Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Lithium salts have been widely known to induce thyroid dysfunction, however, parathyroid dysfunction due to lithium use is uncommonly encountered. Hypercalcemia is a relatively common consequence of lithium therapy presenting with nonspecific symptoms that may be overlooked. Although cerebral infarction may be an independent event from psychiatric disorders, it can also be a rare complication that must be recognized particularly in patients on lithium therapy.<...

BackgroundIntravenous levothyroxine (IVT4) is FDA-approved for the treatment of myxedema coma (ME). We noticed that at our hospital, IVT4 is administered more frequently than expected.Aim of studyTo assess the extent of IVT4 administration, the indications for such a treatment, and its outcome at a tertiary facility.MethodsA retrospective study of IVT4 administere...

Background: Autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD) are multifaceted conditions in which the thyroid gland is infiltrated by lymphocytes resulting in the production of thyroid-specific auto-antibodies against thyroid peroxidase (TPOAb) and thyroglobulin (TGAb). Iron deficiency (ID) is considered to be the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide and has multiple effects on thyroid metabolism.Aim: The goal of this study is to measure the prevalence of auto...

Journal of Molecular Endocrinology, 2022, 68(2), 99-110 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1530/JME-21-0175): ...

Background: Primary aldosteronism is an increasingly recognised cause of hypertension, caused by excess aldosterone secretion. Screening and confirmatory tests such as saline suppression tests (SST) require accurate measurements of aldosterone and use of appropriate cut-offs. Many laboratories have chosen liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MSMS) methods as issues of poor specificity have been reported for immunoassay methods. During the validat...

Since the 1990’s, eight survey studies have demonstrated iodine deficiency during pregnancy across the UK and Ireland. Both countries lack an iodine fortification programme, unlike many European countries. Therefore, women must rely on dietary adjustments and supplementation to achieve the iodine intake required in pregnancy. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends an increase from 150 to 250 µg/day during pregnancy. Pregnant women in Belfast were recruited to...

Background and Aim: We previously demonstrated (1) that in our transgender clinic, adoptees are significantly overrepresented compared to the general population, suggesting early life traumas may play a role in the etiology of transgenderism. We had also shown a large preponderance (close to 80%) of female sex-assigned-at-birth (SAB), and a trend for presenting for treatment at an older age than non-adopted subjects. In the current study we aimed to further characterize this s...

Synthetic glucocorticoids are administered to pregnant women at risk of pre-term delivery to mature organs and improve neonatal survival. We have shown that glucocorticoid action is essential to mature the fetal heart. Here, we tested the hypotheses that antenatal glucocorticoid exposure, prior to the normal increase in glucocorticoid levels, will advance fetal heart maturation and this will depend on cardiovascular glucocorticoid receptor (GR).Male SMGR...

Background: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a common presentation of newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes (T1DM) in children but increases the disease burden at diagnosis. In UK, average frequency of DKA presentation is reported as 25% with an international variation of 16 to 67%. Data on frequency variations within the UK is limited.Aim: To compare the demographic and clinical characteristics of DKA vs non-DKA presentations in children <16 years at diagno...

Northern Ireland was one of the first participating sites for the UK screening programme for congenital hypothyroidism (CHT) started 40 years ago. This study aimed to explore any changing patterns in incidence over time. Enrolment in the programme has remained high throughout the 40 years (> 98%). The cut-off value for neonatal thyroid stimulating hormone (nTSH) on day 5-8 of life reduced in ~1995 from 10 mU/l to 8 mU/l to improve sensitivity and specificity. There was a s...