Endocrine Abstracts

K Kangawa, National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Suita, Osaka, Japan AbstractDr Kangawahas discovered novel bioactive peptides by establishing his original method for exploring trace amounts of peptides in order to elucidate the mechanisms of intercellular communication. In the course of these studies, he discovered and determined the chemical structures of three natriuretic peptides: ANP (1984), BNP ...

The need for new therapeutic options in diabetes has become increasingly apparent. Until recently transplantation of isolated islets has had limited success. The Edmonton Protocol has described how many of the problems can be overcome, but has highlighted the need to develop methods of expanding islets cells in culture to provide sufficient tissue to meet the potentially huge demand for this treatment. We have focused on three approaches: 1. deriving replicating human Beta cel...

Professor K ChatterjeeKrishna Chatterjee is Professor of Endocrinology at the University of Cambridge, and a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator. His research interests in genetic and molecular endocrinology include Disorders of Thyroid Hormone Action. He co-directs a national referral laboratory for unusual and discordant thyroid function tests in Cambridge....

Presentation: A 66 year old woman, was admitted as an emergency with one week history of profound weakness ('had to crawl to the fridge to get milk for tea'), lethargy, productive cough and hypokalaemia (GP results: Na 141, K 1.5, bicarbonate 47 (23-28), Creatinine 54 (μmol/l). Her medication: Amlodipine 5 mg od, Bendrofluazide 2.5 mg od, Aspirin 75 mg.PMH: hypertension, moderate COPD and peripheral vascular disease. She smoked 20 cigarettes a day an...

Irisin is a myokine correlated with lean body mass, despite its association with cardiovascular events (Mantzoros 2014). Increased muscle volume and lipoatrophy have been reported in female FPLD (Ji JCEM 214). Our aim was to determine whether irisin could help to distinguish certain lipodystrophic obesities from FPLD.Methods and patients: Circulating irisin levels (EIA Phoenix) were measured in 20 LMNA-related FPLD, 19 normal-weighed controls (H) and 13 ...

Background: Lamin A/C mutations show heterogeneous phenotypes expanding from cardiopathies to lipodystrophies. R482-LMNA gene mutation is the hot-spot for familial partial lipodystrophic syndromes (FPLD2) and is characterized by an increase of intra-abdominal (visceral) fat. In contrast, the visceral fat phenotype of non-R482-LMNA mutated patients has not been well studied.Objectives: To compare the fat amount and visceral repartition o...

Olle Kämpe is professor and senior consultant in endocrinology at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. He holds the Torsten and Ragnar Söderberg endowment professorship in clinical endocrinology since 2014 and was before that professor of molecular medicine at Uppsala University between 1999 and 2014. He is fellow of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (www.kva.se/en), and member of the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinsk...

Ken K Y Ho, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia AbstractKen Ho is a professor of Medicine at the University of New South Wales and is the Head, Pituitary Research Unit, Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Chairman, Department of Endocrinology, St. Vincent's Hospital, Sydney.He graduated in medicine at the University of Sydney in 1975, undertook research studies towards a Doctora...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) or Conn’s syndrome is a condition in which one or both adrenal glands produce aldosterone in excess, independent of the normal renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) such that renin is typically suppressed and aldosterone is non-suppressible by sodium loading. This excessive and autonomous production of aldosterone causes hypertension, sodium retention, cardiovascular damage, increased potassium excretion that, if prolonged and severe, may ...

THE REGULATION OF ADRENOMEDULLIN AND PROADRENOMEDULLIN N-TERMINAL 20 PEPTIDE IN THE ADRENAL GLAND: THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ADRENOCORTICAL CELLS AND CHROMAFFIN CELLS.Vakharia K, Hinson JP.Department of Endocrinology, Lab 1.2 Dominion House, Queen Mary University of London, London E, UK.It has been established that the adrenomedullin gene is expressed in the adrenal cortex and adrenal medulla, and that both adre...