Endocrine Abstracts

The observed association between thyroid disorders and breast cancer has provoked many investigations. One area where there is some, although far from universal, agreement is the finding of an increased prevalence of anti-thyroid autoantibodies in breast cancer patients compared to controls. Whether this is a feature of a generalised autoimmune response to breast cancer, or provoked by the enzyme thyroid peroxidase acting as an autoantigen, remains unclear. In this study we lo...

Background: Oxidative stress has been implicated in the development and progression of complications in type 1 diabetes (T1DM). Vitamin E (α-tocopherol) undergoes β-oxidation of its chomanol ring and the resulting metabolite α-TLHQ has been proposed as a potential biomarker of oxidative stress. HbA1c relates in T1DM to microvascular complications predominantly although the end-points are late in disease development. The oxidative stress process may act independe...

Introduction: 3-M syndrome is associated with mutations in CUL7, OBSL1 and CCDC8 with the three proteins interacting within a novel growth pathway. The impact of this pathway on cellular growth has not been fully defined. We have shown that i) GH and IGF1 signalling are altered; ii) IGF2 expression is reduced and iii) expression of insulin receptor isoforms are altered in 3-M fibroblasts.Aim: To characterise the activa...

In hypoparathyroidism, inadequate levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) result in hypocalcemia and often hyperphosphatemia. Large doses of calcium (Ca) and active vitamin D are typically used to manage symptoms, although these are often associated with complications and do not address the underlying PTH deficiency. In the phase III REPLACE trial, 24 weeks of treatment with rhPTH(1–84) was associated with maintained serum Ca without urine Ca excretion increases despite clini...

Introduction: GH deficiency (GHD) is associated with reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and treatment leads to its increase. BMD, a quantitative bone parameter, doesn’t bring whole information about bone status. Nowadays, bone quality shows as main determinant of bone strength, fracture prediction and treatment effect monitoring. A method to assess bone quality through the grey-level texture analysis from lumbar spine DXA scan is trabecular bone score (TBS).<p class="...

Background: Recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) is the primary therapeutic agent for disorders of growth including growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and Turner syndrome (TS). There is a high cost associated with treatment and existing methods to predict response (and hence alter management) can only account for 40–60% of the variance.Methods: GHD (n=71) and TS patients (n=43) were recruited as part of a study (PREDICT) on the lo...

Clinical Endocrinology 2013 79 27–34. DOI: 10.1111/cen.12206...

Background: Acromegaly is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, however currect medical treatment controls the disease in <60% of patients. Pegvisomant, a pegylated GH antagonist, controls the disease in over 95% of cases, but is not cost effective as it requires high dose daily injections and has side-effects. We have developed a technology for generating a long acting potent GH antagonist.Hypothesis: That a GH antagonist fused to GH bi...

There is concern about the effects of long-term bisphosphonate use. A ‘treatment holiday’ is now considered after 5 years but there is no evidence as to the best way in which to monitor this.Aim: To look at the effect that a ‘treatment holiday’ has on the bone turnover marker, amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP) and bone mineral density (BMD).Methods: A retrospective case note review of 55 patients currently underg...

Background: The short- and long-term clinical outcome of patients receiving radioactive iodine treatment (RAI) differs in various studies. There is little consensus regarding the most appropriate dose of RAI to be administered. The range of activities currently prescribed varies between 200 and 800 MBq, with majority of patients receiving 400–600 MBq. In our centre, all patients receive a standard fixed dose of 400 MBq.Aim: To assess the cure rate w...