Endocrine Abstracts

Markers to predict tumor biology represent an important tool for the optimal management of pituitary adenomas. Specific morphologic features may serve as predictive markers of tumor behavior. These include a) tumor cell-specific markers, b) stromal-related elements involving vasculature and angiogenetic factors, and additional stromal substances and c) miscellaneous tumor type-associated features.Macroscopic invasion of the perisellar tissues, defined as...

Wnt ligands are secreted proteins that bind to Frizzled receptors. During normal development Wnt signalling plays essential roles in the regulation of patterning, fate determination, and cell proliferation. In the ‘canonical’ Wnt/ß-catenin signalling pathway, binding of Wnt ligand to Frizzled and LRP5 receptors normally leads to inhibition of a ‘destruction complex’ consisting of APC/Axin/GSK-3ß/Ck1/Dvl and other factors, with subsequent accumulat...

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a metabolic compartment participating in virtually all anabolic and catabolic branches of cellular metabolism. The redox balance of pyridine nucleotides is a major regulator of the metabolism. Several observations demonstrate their presence in the lumen of the ER. NADPH donates electrons for biosynthetic reactions, biotransformation and antioxidant defense; its reduced state is ensured by NADP+-dependent dehydrogenases. In the ER lu...

I first developed a research interest in the adrenal cortex about 50 years ago. As for many others, these studies gave a detailed insight into several important, though necessarily focused aspects. Teaching endocrinology to undergraduates, it was easy to explain the functions of the gland by following the usual well-trodden paths. Over several years, however, I have come to realize that, despite all that, I still don’t actually know what the adrenal cortex is for. ...

The Thyroid Epidemiology and Audit Research Study (TEARS) involves electronic linkage of various clinical datasets to establish a comprehensive thyroid dataset (“TEARS database”). This includes linking a thyroid follow-up register, all regional biochemistry results, regional prescribing data, a radioactive iodine database, hospital admissions and the General Register of Deaths, all of which use a common patient identification number. Specific algorithms were used to ...

Preservation of a functional pancreatic beta cell mass is essential for normal blood glucose homeostasis. The molecular mechanisms through which beta cells sense changes in blood glucose concentration and decode these as enhanced insulin release will be discussed. I shall describe evidence that AMP-activated protein kinase is a key part of this machinery, implicated both in the acute regulation of insulin and in the regulation of beta cell apoptosis. I shall also discuss the h...

Thyroid hormones are essential for skeletal development and bone maintenance. Childhood hypothyroidism causes growth arrest with delayed bone maturation, whereas thyrotoxicosis accelerates growth and advances bone age. In adults, thyrotoxicosis causes osteoporosis and increased susceptibility to fracture. To investigate mechanisms of T3 action in bone, we analyzed T3 receptor (TR) mutant mice. TRα-null (TRα0/0) mice are euthyroid but display delayed ossification with...

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial and Million Women's Study (MWS) fundamentally changed our understanding of risks and benefits associated with HRT. WHI for the first time provided evidence of harmful effects of HRT on the cardiovascular system and also confirmed significantly increased risk of breast cancer previously documented in a meta analysis. HRT does not decrease, and may in fact increase, the incidence of ishaemic heart disease. The risk of stroke is increased...

All women with early onset oestrogen deficiency have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease regardless of aetiology, be it premature ovarian failure, hypopituitarism or Turner Syndrome. The fact that oestrogen deficiency in young women increases CVD risk appears to be in conflict with the adverse effects of oestrogen replacement on cardiovascular morbidity in postmenopausal women. One explanation for this paradox is that oestrogen may slow atherogenesis in young women whi...

The importance of endogenous hormones in the aetiology of breast cancer has long been evident from the strong relationships between breast cancer risk and certain aspects of a woman’s reproductive history1. More recently, the risk of developing breast cancer among postmenopausal women has also been shown to increase substantially with increasing levels of circulating oestradiol2, thus providing more direct evidence for the role of hormones in the development of the disea...