Endocrine Abstracts

Glycoprotein hormone receptors (TSHr, LH/CGr, FSHr)are rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled receptors with a large extracellular N-terminal portion containing leucine rich repeats, responsible for hormone recognition and binding. We have relied on spontaneous gain-of-function mutations in both the serpentine and LRR portions of the receptors to further explore the structure-function relationships of this family of receptors.ECTODOMAIN. From the observation i...

Primary hyperparathyroidism has an overall incidence of 25 per 100,000 of the UK population but may be present in 1 in 500 or more women over the age of 45. Surgery is the treatment of choice in symptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT). Selected patients with asymptomatic hyperparathyroidism may also benefit from parathyroidectomy.Traditionally, parathyroidectomy has been based on a collar incision coupled with bilateral cervical neck exploration. ...

We examined hypothyroidism control criteria in women in previous study. Part of thyroxin was replaced by 12.5 micrograms triiodthyronine (T3). After T3 treatment constant increase of the level of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) was observed in all cases. The aim of the study to evaluate T3 influence on testosterone level in women, SHBG level and FAI. SHBG directly determines the level of free androgen index (FAI). We have included 18 women with the increased level of FAI i...

All of the new drugs that have been used or become available over the past decade for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis are so-called “anti-resorptives”. These include bisphosphonates (etidronate, alendronate and risedronate), hormone replacement therapy, selective estrogen receptor modulators (raloxifene), and calcitonins. All reduce vertebral fracture risk and some reduce nonvertebral fracture risk, but there are obvious theoretical advantages to using...

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I am a Consultant Physician with an interest in Diabetes, working in a District General Hospital. I shall argue the case that Diabetologists, as the only remaining true general physicians, should treat hypertension in diabetic patients. Specialists in hypertension treatment may be too blinkered in their view of their patients!...

Androgens and increasing age are established risk factors associated with prostate cancer, Paradoxically, testosterone levels gradually decline with increasing age as the incidence of prostate cancer (PCa) rises in older men. Estrogens have been implicated in PCa as estrogen levels in older men remain relatively unchanged resulting in a decline in the ratio of androgens:estrogens with age. Thus the hormonal regulation of prostate cancer is not limited to a role for androgens a...

Cancers arise through accumulation of mutations that compromise control of cell proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, invasion, angiogenesis and apoptosis. To identify targets for effective therapy, it is important to determine which lesions are needed for maintenance of the tumor. We have constructed genetically manipulated transgenic and knock-in mice to directly explore the roles of activated Myc and inactivated p53 in the genesis, progression and maintenance of neoplas...

The Chernobyl accident in 1986 resulted in a release of radioiodine that contaminated large areas of what are now Belarus, Northern Ukraine and a neighbouring area of Russia. The major health consequence of the accident to date has been a large increase in thyroid cancer in those who were children or adolescents at the time of exposure. The increase is mostly restricted to an increase in papillary carcinoma, of a particular subtype (the solid follicular variant) and associated...

Thyroid hormone (T3) is required for skeletal development during childhood and T3 regulates bone turnover and mineralisation in adults. Thyrotoxicosis is an established risk factor for osteoporosis. We and others have shown that T3 receptors (TRs) are expressed in osteoblasts and growth plate chondrocytes, which represent primary T3-target cells in the skeleton. T3 effects on osteoclast-mediated bone resorption are thought to be mediated by osteoblasts via paracrine pathways. ...