Endocrine Abstracts

Context: Exogenous oestrogen administration causes prolactinoma formation in rats and there are anecdotal reports of oestrogen treatment and prolactinoma formation in gender reassignment males to females. It remains unclear whether chronic exposure to high dose oestrogen in women is linked with prolactinoma development.Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of high dose subcutaneous estrogen on prolactin and gonadotrophin levels of 101 wo...

Introduction: Recent trials suggest that using ergot-derived dopamine agonists such as cabergoline in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease is associated with an increased risk of valvular heart disease. However, the dose of cabergoline used to treat hyperprolactinaemia is considerably less than that used in Parkinson’s disease.Study design: A cross-sectional study; forty four patients, who received cabergoline for at least 6 months, underwent t...

Context: We have previously demonstrated that, in cranially irradiated patients with normal peak GH responses to both the insulin tolerance test (ITT) and the growth hormone-releasing hormone plus arginine stimulation test (GHRH+AST), somatotroph reserve can be substantially reduced, while individual and overall spontaneous GH secretion remain entirely normal due presumably to a compensatory increase in hypothalamic stimulatory input within a partially damaged hypothalamic pit...

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is common with a suggested prevalence of 6–7% in Caucasian women of reproductive age. The presence of cardiovascular risk factors of obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia may predispose women with PCOS to coronary heart disease, although this remains controversial. This study aimed to contrast and compare the changes in lipid profile and hs-CRP following treatment with metformin, orlistat and pioglitazone in women with ...

Insulin resistance is common in women with PCOS. Insulin and IGF-1 affect glucose uptake and metabolism via insulin receptor substrate (IRS-1) and the phosphotidyl inositol-3-kinase (PI3K) pathway. Impaired glucose metabolism has been observed in granulosa-lutein cells from anovulatory (but not ovulatory) women with PCO (Rice et al. 2005). The aim of this study was to analyse IRS-1 protein expression in human preantral follicles in samples of normal and PCO. Immunohisto...

Preantral follicle development in polycystic ovaries (PCO) is characterised by an increased proportion of early growing follicles. We have previously shown that IGF-1 stimulates initiation of follicle growth in normal and PCO (Endocrine Abstracts 2004 7 P172). Here we have extended these studies, specifically to examine whether the ovulatory status of the patients from whom tissue is obtained influences the response to IGF-1. Small ovarian biopsies were obtained (with ethical ...

The recent recommendations from the joint ESHRE/ASRM expert panel regarding the definition of PCOS (the so-called Rotterdam Criteria) have given rise to considerable controversy, particularly over the inclusion of anovulatory women with polycystic ovaries (PCO) but without evidence of androgen excess. We reviewed the results of a large series of anovulatory women with PCO who have been treated with low-dose FSH at our centre with the aim of investigating the impact of serum te...

Introduction Carcinoid heart disease most frequently involves the tricuspid or, more rarely, the pulmonary valve and presents with right heart failure as 5-HT is metabolized by the lung. Left-sided valve involvement is quite rare. We describe our experience of 3 patients presenting with heart failure secondary to carcinoid heart disease affecting all four cardiac valves. There are only four previous isolated case reports in the literature. Methods All th...

Background: Vitamin D deficiency has become the most common nutritional deficiency throughout the world. 67–85% of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) patients have low serum levels of Vitamin D. Studies have reported conflicting data as to whether or not Vitamin D may play a role in human reproduction. The objective of this prospective cohort study was to investigate what effect vitamin D had on parameters within an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) cycle in a populatio...

Background: Endocrine Disrupting Agents (EDAs) are external substances that have the potential to interfere with the natural endocrine pathways such as the reproductive axis. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine condition resulting in, hyperinsulinaemia, hyperandrogenaemia and subfertility. This study was conducted to see whether there was any association between EDAs and PCOS.Methods: Blood samples were collected from 59 women (29 PCOS...