Endocrine Abstracts

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between APD, treated Cushing's disease and severe hypopituitarism.METHODS: Fifty-seven patients (42 female), in remission after treatment for Cushing's disease, were studied. The cohort comprised 13 patients with, and 44 without APD. APD was defined as a serum prolactin persistently below the detection limit of the assay. Age and gender did not significantly differ between sub-groups.RESULT...

Case: A GP with autoimmune hypothyroidism presented with a phaeochromocytoma during labour at the age of 36 y. A left adrenalectomy confirmed the diagnosis and a basal cell carcinoma was also removed. She had a history of Dupuytren's lesions of both soles and palms starting in her teenage years and multiple keratosis. There was no family history of any endocrine or skin disorder. At 41y, a benign breast lump was removed and also a gastrointestinal spindle cell stromal tumour (...

Topiramate is an antiepileptic drug, with anoressant effect, known to positively modulate GABA receptors. There are some published data concerning the use of topiramate in mood disorders (expecially BED), while there are not know data on its use in obese patients without BED. This is a preliminary study to explane the effectiveness and tolerability of topiramate in non-Binge Eating Disorder (BED) obese patients with metabolic syndrome. We described the effects of topiramate, w...

Case: A GP with autoimmune hypothyroidism presented with a phaeochromocytoma during labour at the age of 36 y. A left adrenalectomy confirmed the diagnosis and a basal cell carcinoma was also removed. She had a history of Dupuytren's lesions of both soles and palms starting in her teenage years and multiple keratosis. There was no family history of any endocrine or skin disorder. At 41y, a benign breast lump was removed and also a gastrointestinal spindle cell stromal tumour (...

Objectives: To compare the cell dynamics of term placental tissue in pregnancies conceived by in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo transfer with spontaneous pregnancies.Methods: Placental samples were obtained from singleton term IVF pregnancies (n=25) and singleton term spontaneous pregnancies (n=30). Ethical approval was obtained from the Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong. The incidence of apoptotic and proliferative cells was determi...

T3 and fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are critical regulators of chondrocyte proliferation during bone formation and we identified recently that T3 modulates skeletal FGF receptor-1 (FGFR1) activity. FGFRs signal via several routes including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), STAT and phospholipase C gamma pathways. Mechanisms determining which pathways are activated by FGFRs are poorly understood but include alternative splicing of exons encoding variable domains with...

Over a third of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) display glucose intolerance and multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including central obesity. Interleukin-6, a cytokine that is mainly derived from adipose tissue, has recently been implicated as an important link in the development of cardiovascular disease in obesity. We determined the relations between circulating Interleukin-6 levels and anthropometric, metabolic and hormonal parameters in 38 wome...

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PCOS is a chronic medical condition consisting of PCO on ultrasound in conjunction with menstrual cycle disturbance, insulin resistance, obesity and/or hyperandrogenism manifest as acne, hirsutism and androgenic alopecia. These symptoms can be expected to have a significant impact on quality of life. The aim of this study was to compare the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of women with PCOS with that of women in the general population.HRQoL is generally measured by ...

The thyroid hormones, L-thyroxine (T4) and 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3), are essential for skeletal development and regulate bone mineralisation in the adult. T4 is a pro-hormone that is converted to active T3 by the type I and II 5'-iodothyronine deiodinase enzymes (D1 and D2). T4 and T3 are substrates for the type III 5-deiodinase enzyme (D3) which catalyses the irreversible production of inactive metabolites. The deiodinases are expressed widely in T3-target tissues and the...