Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Morbidity and mortality are associated with thyroid hormone levels in populations. This has invited a debate on what is the better parameter for assessment of thyroid function: the controlling hormone thyrotropin (TSH) or peripheral thyroid hormone measurements (thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3)).Aim: To assess the ability of TSH and total T4 (TT4) to discriminate between subtle differences in thyroid function.Me...

Purpose: Available data associate lipids concentrations in men with BMI, anabolic steroids, age, and certain cytokines. Data are less clear in women, especially across the full adult lifespan, and when segmented by pre- and postmenopausal status.Methods: Subjects: 120 healthy women in Olmsted County, MN, USA, a stable well studied clinical population. Dependent variables: measurements of 10-hr fasting high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total c...

Introduction: Prostate cancer (PC) is dependent on androgen receptor (AR) activation by its canonical ligands testosterone and 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Intratumoural androgens persisting after castration give rise to castration-resistant PC (CRPC). These intraprostatic androgen levels are hypothesized to result from either adrenal androgen conversion or intratumoural de novo DHT synthesis through the classic or alternative pathways. Quantifying the steroid f...

GH is an important regulator of longitudinal growth in children and metabolism in adults. GH is used for treatment deficiency disorders in both children and adults. GH treatment is safe and well tolerated. However, its clinical use is limited to daily s.c. injections which poses a challenge for both the patients and the physicians and has prompted research into alternative approaches to GH treatment.NNC0195-0092 is a hGH derivative conjugated with an alb...

Objective: Testosterone levels are decreased in male obesity, the mechanism of which is incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to explore determinants affecting the feedback mechanism of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis in male obesity and type 2 diabetes (DM2), such as aromatase expression and lipotoxicity.Materials and methods: Circulating levels of testosterone were quantified (<1000 h with LC–MS/MS) in 37 middle-...

Hypothesis: Exogenous kisspeptin-10 (Kp10) enhances pulsatile LH. Research strategy: A first-in-man dosing study of kp10 was first performed. Healthy volunteers and hypogonadal patients were subsequently infused with kp10. Dose titration study Rapid increases in LH with clear dose-dependency (P<0.0001) were observed in healthy men (n=6), with the 0.3 and 1 µg/kg doses being maximally stimulatory (P<0.01). Effect of sex-steroid milieu: LH respo...

Objective: Psychopathology and maladaptive personality traits are often observed during the active phase of Cushing’s disease (CD). We hypothesized that patients with long-term cure of CD show persistent psychopathology and maladaptive personality traits.Aim: To evaluate psychopathology and personality traits in patients with long-term cure of CD.Patients and methods: We included 67 patients cured of CD (15% males, mean age 53...

Selective enhancement of glucocorticoid action in adipose tissue has been shown to induce characteristic features of the metabolic syndrome. Adipocyte-derived factors provide a link between altered adipose tissue mass and function and cardiovascular disease. However, key mechanisms controlling these pathophysiological alterations in adipose tissue are poorly understood. Recently, both, the glucocorticoid (GR) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), have been shown to mediate ...

Background: Although it has been conceived that type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) is associated with increased myocardial triglyceride (TG) accumulation, it is unknown whether this can be influenced by modifying plasma non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) levels. We therefore determined in uncomplicated DM2 whether modifications in plasma NEFA influence myocardial TG content and myocardial function.Research design and methods: Myocardial TG content and left ve...

Specific ablation of the androgen receptor (AR) in selected target cells prevents the major developmental defects inherent to generalised AR inactivation (Tfm, ARKO) and allows a detailed analysis of the contribution of defined cells and molecular pathways to more complex effects of androgens. We successfully applied this approach in the study of the role of androgens in the control of spermatogenesis, by developing a Cre/loxP-based mouse model with a Sertoli cell (SC)-selecti...