Endocrine Abstracts

Aims: Women with gestational diabetes (GDM) who deliver large-for-gestational age (LGA) infants have subtle (1-1.5mM) differences in temporal maternal glucose control detectable by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), compared to women who deliver appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) infants. It is unclear how these subtle changes cause LGA, but LGA has been linked to placental dysfunction. We aimed to develop an ex-vivo human placental model to mimic subtle differences in te...

In neonates, cardiomyocytes exit the cell cycle thus establishing cardiomyocyte number for life. Further growth is through hypertrophy. Factors that advance the timing of the switch from hyperplastic to hypertrophic growth may increase risk of cardiac disease in adulthood. Early life administration of glucocorticoids is known to increase risk of cardiovascular disease. We hypothesized that dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid, causes precocious cell cycle exit of neonatal...

Vitamin D is a pleotropic hormone with important actions in a wide variety of cell types. Whilst its role in the endocrine control of calcium metabolism via the active circulating metabolite 1,25- dihydroxy cholecalciferol is widely appreciated, other actions in a range of cells and tissues depend on activation of circulating 25-hydroxy vitamin D by intracrine mechanisms and paracrine actions which may be locally controlled. Of particular interest are the roles of vitamin D pe...

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with increased rates of large-for-gestational-age (LGA) or small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants. Currently, it is not possible to predict which women with GDM are at risk of delivering LGA or SGA infants. Fetuin-A, (α 2-Heremans Schmid glycoprotein; AHSG), a glycoprotein associated with insulin resistance is altered in GDM maternal serum. It is unclear if levels are related to altered fetal growth. This stud...

Introduction: Gestational diabetes (GDM) affects 1 in 6 pregnancies globally, increasing babies’ risk of being born large-for-gestational-age (LGA). This can cause birth injuries and predisposes offspring to developing cardio-metabolic disease in adulthood. The cause of LGA in GDM is unclear, however GDM placentas have been shown to display abnormal morphology indicative of vascular network immaturity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known regulators of vascular development, inclu...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality on a global scale. The pathophysiology of DM involves insulin resistance, even in insulin-treated type 1 DM, which in turn is related to the amount of glucose transporter GLUT4 (Slc2a4 gene). Estrogen activity can be mediated by two distinct receptors (ESR1 and ESR2) and may involve genomic and non-genomic mechanisms. Estrogen has been described as involved in glycemic homeostasis, but the related...

According to the world Health Organization, about 422 million people worldwide have diabetes mellitus (DM), and this number is growing rapidly. DM, mainly type 2, is associated with insulin resistance, which involves reduced expression of glucose transporter GLUT4 (Slc2a4 gene). It is known that estrogen can modulate glycemic homeostasis and seems to involve changes in the Slc2a4/GLUT4 expression. There has been an increased interest in plant-derived phytoest...

Background: Hypothyroidism has profound effects on cardiac function, however, the effect of over- and undertreatment of hypothyroidism on hospitalization outcomes of patients with acute exacerbation of heart failure (HF) has not been evaluated yet.Methods: We conducted retrospective cohort analyses of outcomes among 231 consecutive patients with treated hypothyroidism who were admitted to the internal medicine departments of Shamir Medical Center with HF...

Introduction: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is rare, with an incidence of 0.5-2 cases per million. Although generally aggressive, prognosis is highly variable and difficult to predict. Unlike other malignancies, there are no biomarkers routinely available for use in patients with ACC to help guide management. Circulating cell free tumour derived DNA (ctDNA), the proportion of circulating cell free DNA (cfDNA) originating from tumour cells, is a liquid biopsy that is quickly g...

Background: During fetal development, the heart switches substrate preference from glucose to fatty acids, such that in the adult heart, 50–70% of ATP is derived from fatty acid oxidation. What triggers this switch is currently unclear. In vivo, the late gestation rise in glucocorticoid levels is essential for structural and functional maturation of the fetal heart. Glucocorticoid treatment of fetal cardiomyocytes induces express...