Endocrine Abstracts

Monitoring patients with NETs reveals a significant prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms, often unrelated directly to the tumour1. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency exemplifies a common treatable cause of gastrointestinal symptoms in NET patients undergoing therapy with somatostatin analogues. There is a paucity of data regarding this important issue which affects quality of life in NETs. We explored the value of faecal elastase (FE) as a marker of exocrine pancr...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) accounts for the largest proportion of cases of secondary hypertension worldwide. The majority of PA cases are a result of a unilateral aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA). The pathogenesis of APAs, the most curable form of hypertension, has been the focus of worldwide clinical interest, and is associated with mutations in four genes: KCNJ5, ATP1A1, ATP2B3, and CACNA1D. Investigation into these mutations may lead t...

A joint thyroid clinic (JTC) was established in February 2007 with the aim of improving the care of patients in whom an endocrine surgical opinion was required. The monthly clinic is attended by a Consultant Endocrinologist and a Consultant Endocrine Surgeon who together assess patients with thyroid, parathyroid and adrenal problems. Using retrospective case record analysis, we aimed to assess the impact of the clinic by studying the care of people referred with thyrotoxicosis...

Mutations in the leptin receptor gene (Lepr) occur spontaneously in humans and mice and are linked to early onset obesity and diabetes. Mice heterozygous for a signalling-deficient receptor (db/+) are widely used as a model of gestational diabetes that results in fetal macrosomia, but the contribution of the fetal genotype has yet to be evaluated. Eight week old wild type (wt) females (n=8) were mated to db/+ males and db/+ females (n=10) were mated to wt males i...

A 57-year-old man with a history of alcohol excess was admitted following a road traffic accident. He suffered multiple trauma with fractures to his left femur, tibia and fibula, his right pubic ramus and several ribs. In addition severe abdominal trauma necessitated nephrectomy and splenectomy. Routine biochemistry and bone profile on admission was within normal limits.He had a prolonged stay in the Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) with acute kidney injury ...

A 70-year-old female with known schizophrenia presented in hyperthyroid crisis. Examination revealed muscle wasting, tremor, sweating, low-grade fever, and sinus tachycardia. Biochemistry confirmed the diagnosis (TSH <0.1 mlU/l, thyroxine 41 pmol/l (9–25), tri-iodothyronine 25 pmol/l (3.5–6.5)). The patient was commenced on i.v. esmolol and carbimazole (40 mg) crushed into warm milk.However, lacking mental capacity, and refusing to take all...

Radioiodine is the treatment of choice for relapsed hyperthyroidism although the optimum protocol is uncertain. We assessed the outcome of therapy with 131I in relapsed hyperthyroidism using a fixed dose regimen.We retrospectively studied 449 patients (M: F 82: 367; age range 13–89 y, median 42 y) treated between 2003 and 2007 with a fixed dose of 550 MBq 131I for relapsed hyperthyroidism. Patients were classified as either Gra...

Pluripotent mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have the capacity to differentiate into osteoblasts, adipocytes and chondrocytes and are characterised by expression of CD105, CD90 and CD73. CD73 is the enzyme that dephosphorylates AMP to adenosine. The role of adenosine in MSCs is unknown and we have thus investigated whether it plays a role in the differentiation process to osteoblasts.MSCs, obtained from the bone marrow of 10 week old male rats, were expande...

Back ground: Pituitary adenomas are the most common cause of a mass in the sella, accounting for up to 10–15% of intracranial neoplasm’s1. However, when dealing with abnormal intrasellar masses, a number of different etiologies are possible: germ cell tumour, metastatic tumours, granulomatous, and inflammatory processes2. We report an unusual case of primary pituitary lymphoma diagnosed on biopsy presenting as panhypopituitarism and Diabetes Ins...

Pituitary surgery frequently leads to one or more anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies but the incidence of GH deficiency is unclear. The aim of our study was to establish the incidence of GH deficiency in patients post hypophysectomy. Current NICE guidelines recommend GH replacement in severely GH deficient patients who have one or more other pituitary hormone deficiencies and diminished QoL by AGHDA.Thirty-five patients (M:F 15:20; age range 23&#150...