Endocrine Abstracts

Avascular necrosis is a rare presenting feature of endogenous hypercortisolism. The literature suggests that, if left untreated, complete collapse of the femoral head may ensue, necessitating hip replacement in up to 70% of patients. The majority of described patients with avascular necrosis due to endogenous hypercortisolaemia were treated surgically.Case report: A 36-year-old female, investigated for right leg pain, reported rapid weight gain, easy bru...

Introduction: Intestinal cholesterol absorption is known to be important in post-prandial lipid levels, and implicated in the development of vascular disease. This study evaluated the effect of intestinal gene expression on markers of early vascular disease in a cohort of diabetic and non-diabetic subjects.Methods: Subjects were identified from routine upper GI lists and enrolled as per local ethics approval. Intestinal gene expression was measured on du...

Overt hypothyroidism (OH) and more controversially subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) are associated with abnormal lipid metabolism and endothelial dysfunction under fasting conditions. Little data exists regarding the metabolic and vascular effects of OH or SCH under postprandial conditions.We aimed to characterize postprandial metabolism with emphasis on intestinally derived lipoproteins, HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) and endothelial function in patients with ...

Context: Growth of meningiomas has been previously described in patients receiving oestrogen/progestogen therapy.Methods: Case history, laboratory findings, imaging and histology are discussed.Case history: A 45-year-old woman with a known history of 21-hydroxyase deficiency (of the non-salt wasting variety) and long-standing non-adherence with corticosteroid therapy presented to the Endocrine Clinic for follow-up care. She complai...

There is an increase in cardiovascular risk factors in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) compared with BMI matched controls. Almost all women with PCOS are insulin resistant and increased cardiovascular risk is commonly attributed to insulin resistance (IR). However, it is unclear if cardiovascular risk differs in women with PCOS compared to equally insulin resistant women. We performed a case–control study (n=56 pairs) of women with PCOS (NIH criteria) compared t...

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have an increased prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. Insulin resistance (IR) is believed to be an important factor in the pathogenesis of both PCOS and cardiovascular disease and thus provides a plausible link between these two conditions. An exaggerated post-prandial triglyceride (TG) response is thought to be one of the mechanisms through which IR is associated with atherosclerosis. The aim of this study was to compare fast...

Introduction: Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have a higher prevalence of obesity and weight gain. Obesity negatively impacts the fertility, mental wellbeing and long term health of women with PCOS. The 2023 international guidelines for the management of PCOS suggest that GLP1 receptor agonists could be considered, but highlight a lack of evidence for medical obesity treatment in women with PCOS. Previous studies showed that interventions which red...

Although cardiovascular disease (CVD) is greatly increased in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), patients typically have apparently healthy lipid profiles. Simple measurement of plasma lipids however does not provide information regarding lipoprotein particle size which in the nondiabetic population is independently predictive of CVD. Plasma lipids and lipoprotein subclasses (using polyacrylamide gel-tube electrophoresis) were studied in reproductive age women with T1DM and comp...

TSH-secreting pituitary adenomas (TSHomas) are rare. Previously, the reported prevalence was one case per million populations although this is probably an underestimate. A recently published study reported a prevalence of TSHomas in Sweden of 2.8/million inhabitants.Methods/design: Observational study conducted in four tertiary referral centres in Ireland. We retrospectively collected data on the prevalence, demographics, hormonal profile, tumour charact...

Acromegaly is a rare condition resulting from excess secretion of GH and IGF1. Acromegaly is frequently associated with subfertility. As such there is little data on the course of the disease during pregnancy, and of the effects of the disease and its treatments on the foetus.Objective: We describe known pregnancies in women with acromegaly within the Republic of Ireland over a 15-year period.Methods: We collected clinical, biochem...