Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: Obesity is associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk. We investigated whether the measurement of obesity-related biomarkers could enhance the prediction of cardiovascular (CVD) events when used in conjunction with traditional risk factors.Methods: We studied subjects in the Hong Kong Cardiovascular Risk Factors Prevalence Study 2 (CRISPS 2) cohort without previous cardiovascular disease. Baseline serum levels of several biomarkers kn...

Introduction: VPA, antiepileptic drug, may cause a number of side effects including reproductive deficits in humans. Previously we found that VPA (1 μM) may suppress GnRH-stimulated release of LH from rat anterior pituitary cells in vitro without affecting its basal secretion (Neuroendocrinol Lett 2011 32 101–106). However mechanism of VPA suppressive activity is still unknown. Since pharmacological effects of VPA require GnRH-R activation, the m...

Introduction: It is believed that key pathogenic mechanism of PCOS is hyperinsulinemia. Insulin synthesis is linked to C-peptide release, but the role of C-peptide in PCOS remains unknown.Methods: The aim of this study was to evaluate of C-peptide serum levels in obese women with PCOS with concomitant assessment of possible link between C-peptide concentrations and metabolic disturbances and androgens levels in those individuals.Si...

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) acts via its specific membrane-bound guanylyl cyclase receptor, GC-B, to stimulate cGMP production. Stimulation of cGMP impinges upon PKG and PKA signalling, leading to cell proliferation and cell cycle events. In endothelial cells, CNP is thought to perform a predominantly anti-mitogenic role, but the role of CNP on cell proliferation, cell cycle and DNA synthesis in pituitary cell lines has yet to be established. Using the mouse gonadotroph-d...

Physical examination in thyroid diseases, should it be relied on?M Sadri, C Y Yiangou, A. DhandaDepartment of thyroid surgery Queen Alexandra Hospital, PortsmouthObjective: Assessment of the accuracy of physical examination performed by thyroid surgery team doctors at thyroid clinic.Method: Random review of 120 new referrals to thyroid clinic, with review of clinical findings on physica...

Objective: Objective to study the hypolipidemic efficacy, hepatoprotective activity, and tolerance of the fixed-dose combination of essential phospholipids with methionine (EPL+M) - Eslidine in the combination therapy with A in patients (pts) with cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and type 2 DM who suffer from hyperlipidemia (HL) in order to optimize their treatment in daily clinical practice.Subjects and methods: The trial enrolled 60 pts (mean age 58.1&#17...

Our previous results demonstrate that estrogens increase the expression of death receptors TNFRI and Fas in the anterior pituitary and sensitize anterior pituitary cells to pro-apoptotic factors. c-FLIP is a protein that interacts with procaspases 8 and 10 modulating death receptor activity. In normal tissues, two isoforms of c-FLIP have been identified, the short isoform (c-FLIPs) and the long one (c-FLIPL). c-FLIPs has an anti-apoptotic action whereas c-FLIPL has either anti...

Adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), a 39 amino acid peptide is the principal regulator of adrenal steroidogenesis and is thus essential for life. ACTH mediates its effects through a cell surface G-protein coupled receptor which elevates the intracellular production of cAMP through adenylate cyclase. There have been significant difficulties in developing a suitable heterologous expression system to study the ACTH receptor (or melanocortin 2 receptor - MC2R), and we have postul...

Previous studies in our laboratories suggest that Hypoxis hemerocallidea corm (African Potato) extract has a potential in the management of diabetes mellitus. Accordingly, we investigated the short-term effect of Hypoxis hemerocallidea corm ethanolic crude extract (APE) on blood glucose levels of Wistar rats (250–300 g b.wt). Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were conducted in five separate groups (n=6 in each group) of male Wistar rats (250–300 g b...

Previously, we have described an inhibitory role of melatonin (Mel) in the expression of StAR and key steroidogenic enzymes, as well as in the regulation of testosterone production in testes of Syrian hamsters. The goal of the present work was to further investigate the signaling pathway involves in the testicular action of Mel. Thus, Leydig cells were purified from reproductively active hamsters killed by asphyxia with carbon dioxide, and incubated in the presence of Mel and ...