Endocrine Abstracts

A 39 year-old man was referred with weight loss and lethargy in 2011. On examination tremor, goitre and mild orbital oedema were present. His past medical history consisted of hypertension (ongoing treatment). Investigations: fT4: 37 pmol/l (9–21), TSH: 0.00 mU/l (0.20–4.50), Anti Thyroid Peroxidase: 242.6 U/ml (0–50) and TRAbs: 11.2 iu/l (0–1.6). Graves’ thyrotoxicosis with moderately active eye disease was diagnosed and he started on carbimazole and ...

Adequate iodine intake during pregnancy is required for the production of thyroid hormones and brain development in the foetus. Recent evidence has suggested re-emergence of mild iodine deficiency in the UK but there are few studies that have specifically looked at iodine intake in pregnant women. Current World Health Organisation recommendation is for 250 μg per day intake of iodine in pregnancy and the following are good sources of dietary iodine: 1 pint milk (~140&#150...

Iodine deficiency is the most common cause of preventable mental impairment worldwide. Recent evidence suggests the re-emergence of mild iodine deficiency in the UK possibly due to changing farming practice. A recent multicentre survey in the UK reported that 68% of school girls were iodine deficient with the lowest levels seen in Northern Ireland (NI). Unlike many countries, the UK does not have a salt or food iodination programme. A cross-sectional survey of 264 schoolgirls,...

Introduction: Cushing’s disease (CD) is very rare in children and is invariably caused by a corticotroph adenoma. However, corticotroph cell hyperplasia has only been convincingly shown in two previous cases of paediatric Cushing’s disease. We report the case of a 7-year-old boy with Cushing’s disease caused by coticotroph cell hyperplasia.Case report: Our patient presented with a 10-month history of obesity, hirsutism and growth retardati...

Introduction: Offspring of mothers with diabetes have greater risk of adverse metabolic outcome in later life. Increased adiposity is a plausible mediator. We performed a meta-analysis of studies examining adiposity in infants and children in relation to maternal diabetes.Methods: Citations were identified in PubMed and authors contacted for additional data. Fat free mass, fat mass, body fat %, and skinfold thickness were compared in offspring of mothers...

Successful implantation requires the synchronisation of viable embryonic development with endometrial receptivity. The mechanisms allowing for the initiation of crosstalk remain elusive, however recent studies have revealed alterations in endometrial microRNAs (miRs) in women suffering repeated implantation failure (RIF). We hypothesised that the IGF1 receptor (IGF1R) is involved in implantation, and that miR145, which is elevated in RIF endometrium and predicted to target IGF...

Background: Dumping syndrome in infants who have undergone gastrostomy or Nissens fundoplication is a recognised phenomenon. The pathogenesis is possibly due to a bolus feed causing an incretin effect and leading to hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems have not been used in the past to study this phenomenon. We report CGM findings which are almost identical on three such post surgical infants.Case series 1: a 36-we...

A 39-year-old female presented with an 18-month history of borderline hypertension, headaches, palpitations and some anxiety symptoms. Both parents also had hypertension. Blood pressure was 160/102 on no medications. She had a large single cafe au lait spot but no neurofibromata. Urinary dopamine levels were repeatedly elevated (5398–8653 nmol/24 h (n<3900)) with normal noradrenaline and adrenaline levels. Serum calcium was also elevated at 2.83 mmol/l (n...

Fetal growth restriction and overgrowth (macrosomia) are both associated with altered placental development and problems at birth. Both conditions have lifelong impacts on health including an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Placental development depends on co-ordinated cellular growth and is enhanced by maternally-derived growth factors. MicroRNAs (miRs) are known to regulate gene expression and we have shown that global miR suppression in pla...

In addition to their essential role in fetal lung development, glucocorticoids promote late-gestation maturation of the fetal heart as shown by severe functional impairment, structural disorganisation and transcriptome immaturity in fetal hearts of glucocorticoid receptor-deficient (GR-/-) mice. Here we use primary fetal mouse cardiomyocytes (E16-E17.5) to investigate whether these effects of glucocorticoids result from direct actions of GR and whether they are independent of ...