Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Newborn screening is the only systematic work-up of thyroid disorders in Slovakia with unambigously proven positivities. There is wide discussion regarding the screening of thyreopathies in specific risk groups such as pregnant women.Aims: To study the gynaecologist and endocrinologist co-operation in screening pregnant patients from region of Liptov and Orava for autoimmune thyroiditis.Subjects and methods: The partici...

The human prostate is highly susceptible to benign and malignant proliferative changes and is associated with the development of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa), two of the most common diseases affecting elderly males. The diseased-associated stroma undergoes significant remodelling, including fibroblast-to-myofibroblast/smooth muscle cell transdifferentiation. Subsequent increased secretion of cytokines and growth factors generates a growth favour...

Objective: To describe a postmenopausal lady with hirsutism secondary to a rare leydig cell tumour of the ovary.Case history: A 55 year lady who attained menopause at the age of 49 was referred to us by GP for facial hirsutism of 5 years duration. She was bothered by recent excess hair growth of 4 months duration on the face and arms. She had no other virilising symptoms.On examination, she appeared cushingoid, had a BMI of 31, had...

We report a case of hyperparathyroid crisis presenting with bradycardia (junctional rhythm) in a 65 years old ex nurse with manifestations of hypercalcemia of more than 10 years duration. She presented with palpitation, feeling light headed and not being herself for a day. She found her pulse to be 30/min, which triggered her admission to the accident and emergency department. She was not in any medication to cause hypercalcemia. On examination, she was dry and her thyroid was...

Mammalian differentiation of the external genitalia must be strictly dimorphic for reproductive success. In humans, this is established by a complex interplay of genetic and hormonal factors during 7–12 weeks post-conception (wpc). Despite being fundamental to normal human biology, understanding of human sexual differentiation remains limited. Our objective was to define the onset and regulation of androgen biosynthesis in the human fetal testis and correlate this to diff...

Iodothyronamines are endogenous trace amines which are putative products of thyroid hormone decarboxylation by Aromatic Amino acid Decarboxylase (AADC). 3-Iodothyronamine (T1AM) has been shown to have profound effects on rodents in vivo, including reductions in body temperature, blood pressure and cardiac output, alongside a switch from carbohydrate to fat utilisation. It is possible that T1AM induces some of these effec...

A 57-year-old female patient was admitted for evaluation of multiple focal liver lesions diagnosed with abdominal ultrasound and CT. Her medical history included severe rheumatoid arthritis and pernicious anaemia treated with vitamin B12. Gastroscopic examination revealed numerous small polypoid lesions within the stomach, and histology of tissue samples obtained by biopsy showed carcinoid associated with atrophic gastritis. Although the patient had no symptoms of carcinoid sy...

Aim: Short Synacthen test (SST) has become increasingly accepted and widely used screening test for the assessment of the integrity of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), however there are difference of opinion about the duration of the test and most acceptable is 30 minutes plasma cortisol level after giving 250 μg of synacthen. Therefore we have compared 30 minutes SST with 60 minutes SST for assessment of the HPA axis.Method: Response to th...

Insulinoma is a tumour of the endocrine pancreas, usually benign, with an annual incidence of 1–2 new cases per million population. We describe a case of Insulinoma complicated by the simultaneous development of diabetes.A 72year old lady had episodes of funny turns and confusion following her meal. She had lost a stone in weight over 6–8 months. There was no history of sulphonylurea ingestion. Examination revealed low BMI and no evidence of ra...

J was born at term (2.62 kg). She presented aged six months with severe faltering growth, (weight 5.1 kg, length 57.3 cm, OFC 39.0 cm). Investigations showed elevated prolactin (1838 mIU/l) and undetectable IGF1 but were otherwise normal. Her karyotype was 46XX. A brain MRI was normal. By 11 months of age she had evident developmental delay and dysmorphic features (triangular face; hypertelorism; synophrys; broad nasal root; short nose with rounded tip; carp like mouth; short ...