Endocrine Abstracts

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy that is associated with an adverse metabolic profile including insulin resistance and dyslipidaemia. Hyperandrogenism is the hallmark of PCOS and obesity increases androgen synthesis, partly due to accompanying hyperinsulinemia but also as a result of adipokines affecting ovarian steroidogenesis (Comim et al., 2013, PLoS ONE 8(11). Adipokines are factors secreted by adipose tissue and while a clear link betwe...

We have reviewed the outcome of a low-dose step-up regimen for induction of ovulation in clomiphene-unresponsive women with PCOS and in women with hypothalamic hypogonadism (HH), treated at a single centre. Data from 366 women with PCOS and 80 with HH (1165 records) were entered into a FileMakerPro database, refined and constrained to allow stratification and analysis of relevant data. 85% of cycles were ovulatory in both PCOS and HH. PCOS patients were more likely to have cyc...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrinopathy is associated with an adverse metabolic profile including obesity, insulin resistance, and dyslipidaemia. Hyperandrogenism is the hallmark of PCOS and androgen production is increased in the presence of increased adiposity. While a clear link between obesity and the severity of PCOS exists, the relationship between hyperandrogenism and adipose tissue is less clear. Interestingly, women with PCOS and raised androgen le...

Measurement of cortisol is used in the differential diagnosis of Addisons’ disease (deficiency), Cushing’s disease (excess), hypopituitarism, adrenal hyperplasia and carcinoma. Cortisol is routinely measured by immunoassay, which has wide inter-assay variability with manufacturer dependent bias. Despite this, universal cut-offs are used as criteria for interpretation of dynamic function tests of the pituitary adrenal axis.Using a fully validate...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the commonest endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. It is characterised by excessive ovarian androgen production which, in turn, has been implicated in the aetiology of aberrant follicular development. We have previously reported that prenatal exposure to androgens activates follicle growth1. It has been suggested that androgens may interact with the IGFs to promote the activation and growth of follicles. The aim of thi...

There are no established guidelines on the management of steroid induced diabetes (SID) in children. Steroids are commonly used to treat many chronic illnesses and as part of chemotherapy regimen in children. The hyperglycaemia caused by steroids is poorly recognised and can lead to adverse outcomes. Early recognition and appropriate management of hyperglycaemia is therefore crucial. Fasting blood glucose (BG) levels can be normal and the most sensitive time to test BG is 2 h ...

Background: A 5-month-old girl presented with a history of acute abdominal distension over several weeks. Three weeks previously she had developed pubic hair, and some early breast development. The GP had reassured parents on two occasions that this was normal. On examination she had Tanner breast stage 3 bilaterally, pubic hair stage 3, mild cliteromegaly, and gross abdominal distension.Investigations: An ultrasound scan revealed a massively enlarged ri...

Introduction: To assess outcome for patients with acromegaly treated at Royal Preston Hospital since 1st of January 2000.Results: Out of 22 patients (12 presenting in the last 2 years) 20 had endoscopic transsphenoidal hypophysectomy and two were managed medically. Headaches, visual disturbance and characteristic morphological features were the main presenting problems. 4 were microadenomas and 18 macroadenomas\. Exact dimensions were only available in 1...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with insulin resistance. Abnormally low glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) expression has been shown in adipocytes from subjects with PCOS1 and skeletal muscle from type 2 diabetics2. Although GLUT4 expression is mostly restricted to classic insulin target tissues such as skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and adipose, we have found it in granulosa cells (GCs) of mice3. Glucose uptake and metabolism by GCs...

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women. It is characterized by hyperandrogenism, which results primarily from excess androgen production by ovarian theca cells (TCs). Obesity contributes to androgen excess in PCOS and previous studies in vitro using bovine TCs have shown that adiponectin (production of which is inhibited in PCOS) is a repressor of P450c17 activity. However, little is known about expression of adiponec...