Endocrine Abstracts

Authors present a case report of the 25-year patient with suspicion of adrenal insufficiency (AI). Based on the clinical picture and plasma cortisol levels in low-dose 1 μg ACTH test (32.00–65.40 nmol/l, normal response >500 nmol/l) AI was confirmed. On ECG record was present deep s-wave in leads I, II, III, aVF, V5-V6 and rsŕ-shaped QRS complex in leads aVR and V1 – finding consistent with incomplete right bundle-branch block. Moreover horizontal eleva...

Introduction: The tendency to eat salty foods is an individualized matter. Aldosterone plays an important role in this increase in salt appetite. In this study the effects of different salt concentrations during pregnancy on Na and aldosterone level, adrenal gland and salt appetite of rat’s infants and the relation of salt consumption with Bp were studied.Method: Eight groups of rats, six rats in each group, (ones of male and five female) having 200...

Introduction: Paediatric Cushing’s disease is rare and up to 50% have incomplete cure.1 Besides hypopituitarism growth failure is particularly common and maybe due to GH deficiency, target tissue resistance2 or accelerated skeletal maturation 3. Our patient is an 18-year-old obese male who first presented at the age of 16 with delayed puberty and short stature.Results: His 24 hr urinary cortisol was 1472 nmol/l, ACTH...

Permanent hypoparathyroidism is rare after total thyroidectomy. However, our experience is that often patients remain on alfacalcidol and calcium supplements long-term after thyroidectomy.A study was initiated in our centre in 2004, whereby all patients on alfacalcidol or calcium supplements post thyroidectomy underwent a gradual alfacalcidol and calcium reduction programme. Of 57 patients thus enrolled, we report on 22 who were initially on alfacalcidol...

Introduction: Krukenberg tumour is an ovarian metastasis of G I tract cancer; Accounting for 1 to 2% of all ovarian tumours. It is usually bilateral and more common in premenopausal compared to menopausal women. Krukenberg tumours are rare but virilizing Krukenberg tumours are even rarer. We report a case of virilizing Krukenberg tumour.A 58-year-old Caucasian lady who was diagnosed with inoperable metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma, ascites and bilateral...

A 92-year-old man presented with a one-month history of episodic aggression, confusion, urinary incontinence and auditory hallucinations. Episodes lasted 30 - 150 minutes, occurred daily and were abruptly self-terminating. Between episodes he was cognitively intact and lived independently. Initial investigations revealed a plasma glucose of 11.0 millimoles per litre, other biochemical tests were normal.He was known to have a pleural mass at the left lung...

The causes of panhypopituitarism are well known and pituitary metastases is a recognised but rare cause. It can often be difficult to diagnose because the non-specific features of malignancy mask those of pituitary involvement.We present the case of a 73 year old gentleman who complained of fatigue and weight loss. He had recently been treated for a radiographically proven bronchopneumonia. Endocrine checks suggested secondary hypothyroidism however (TSH...

Now that the sequence of the entire human genome is known and the number of predicted genes is estimated, the next challenge is to assign biological function to each of the genes. A new and very powerful way for exploring gene function is offered by RNA interference (RNAi). In this method, the introduction of double-stranded RNA identical in sequence to that of the gene of interest inactivates the gene or, more precisely, 'interferes' with its function.T...

A 35 year-old lady presented with classical acromegaly. Headache was a significant feature of her presentation. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) confirmed acromegaly, with growth hormone (GH) levels of 21.6, 21.5, 27.0, 25.0 and 24.7 mU/l at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes respectively. A large pituitary tumour invading the left cavernous sinus was found. Trans-sphenoidal hypophysectomy lowered GH levels but did not provide biochemical cure (10.2, 7.2, 8.1, 9.6, 9.3 mU/l). ...

Expression of the ACTH receptor, MC2-R, is highly restricted, being detectable in the mouse only in the adrenal cortex and adipose tissue. The promoter of the murine MC2-R contains binding sites for SF-1, a transcription factor that has been shown to be essential for the transcriptional activity of a number of steroidogenic genes. However, SF-1 is not expressed in adipocytes and therefore is not essential for MC2-R expression in these cells. We have investigated the requiremen...