Endocrine Abstracts

Ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) syndrome occurs in about 5–10% of all patients with ACTH-dependent hypercortisolism. We present the case of a 35 year old gentleman who presented with a six month history of progressive 16 kg weight gain and breathlessness. Pulmonary imaging revealed bilateral infiltrates suspicious for Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). Physical examination was concerning for Cushing’s syndrome, with facial plethora, easy bruisability and broa...

Aim: The levels of serum Selectins (P and E–Selectin), membrane potential and antioxidant vitamins were determined in diabetic patients attending General Hospital Owerri, Nigeria.Materials and methods: A case control study involving 600 persons living with diabetes between the ages of 20 and 60 years attending General Hospital Owerri. Also, 600 apparently healthy persons within the ages of 20 and 60 years served as control. Fasting venous blood was...

Cardiovascular risk factors are more prevalent in south Asian (SA) adults compared to White Europeans (WE), although the reasons for this are not fully known. Vascular growth factors (VGFs) are increasingly recognised to have various roles in arterial development, function and remodelling. We hypothesised that ethnic differences in VGFs in early life contribute to the later differences in CV risk. We further hypothesised that arterial stiffness, as a measure of large artery st...

Introduction: As in most sub-Saharan Africa, hypertension and its complications are increasingly common in Nigeria, where malaria is hyper-endemic. We established a birth cohort in Ibadan to assess the impact of maternal malaria on blood pressure (BP) in Nigerian infants over their first year.Methods: Healthy pregnant women with singleton pregnancies were followed to delivery. They had regular blood films for malaria parasites through to delivery. Growth...

Introduction: Data are conflicting on whether and how serum adipokines alter following acute dietary intake. Here, we used the specific challenge of standard 75 g glucose tolerance tests (GTT) to assess timed changes in TNF-α, IL-6, leptin and adiponectin in healthy younger women and how these would be affected by adiposity.Methods: Consenting participants in the Manchester Mothers’ Heart and Vascular health study had serum adipokines measured ...

Introduction: IGF-I and its binding proteins may modulate cardiovascular risk. As part of our Manchester Mothers’ Cardiovascular study, we tested in pre-menopausal women the hypothesis that higher circulating IGF-I concentrations would be associated with lesser arterial stiffness and lower cardiac (LV) mass, while higher IGFBP1, reflecting less pre-hepatic insulin, would be positively related to small vessel function.Methods: About 193 women aged 32...

Context: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with insulin resistance (IR) and obesity, both predisposing factors to type 2 diabetes. A very recently described adipokine, retinol-binding protein 4 (RBP-4), has been shown to modulate insulin signalling and possibly lead to IR. At present, there is no data that depict the relative expression of RBP-4 in either serum or adipose tissue of PCOS women.Objectives: In women with PCOS compared to matche...

The gastrointestinal-derived hormone peptide YY (PYY) is released from intestinal L-cells post-prandially in proportion to calorie intake, and modulates food intake. Peripheral administration of PYY (3-36) reduces food intake and body weight in rodents and suppresses appetite and food intake in humans. PYY(3-36) is hypothesised to inhibit food intake via activation of the auto-inhibitory pre-synaptic neuropeptide Y (NPY) Y2 receptor (Y2R) present on arcua...

SEMDs are a heterogeneous group of skeletal disorders characterised by defective growth and modelling of the spine and long bones. Genetic defects in two inherited SEMDs have been identified and these involve abnormalities of the collagen type II gene located on chromosome 12q12-q13.2, and an ATP sulfurylase/APS kinase gene located on 10q23-34. These are not the cause of the Missouri variant (SEMDMO), which occurs as an autosomal dominant trait in a unique four-gene...

The hypothalamic melanocortin system is a regulator of energy homeostasis. Chronic CNS administration of Agouti related peptide (Agrp) causes increased food intake, increased body adiposity, an inhibition of the HPT axis and a suppression of BAT UCP-1. The ability of Agrp to alter oxygen consumption, a measure of energy expenditure, is unknown.Chronic daily ICV administration of Agrp (1nmol) caused a 54% increase in food intake (food intake, day 7: Agrp...