Endocrine Abstracts

Background: It is estimated that 1-6% of patients with a pituitary adenoma develop ocular nerve palsies. These are primarily due to tumour extension into the cavernous sinus and most commonly affect the 3rd cranial nerve. Because of its sheltered position within the sinus, the 6th cranial nerve is rarely affected. When this does occur, it most commonly results from ischemic neuropathy secondary to diabetes, hypertension or mononeuritis multiplex.<p cl...

Equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) is not only essential for the maintenance of early equine pregnancy but is also used therapeutically for synchronisation of farm and laboratory animals. Currently it is extracted from serum of farmed pregnant mares. We have recently reported that under normoxic conditions, BMP4 treatment of equine trophoblast resulted in a dose, and developmental stage-dependent increase in total number of differentiated binucleate cells that secrete eCG. O...

Aims: To look at the demographics, biochemistry, treatments used, clinical characteristics associated with radioiodine (RI) treatment (including those with relapse) for thyrotoxicosis in our Endocrine clinic.Methods: Electronic records of all thyrotoxic patients between 2010 and 2012.Results: 144 patients, mean age 56 years (114 females)–106 Graves, 24 toxic adenoma (TA) and 14 multi nodular goitre (MNG). TPO antibody was posi...

Introduction: Pendred syndrome is a rare autosomal recessive condition characterised by sensorineural deafness, goitre and impaired iodine organification. We report a case of a 43-year-old female who presented with hearing impairment, and the development of a multinodular goitre with tracheal compression. Perchlorate testing and genetic studies confirmed a diagnosis of Pendred syndrome. She subsequently underwent partial thyroidectomy and requires lifelong follow-up.<p cla...

Myxedema coma is a potentially lethal presentation of severe hypothyroidism. It is a rare condition in the Western society. We present a 72-year-old woman with a myxedema coma precipitated by a urinary tract infection. The patient was admitted to the emergency ward in a subcomatose state featuring hypothermia, hypotension, bradycardia and hypoxia. Diagnosis of myxedema by the attending Emergency Physician was suggested based on clinical presentation. The consulting endocrinolo...

Introduction: Growth rate tends to be greater in children living at higher latitudes although the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The aim of this study was to compare height velocity (HV) in response to recombinant human GH (r-hGH) therapy in children with GH deficiency (GHD) living at different latitudes.Design: Pre-pubertal children with GHD (n=118) were enrolled from the PREDICT long-term follow-up prospective study (NCT00699855). Data wer...

Introduction: Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT; with anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb)) and Graves’ disease (GD; with TSH receptor antibodies (TRAbs)) are frequent autoimmune disorders responsible for thyroid dysfunction. There are two types of TRAbs, the ones that stimulate the thyroid (TSAb) causing Graves’ hyperthyroidism and those that block thyrotropin action (TBAb) being occasionally responsible for hypothyroidism. Unusual patients switch from TSAb to TBAb (o...

Studies have demonstrated the presence of androgen receptors in osteoblasts and osteocytes, confirming that androgens are important for the maintenance of bone in men. Additionally to steroid hormones, histamine stimulates osteoclast differentiation and survival and plays a role in the inflammatory response via H2 receptors. We purposed to investigate whether cimetidine, an histamine H2 receptors antagonist and antiandrogenic drug, interferes in the periodontal tissue damages ...

Introduction: Ovariectomized C57BL/6 mice are a good model to study the postmenopausal stage. It has been reported that high-fat diet (HFD) augments the body fat mass and insulin resistance (IR) in animal models. Goal of this study was to investigate the combined effects of ovariectomy (OVX) and HFD on insulin sensitivity and pancreatic remodeling in C57BL/6 mice treated with bezafibrate.Methods: Female C57BL/6 mice were subjected to surgical OVX and sur...

Estradiol (E2) may directly interact with growth factors stimulating cell proliferation and differentiation. Previously, we have demonstrated that E2 through membrane estrogen receptor α (mERα) modulates the lactotroph cell population which exhibit noticeable changes in the pituitary gland. The aim of this study was to analyze the mERα contribution on lactotroph cell proliferation in response to E2 and FGF-2 interaction evaluatin...