is relatively good with 10-year survival rates of 65%. However, many patients develop recurrent disease and imaging is critical to localise the site of recurrence. Eighty-eight MTC patients, attending the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust were included in an analysis of overall survival. Median Follow-up duration was 7.5 years (IQR: 4.5&#1...

Fasting of Holy month of Ramadan may be beneficial for patients with Type-2 diabetes but patient education and advice is of paramount importance to offset any effect from changing of dietary habits and treatment schedule. We conducted a questionnaire study few weeks before, during Ramadan and few weeks after Ramadan 1424 H/ 2004. A cross sectional random sample of patients with diabetes attending our services was analyzed. 50 patients mean age 65 yeas (20–83), (median, ra...

Objective: Mounting evidence has shown an increased risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in association with elevated exposure to air pollution. However, limited evidence is available concerning the effect of specific air pollutant(s) on GDM incidence.Methods: We conducted this case-control study on 6717 mothers with GDM diagnosed in 2006–2013 and 6717 age- and year of delivery-matched controls to further address the risk of GDM in relation t...

Introduction: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used for treating various upper gastrointestinal disorders. A well-known side effect of PPI therapy that may cause serious differential diagnostic problems is the elevation of serum chromogranin A (CgA).Objective: We report a case with highly elevated serum CgA in a patient with bilateral adrenal adenomas that was clearly associated with PPI therapy. Suspension of PPI intake for a few days resulted i...