Endocrine Abstracts

It has been claimed that an increased level of thyroid autoantibodies in serum is associated with a higher risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). We explored whether this risk was mediated by subclinical hypothyroidism and hypercholesterolemia. We evaluated 945 consecutive hospital patients (mean age 59 years) according to strict electrocardiographic and clinical criteria for the presence of CHD. Serum cholesterol, LDL and HDL cholesterol and sensitive TSH were measured in all...

The effects of thyroid hormone deprivation and restitution on growth rate and pituitary and plasma GH levels have been studied in control and streptozotocin (STZ) – diabetic rats. GH was measured by a specific RIA using the NIAMOD rat-GH kit. Male Wistar rats which had been surgically thyroidectomized for 30 days and which had been stopped growing were injected i.p. with either saline or STZ (4 mg/100 g b.wt). Eight days after saline or STZ, groups of thyroidectomized con...

Introduction: There are many reports that vascular and/or heart valve calcification is good predictor for low bone mineral density. I investigated whether benign calcification of breast can also well predict low bone mineral density.Methods/design: I have reviewed and analyzed the records of 91 women with age more than 50 years old among patients examined bone mineral density and breast mammography from January through December 2010. The lowest value of ...

Peter J Fuller, Prince Henry’s Institute, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. AbstractProfessor Fuller is an NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow at Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne where is the Associate Director and Head of the Steroid Receptor Biology Group. He is also Director of the Endocrinology Unit at the Monash Medical Centre/Southern Health and an Adjunct Professor in Medicine and ...

The classical genomic actions of triiodothyronine (T3) are mediated by high-affinity nuclear receptors that directly regulate gene expression. By contrast, the non-genomic effects of thyroid hormones occur rapidly and are unaffected by inhibitors of transcription and protein synthesis. The genomic actions of thyroid hormone have an established role in the development, differentiation and homeostatic maintenance of target tissues. The THRA and THRB gene...

Cortisol secretion follows a distinct circadian rhythm, with circulating levels low at sleep onset, beginning to rise between 0200 and 0400 h, peaking within an hour of waking and then declining through the day. This circadian rhythm is determined by the central endogenous clock (pacemaker) of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, located in the hypothalamic supra-chiasmatic nucleus. The HPA axis plays an important role in maintaining alertness and modulatin...

Neonatal diabetes or monogenic diabetes of infancy can manifest as a transient or permanent condition. TNDM is most commonly caused by imprinting disorders on chromosome 6q24 (TNDM1.Uniparental Isodisomy Chromosome 6, Paternal Duplication of 6q24, loss of maternal methylation). Recently it has been identified that over half of those with maternal hypomethylation at 6q24 have relaxed maternal methylation at other imprinted loci and that the majority of these patients have mutat...

Background: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an autosomal recessive condition with significant consequences if not correctly diagnosed and treated. We have reviewed the patients with CAH presenting in Northern Ireland between 1976 and 2010.Aims: To determine the age, sex and clinical features at presentation; treatment modalities including perineal surgery in childhood; and long-term outcomes including final height and surgery in adulthood.<p ...

Primary thyroid gland lymphomas account for less than 5% of all thyroid malignancies. They mainly occur in the setting of lymphocytic thyroiditis or Hashimoto’s disease. The majority are mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas and diffuse large B-cell lymphomas. There have not been any cases of thyroid lymphoma reported in children in the last 20 years.Our patient is a 9-year-old boy who was noted to have a lump on the right side of his neck in ...

Incretins are gut peptides that potentiate nutrient-dependent insulin secretion following meal ingestion. The two dominant incretins glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) stimulate insulin secretion and promote expansion of β-cell mass in preclinical models via control of cell proliferation and inhibition of apoptosis. GLP-1, but not GIP, decreases the rate of gastric emptying, inhibits glucagon secretion, and diminishes appeti...