Endocrine Abstracts

Sub-clinical Cushing’s syndrome has, in recent years, been described among diabetic populations but no consensus has emerged about the value of screening. We enrolled 201 consecutive diabetics attending clinic and 80 controls. Local ethics committee approval was obtained. Patients with at least 2 of the following 3 criteria were offered screening: HbA1c≥7%, BMI≥25 and history of hypertension or BP≥140/90. An 11 pm salivary sample was stored at room tempe...

Steroid receptors are members of a family of ligand-activated transcription factors that mediate tissue responses to a variety of endocrine stimuli. Using the human endometrium as a paradigm of a steroid responsive tissue, we aimed to characterise the expression and function of the oestrogen-receptor related orphan nuclear receptors (ERR) alpha and beta. ERRs share significant sequence homology with oestrogen receptors (ER) alpha and beta but are unable to bind oestradiol. The...

Folliculostellate (FS) cells within the anterior pituitary gland produce cytokines and growth factors which are regulated by molecules produced by neighbouring endocrine cells. There are many factors that could potentially be responsible for this intercellular communication that is mediated via connexins (Cx) and gap-junctions. We thus investigated the effect of co-culturing lactotrophs (MMQ) and FS cells (TtT/GF) on Cx43 expression. Our in vitro model system consists o...

The diagnosis of Cushing’s Syndrome (CS) requires demonstration of excess circulating cortisol. Measurement of late night salivary cortisol (LNSF) has been advocated as a simple, non-invasive and reliable outpatient diagnostic tool for patients with suspected CS but the usefulness of its metabolite cortisone (LNSE) remains unclear. LNSE levels are approximately six times higher than LNSF in saliva due to the rapid action of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 (11...

Background: Education in diabetes is a fundamental component of self-management. Health care systems that have structured education from diagnosis have demonstrated improving trends in HbA1c. Within Wales, education for Children and Young People (CYP) was delivered informally and this deficiency was highlighted in the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit. While structured education is being delivered in some parts of the UK, there is no overarching programme covering the entire ...

Introduction: Parents of children with complex diseases require easily understandable information about their disease to improve health outcomes. Improved disease understanding will also aid shared decision making between clinicians and families. Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is a rare and complex disease of hypoglycaemia associated with significant neurodevelopmental morbidity for which online video-sharing information resources are available. The utility of such informati...

Introduction: Liquid biopsies have revolutionised cancer care, from accurate diagnosis to guiding treatment and surveillance. Here, we used shallow Whole Genome Sequencing (sWGS); a cost-effective and easy-to-perform test to explore concordance of copy number alterations (CNAs) between formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue extracted DNA and circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in patients with Thyroid Cancer (TC) during different stages of the disease. <...

Introduction: Adipocytes have been shown to exhibit considerable heterogeneity. In humans, they vary in size from <20 to 300 µm in diameter, which equates to a several hundred-fold difference in cell volume within the same tissue. Population based studies indicate larger adipocytes are associated with metabolic diseases, but how cell size is related to metabolism is poorly understood. Recent studies measured glucose levels in individual cells in cultu...

A 16-year-old female presented with secondary amenorrhoea. Menarche was age 14 years and periods were less frequent over the preceding 12 months. There was no galactorrhoea, headache or visual field disturbance and no known family history of pituitary disease, tall stature or infertility. There were no clinical signs of Cushing’s disease or acromegaly and visual fields were full to confrontation. Height was 160 cm. Investigations showed a prolactin of 2,452 mIU/l (RR 102-...

Introduction: Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked recessive neuromuscular disorder causing progressive muscular degeneration and weakness. The survival of patients with DMD has improved with multi-disciplinary team input. Sub-specialties have moved towards anticipatory diagnostic and therapeutic strategies which focus on prevention and treatment of modifiable disease complications. Endocrine complications of DMD include impaired growth, delayed pu...