Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) measurements can help determine the cause of adrenal insufficiency (AI), but AI is diagnosed using peak cortisol levels following Synacthen stimulation, not ACTH levels. ACTH levels are high in primary and low in secondary and tertiary AI. Primary AI is rare in childhood. At Sheffield Children’s Hospital (SCH) ACTH is measured as part of screening for AI, paired with an early morning cortisol, and at baseline (0 minutes) as ...

The use of digital technology to improve accessibility and efficiency of services has been recognised and telemedicine has been increasing over recent years, particularly for patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes. The onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic rapidly accelerated the use of virtual consultations into everyday practice. The aim of this study was to assess feedback from paediatric diabetes patients and their parents regarding virtual consultations. The st...

Objective: To compare 3 methods of generating Ki-67% in gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NETs).Methods: Twenty-four slides were used to generate 49 images for analysis. Each image was analysed and 3 different methods were used to calculate Ki-67%.Results: The comparison of Ki-67% from counting and estimating using the diameter (shortcut method) was strongly positively correlated, whereas the Ki-67% from counting a...

A 23-year-old female with severe resistant hypertension was referred to our Hospital. Her BP on arrival was 240/140 mmHg and she was 13 weeks pregnant. Labetalol had been prescribed previously (200 mg,TDS), with little success in controlling her symptoms. The patient reported headaches, migraines and flushing for several years, especially after eating, and worse during pregnancy. The patient had pre-eclampsia in her first pregnancy.<p class="abst...

A 23-year-old female with severe resistant hypertension was referred to our Hospital. Her BP on arrival was 240/140 mmHg and she was 13 weeks pregnant. Labetalol had been prescribed previously (200 mg,TDS), with little success in controlling her symptoms. The patient reported headaches, migraines and flushing for several years, especially after eating, and worse during pregnancy. The patient had pre-eclampsia in her first pregnancy.<p class="abst...

Primary adrenal insufficiency is due to impairment of the adrenal gland with ~80% of the cases being due to autoimmune adrenalitis (Addison’s disease). Other cases of primary adrenal insufficiency might be idiopathic, caused by adrenal metastases, or due to congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Adrenal insufficiency might also be induced by infectious diseases e.g. COVID-19 and, as seen lately in an increasing number of patients, by novel medications targeting hypertension and ...

A key mechanism of persistent cell survival under testosterone suppression in advanced prostate cancer (PC) is continued Androgen Receptor (AR) activation. This results from AR mutation, overexpression, hyper-activation, and/or expression of constitutively-active AR transcript variants (AR-Vs). AR has an unusually long 3’ untranslated region (3’UTR), which performs vital regulatory roles but is remarkably understudied. Its contribution to continued AR activation unde...

Introduction: Although not directly inherited, genetics play a significant role in the chances of developing Type1 Diabetes (T1DM), yielding a risk of 2–40% depending on the first degree relative (FDR) affected. T1DM is a self-managed condition in which education and patient/carer engagement are key. We had noted cases of poor engagement and glycaemic control in our patients with a FDR with T1DM but found a paucity of literature examining this relationship.<p class="a...

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are lipophilic chemicals that chronically accumulate in the body during lifetime from fetal life. Some POPs alter the endocrine metabolism and are considered as endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Human exposure to EDCs, even at low doses, raises some serious concerns for human health because they can participate in hormone-dependent cancer initiation and progression (prostate, breast, testis). These mostly non-metabolizable molecules ar...

Prostate cancer is an androgen dependent malignancy that initially responds well to androgen ablation therapy. However treatment, castrate resistant prostate cancer eventually emerges. Even in that phase of the disease, the androgen receptor (AR) still seems to play a role. MicroRNAs are small (19–25nt) non-coding RNAs that modulate gene silencing through inhibition of translation and mRNA degradation. They are considered to be master regulators of gene expression and act...