Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: With improvements in assays and the increasing need for non-invasive, out-patient based investigations, there is a renewed interest in the use of urinary gonadotrophins (UG) for assessing pubertal progress. This study aims to establish the correlation between serum and urinary LH and FSH in patients undergoing investigation or management of pubertal disorders.Methods/design: Retrospective evaluation of eight patients undergoing investigatio...

Background: Small for gestational age (SGA) and short stature at birth can be defined as birth weight (BW) and birth length (BL) ≤−2 S.D.. Affected neonates can be classified as: i) SGA, ii) Short, iii) SGA + Short. Catch-up growth occurs by age 6 months in 90–95% of Short and SGA + Short infants. A minority remain short after age 2–4 years when the lack of data on BL and parental height (PH) renders assessment difficult.<p class="abste...

The UK Turner Study examined in girls with Turner syndrome (TS) the impact on final height (FH) of Oxandrolone (Ox) and/or delayed pubertal induction (14y).Methods: Girls with TS aged 7–13y receiving GH were randomised to Ox (0.05 mg/kg per day, max. dose 2.5 mg/day) or placebo from 9y (or from enrolment if >9y). Girls requiring oestrogen were further randomised to begin oral Ethinylestradiol (E2) (Y1:2 μg/day; Y2:4 μg/day; ...

Background and aims: CXC chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10) also known as chemokine interferon γ inducible protein (IP-10) is a CXCR3 chemokine belongs to a group of structurally related molecules, that induce the chemotaxis of diverse leukocyte subtypes including activated T-helper 1 lymphocytes, natural killer cells and monocytes. In patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, type 1 diabetes mellitus and Graves’ disease high levels of CXCL10 ligand in serum have been fo...

Background/objective: Published data suggest that growth hormone replacement (GHR) may be safely given to patients with hypopituitarism consequent upon a pituitary/peri-pituitary tumour. However, to date, these series have included a preponderance of patients treated with external pituitary irradiation. We have performed a retrospective study to evaluate the recurrence rate in a group of patients with pituitary/peripituitary tumours treated with GHR.Meth...

ObjectiveActive acromegaly is associated with increased mortality. While surgery is the mainstay of treatment, it is not always curative. In selected cases, CyberKnife stereotactic radiosurgery (CK SRS) can be used as adjuvant treatment in patients with persistent disease.DesignThis is a retrospective review of the biochemical and imaging characteristics for patients with active acromegaly treated with CK SRS...

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes (T1D) onset may start years prior to clinical presentation. Screening children and young people (CYP) for T1D using islet autoantibodies (IAb) through research studies is gaining international momentum, since screening reduces diabetic ketoacidosis, hospitalisation and offers access to drug therapies for delaying T1D onset1. Recently, ISPAD provided recommendations on monitoring for pre-clinical T1D in CYP, however no U...

Background: Prednisolone is the most commonly prescribed exogenous glucocorticoid(GC) and its use is frequently associated with the development of iatrogenic Cushing’s Syndrome. Once administered, prednisolone is rapidly converted to inactive prednisone by renal 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2(11β-HSD2) and subsequently reactivated by 11β-HSD1. We have shown previously that 11β-HSD1 inhibition(with the selective 11β-HSD1 inhibitor, AZD4017...

Introduction: In many endocrine centres the 250μg Short Synacthen (Cosyntropin) Test (SST) is the reference standard for the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency (AI) 1, but it is time consuming, expensive, and requires hospital attendance and venepuncture. The morning physiological peak of cortisol shortly after waking is a good predictor for a negative SST; however, a morning serum cortisol requires venepuncture. Serum cortisol and salivary cortisone correlate ...

Adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas (ACPs) are among the most common intracranial tumours in children and they originate from undifferentiated pituitary progenitors. Mutations in the gene encoding for β-catenin (CTNNB1), which lead to the constitutive activation of the Wnt/β-catenin signalling pathway, have been associated with ACP. These tumours can invade adjacent structures, such as the hypothalamus, which makes comp...