Endocrine Abstracts

Caloric restriction is the best known experimental procedure that extends lifespan and resistance to aging-related diseases. Part of these actions was found to be mediated by the NAD-dependent histone deacetylase Sir2/Sirt1. Resveratrol is a polyphenol found in the skin of grapes, which was identified as a Sirt1 activator and subsequently proposed as a caloric restriction mimetic. The aim of the present study was to determine how resveratrol affects the GH axis, which is centr...

Background: Rapidly progressive hirsuitism or virilization raises the suspicion of an androgen-secreting tumour. Adrenal tumours are usually ruled out by hormonal testing and imaging studies. Small virilizing ovarian tumours may not be detectable by imaging studies.Case 1: A 66 year-old woman presented with 4 year history of hirsutism and virilization. She had a history of longstanding uterine bleeding secondary to fibroids. Investigations revealed raise...

Background: Pregnancy after complete loss of hypophyseal function is rare. Complete lack of ovarian stimulation by FSH and LH results in anovulation and atrophy of the ovaries. We report a patient with panhypopituitirism who achieved pregnancy and delivery through in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer (ET).Case: A 35 year-old lady had undergone four trans-sphenoidal hypophesectomy operations, at 12, 13, 23 and 26 years of age, for recur...

Background: Maintenance of euthyroidism is particularly important during pregnancy. In the early stages of gestation, maternal thyroid hormone is required for foetal neurological development. Some authors suggest presumptively increasing the thyroxine replacement at diagnosis of pregnancy. Recent United Kingdom guidelines recommended that thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free T4 (fT4) should be measured in hypothyroid women before conception, at diagnosis of pregnancy, at...

We report the case of a 42-year-old transsexual with Di-George syndrome (DGS) presenting in adulthood with profound hypocalcaemia and personality disorder. The patient had multiple hospital admissions with episodes of deliberate self-harm and recurrent seizures. Routine investigations revealed hypocalcaemia secondary to hypoparathyroidism. The diagnosis of DGS was delayed until six years later. The clue to the underlying condition was the finding of DGS in the patient’s d...

Introduction: Pregnancy leads to extensive adaptations in the female’s body, by changing the secretion and responses to several hormones. GH is required for fetal nutrition, growth during pregnancy and for mammary development and lactation, although its central effects are not completely clarified.Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether central GH signaling regulates physiological and metabolic adaptations during pregnancy.<p class...

The hormone leptin is required for the energy balance regulation. However, leptin also controls many other biological functions. Among these actions, some authors suggest that leptin exhibits neurotrophic effects in early life and plays a key role in the development of neurocircuitries that regulate energy metabolism. However, the precise role of leptin during development is still unclear. Thus, our study had the objective to investigate the consequences of the absence of lept...

Statement of the problem: Thyroid nodules are one of the most common clinical problems encountered today. Detection of these nodules have been augmented with ultrasonography and fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). Worldwide, the use of international standards of reporting such as the American Thyroid Association (ATA) Sonographic Pattern Risk Assessment and the Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology have been proven to detect thyroid malignancies. However, ultra...

Background: A pheochromocytoma is a rare neuroendocrine tumor, originating from adrenomedullary chromaffin cells. The pre-surgical management of pheochromocytoma is classically performed with alpha-blockers. However, in some cases other pharmacological approaches can be considered.Objective: The aim of the study is to describe the clinical course of patients with pheochromocytoma prepared for surgery with calcium channel blockers (CCB).<p class="abst...

Hyperprolactinaemia is a common referral reason from primary and secondary care for contrast-enhanced pituitary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This retrospective study at University Hospitals of North Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent reviewed the records of new patients referred for pituitary MRI between 1 June 2021 and 31 May 2023 with hyperprolactinaemia as indication. 71 patients were identified. 82% of the cohort were women. Age ranged between 18-87 years; the majority were bet...