Endocrine Abstracts

41 year old male presented in 1992 with 2 years history of blurring of vision, headaches, dizzy spells. Had Right supratemporal visual field defect, pituitary MRI which showed cystic pituitary lesion. Had TSS in May 1992 and histology showed Rathkes pouch cyst. Post operatively developed DI and started on DDAVP.SST,TRH and GnRH tests were normal. Persisted retro orbital head aches, developed nasal and temporal field loss. MRI in Sept 1992 showed large intrasellar recurrence of...

Conditions such as pre-eclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction highlight the importance of normal placental cell turnover for successful pregnancy outcome. In these conditions abnormal levels of proliferation and increased apoptosis have been reported; aberrations in components of the IGF axis have also been observed. IGFs regulate proliferation and survival in other cellular systems but their ability to influence human placental cell function remains to be established.<...

A 50 year old lady undergoing elective surgery for pyloric stenosis secondary to chronic ulceration, was diagnosed with primary hyperparathyroidism (calcium 3 mmol/l), elevated parathyroid hormone (PTH). Following exploratory parathyroidectomy, left and right superior parathyroid adenomas were removed. 2 years later she re-presented with hypercalcaemia (Calcium 2.74 mmol/l, PTH 26.5 pmol/l (1.1–6.8 pmol/l)) and appeared Cushingoid. Investigations confirmed Cushing’s ...

IntroductionThe Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is a validated simple method of measuring subjective daytime sleepiness in a variety of situations whereby patients are asked to score the probability of dozing as no chance, slight, moderate or high chance. An ESS>10 is regarded as excessive daytime sleepiness which may be a result of sleep apnoea or sleep disorders. The British Thoracic Society advise that patients who have ESS>10 or sleepiness in ...

In ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome, the high dose dexamethasone suppression test (HDDST) has been traditionally used to identify differentiate between pituitary-dependent Cushing’s disease and ectopic ACTH production. However, more recently, concerns regarding the diagnostic accuracy of the HDDST have led to many centres abandoning this test in preference to bilateral inferior petrosal sinus sampling (IPSS). We aimed to establish current consensus in the UK for the...

IntroductionRadioactive iodine (RAI) is a well-established treatment for relapsed Graves and toxic nodular hyperthyroidism. Lithium reduces the release of organic iodide and thyroid hormones from the thyroid gland, which results in a reduction of urinary radioiodine excretion. Previous studies have shown lithium may improve the effectiveness of radioiodine therapy; however research in this area is limited.Objective<p class="abs...

Aim: Somatostatin mediates its effects via five known receptor subtypes sst1-sst5. The somatostatin analogue octreotide, which binds preferentially to sst2 and to a lesser extent to sst3 and sst5, may be used prior to surgery of GH-secreting tumors. To investigate the variable response rates of such treatment, we analyzed sst expression levels in tumor tissue.Methods: 44 patients with acromegaly (20m, 24f, 48.7+/...

Autoimmune hypophysitis is a rare cause of pituitary failure. It’s aetiology and natural history are not well understood. We present a case of pituitary failure that showed spontaneous resolution of radiological and clinical features, consistent with autoimmune hypophysitis.Case report: An 18 year old male presented with a 7 month history of polyuria and headaches. No significant past medical history or family history were noted. A water deprivation...

The LRP5 gene is believed to be primarily associated with bone metabolism via Wnt signalling. The latter pathway, however, seems to control various other systems outside the skeleton. We identified the C/T (c.4037:A1330V) polymorphism in the LRP5 gene using a restriction analysis of the PCR product in a cohort of 165 white untreated pre-and post-menopausal women. In a subset of 84 post-menopausal women we analysed the association between the LRP5 genotype and circulatin...

Glucocorticoid hormones play a key role in glucose, fat and protein metabolism and dampen immune and inflammatory reactions. Synthetic equivalents are widely used as therapeutic drugs. Upon hormone binding, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) detaches from a cytoplasmic multiprotein complex, translocates to the nucleus and regulates the transcription of target genes either directly or indirectly through interference with other transcription regulators.While...