Endocrine Abstracts

Objective. Recent studies suggest that in utero programming of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis is important in explaining the link between small size at birth and adult cardiovascular disease. We therefore examined the relationship between adult cortisol concentration and measurements at birth.Subjects. 420 men and women (mean age 69.5, range 65.0-75.8 yrs) born and living in Helsinki, Finland, with detailed birth records.<p class="ab...

Background: An association of pregnancy outcomes with subclinical hypothyroidism have been reported, however, there still exists a strong controversy regarding whether subclinical hypothyroidism ought to be dealt with or not. The latest American Thyroid Association’s guideline gives support to a higher TSH upper reference range of 4 mIU/l than the one proposed a few years ago of 2.5 mIU/l for the first trimester of pregnancy, in the absence of local normal ranges of TSH. ...

The pathogenesis of gonadotrophin secreting pituitary tumours (gonadotrophinomas) remains poorly understood. BMP2, known to be important in the control of cell proliferation and differentiation, is essential for commitment of undifferentiated pituitary cells to the gonadotroph cell lineage. Attenuation of its expression is critical in allowing terminal differentiation. BMPs are associated with up-regulated expression of Id (Inhibitors of differentiation) proteins with predicte...

Background: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is an endocrine disorder defined by increased thyrotropin (TSH) levels associated with normal free thyroxine (fT4) and free triiodothyronine (fT3). Resistin is secreted from the adipose tissue and is reported to be associated with insulin resistance and/or inflammation. High-sensitive CRP (hs-CRP) is a reliable marker of inflammation. Data related to levels of resistin and hS-CRP in SH is limited.<p class="a...

We previously demonstrated that acromegalic patients with normal IGF-I levels after surgery also met the current criteria for cure (i.e. postglucose GH nadir <1 μg/l) after long term monitoring. Since some Authors recently proposed to even lower the present GH nadir cut off value, the aim of this study was to confirm its adequacy to define long lasting disease remission. A group of 24 acromegalic patients (9 M&15 F, age 54.2±9.6 yrs) normal IGF-I levels and p...

Introduction: Abdominal obesity and insulin resistance are risk factors for erectile dysfunction (ED). ED is associated with hypoandrogenism, endothelial dysfunction, lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), and reduced quality of life (QoL). We aimed to compare effects of lifestyle modification-induced weight loss on insulin resistance, endothelial and sexual function, LUTS and QoL in obese non-diabetic men with and without ED.Methods: Seventy abdominally o...

: In patients with subclinical hypothyroidism, soy protein and isoflavone combination has been shown to increase the risk of developing overt hypothyroidism; however, it is unclear if soy affects thyroid function in those without existing thyroid compromise.Materials and methods: Two double blind randomised trials were undertaken in which thyroid function was performed routinely at the beginning and end as a secondary end point. In both trials soy protei...

Objective: The spontaneously hypertensive stroke prone rat (SHRSP) is a model of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Feeding a 60% fructose diet exaggerates these phenotypes. It has been suggested that the Y chromosome may influence lipid levels in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). Therefore we examined the effects of Y chromosome on lipid phenotypes in the SHRSP after fructose feeding.Design and Methods: The S.W. Y consomic strain was construc...

Annexin 1 (ANXA1, lipocortin 1), a Ca2+ and phospholipid binding protein, is a strong candidate mediator of the interplay between the immune and neuroendocrine systems. Within the neuroendocrine system ANXA1 is expressed in abundance by the non-secretory pituitary folliculo-stellate (FS) cells (1), which show characteristics of resident microglia. We have previously reported that IL-6 up-regulates ANXA1 expression in the liver in vivo and in A549 cells (lung epithelial...

Objective: Subclinical hypothyroidism (ScH) is a common condition and may be associated with dyslipidemia. We investigated the effect of levothyroxine therapy (L-T4) on lipid parameters in patients with a mild form of subclinical hypothyroidism according to the presence of thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO antibodies). Material and methods: Fifty-seven patients with newly diagnosed ScH (TSH levels between upper reference value and 10 mIU/l with nor...