Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Adrenal crises (ACs) are life-threatening events in patients with primary (PAI) or secondary (SAI) adrenal insufficiency, occurring ~4–10 times per 100 patient-years. Major causes of ACs are infections, especially gastroenteritis and tonsillitis/laryngitis. Risk factors for ACs remain ill defined, but could include concomitant endocrine diseases (diabetes mellitus, premature ovarian failure) in PAI, diabetes insipidus in SAI, and concomitant non-endocrine di...

Introduction: Long-term survivors of childhood-onset brain tumours have increased risk of premature vascular disease by mechanisms that remain unclear. We hypothesised that a thrombotic fibrin network profile is one mechanism for the increased vascular risk in this population.Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional study in 33 patients with previous history of brain tumours and 33 age and sex-matched healthy controls. We performed clot structure analysis...

Background: Diagnosing secondary hypothyroidism can be challenging, particularly for patients with low-normal free T4 (fT4). Thyroid hormone replacement (THR) in these cases is guided by the normal population fT4 range. The aim of this study was to compare thyroid function tests in thyroid cancer patients on THR and patients with pituitary diseases with or without central hypothyroidism.Methods: We retrospectively collect...

Background: Antithyroid drugs (ATDs) are preferred as a first-line treatment for Graves’ disease (GD). However, around 50–60% of patients relapse following treatment withdrawal. Radioactive iodine (RAI) or thyroidectomy is recommended for these patients, however, repeat ATD therapy is a further option, dependent upon patient choice. The long-term efficacy of ATD in relapsed GD has not been robustly established.Methods: We conducted a retrospect...

Background: Current therapeutic options for Graves’ disease (GD) include antithyroid drugs (ATD), radioactive iodine (RAI) or thyroidectomy. ATD treatment is widely used but the relatively high recurrence rate (~50%) after ATD discontinuation is a major concern. Identification of risk factors predicting relapse in GD patients after stopping ATD is decisive to guide initial treatment choices.Methods: We conducted a retrospective study to determine th...

Introduction: Childhood-onset cancer survivors demonstrate increased mortality rates due to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events. Studies suggest that leukaemia and brain tumour survivors have a relative risk of 6.4 and 29.0 respectively for stroke. Adverse lipid profile, body composition, insulin resistance and hypertension have been implicated to the increased cardiovascular risk in these patients, however little is known about procoagulant factors and markers of vascul...

Introduction: Patients with acromegaly are frequently left with long-term adverse sequelae. Cross-sectional evaluation of health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) using both generic and specific questionnaires (AcroQoL) has confirmed HR-QoL to be severely impaired in acromegaly. However, long-term HR-QoL outcomes following disease control have been less well-described.Methods: The disease specific questionnaire AcroQoL and three validated generic question...

Introduction: Patients with acromegaly are frequently left with long-term adverse sequelae. When compared with individuals with other pituitary adenomas, patients with acromegaly demonstrate greater impairment in their quality of life (QoL).Methods: The disease-specific questionnaire, AcroQoL, and the generic psychological general well-being schedule (PGWBS) were used to evaluate QoL in an acromegaly patient cohort. Longitudinal data were also collected ...

Introduction: No consensus guidelines currently exist as to the optimal glucocorticoid regimen in adrenal insufficiency (AI). In clinical practice physicians utilise a number of different glucocorticoids, usually administered in several doses throughout the day.Methods: The EU-AIR registry is a European multinational, multicentre, prospective, observational study sponsored by Shire inclusive of all patients with AI irrespective of aetiology. We analysed ...

Introduction: Emerging research in 3D-bone shape has provided new insights into the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). OA patients have increased subchondral bone area, associated with higher prevalence of cartilage loss. Higher B-score, a novel, machine learning-derived OA bone biomarker, is associated with increased OA symptom severity and structural progression. Arthropathy, despite being the commonest cause of morbidity amongst acromegaly patients, remains one of the und...