Endocrine Abstracts

7-Oxysterols modulate lipid transport and promote oxidative stress and apoptosis in the vascular wall. 7-Ketocholesterol (7KC) and 7β-hydroxycholesterol (7βOHC) are inter-converted by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1 (11βHSD1), better known for metabolising glucocorticoids. Pharmacological inhibition of 11βHSD1 protects against atherosclerosis and these beneficial effects may be mediated through changes in glucocorticoids or oxysterols. To establish ...

Case history: A 38-year-old woman presented with blepharospasm, cramping of the hands, and paraesthesia primarily affecting the face and hands. Symptoms had been present for 10 years but had been progressive over the previous 12 months. Symptoms were consistent with neuromuscular instability. Hypocalcaemia and elevated Parathyroid hormone (PTH) were confirmed. Past medical history was notable for anorexia nervosa in remission. Family history was non-contributary. Hypocalcaemia...

We present a case of a 62-year-old lady with a grade 3 well-differentiated metastatic gastric-neuroendocrine tumour complicated by symptoms of CS (weight-gain, bruising, proximal weakness) which developed over 4 weeks. She had progressive disease after exhausting all conventional anti-neoplastic therapeutic options. Screening tests revealed raised 24-h urinary free cortisol (3460 nmol/24h[<165]), post-overnight dexamethasone suppression serum cortisol (serF) 1200 nmol/l(&#...

Background: Symptoms of hyperandrogenism are common in patients with Cushing’s disease (CD), but they cannot be sufficiently explained by measured concentrations of circulating androgens. In this study we analyzed the contribution of 11-oxygenated (11o×C19) androgens to hyperandrogenemia in female patients with CD as well as the influence of treatment with steroidogenesis inhibitors osilodrostat and metyrapone on 11o×C19 and classic androgens.<p class="abste...

Objective: Quantify classic and 11-oxygenated androgens in serum and saliva and determine variations across age, sex, body mass index (BMI), menstruation and hormonal contraception use.Methods: Morning serum samples were collected from 292 healthy volunteers (125 men, 22-95 years; 167 women, 21-91 years). Morning saliva was collected from 83 healthy volunteers (51 women, 32 men). 25 individuals (12 women, 13 men) also collected a 7-timepoint diurnal sali...

Introduction: In many endocrine centres the 250μg Short Synacthen (Cosyntropin) Test (SST) is the reference standard for the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency (AI) 1, but it is time consuming, expensive, and requires hospital attendance and venepuncture. The morning physiological peak of cortisol shortly after waking is a good predictor for a negative SST; however, a morning serum cortisol requires venepuncture. Serum cortisol and salivary cortisone correlate ...

Introduction: Corticosteroid Binding Globulin (CBG) binds >85% of plasma cortisol and modulates free cortisol levels. Observations in vitro show that CBG is cleaved by neutrophil elastase (NE), a mechanism proposed to reduce CBG binding affinity and increase free cortisol availability to inflamed tissues. However, detection of cleaved CBG in vivo in human plasma is controversial, and any influence of NE on CBG cleavage has not been tested in vivo...

Cortisol conversion to 20β-dihydrocortisol (20β-DHF) has been reported in many tissues and cells, including skin, muscle, thrombocytes and fibroblasts, although the enzyme responsible is poorly characterised. We have attributed 20β-DHF generation to carbonyl reductase 1 and shown increased activity of this pathway in adipose tissue in obesity in humans, horses and mice. This study addressed the hypothesis that 20β-DHF activates gl...

Cortisol conversion to 20β-dihydrocortisol (20β-DHF) has been reported in many tissues and cells, including skin, muscle, thrombocytes and fibroblasts, although the enzyme responsible is poorly characterised. We have attributed 20β-DHF generation to carbonyl reductase 1 and shown increased activity of this pathway in adipose tissue in obesity in humans, horses and mice. This study addressed the hypothesis that 20β-DHF activates gl...

Background: Endocrine systems are known to be disrupted in acute illness, and we previously demonstrated that plasma steroid concentrations correlated with severity in patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Given their similarity to some clinical hormone deficiencies, we hypothesised that ‘long-COVID’ symptoms may be related to ongoing endocrine dysfunction.Methods: Plasma steroids, precursors and metabolites were quantified by LCMS/MS in multi-c...