Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Symptomatic hypogonadism is frequent and associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events. Hypogonadism is often treated with testosterone replacement. In a recent meta-analysis on adverse events in randomised placebo controlled testosterone replacement trials (RPCT), no differences between testosterone or placebo/non-intervention groups with regards to cardiovascular events or risk factors was observed. Conversely, a contemporary RPCT in elderly immobile pa...

Objective: Patients with low thyroid peroxidase antibodies (anti-TPO) and increased TSH-receptor antibodies (TRAb) at diagnosis of Graves’ disease (GD) have been suggested to have an increased risk to develop Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO). The aim was to evaluate if GO development can be predicted.Design: Observational study with registration of possible GD and GO risk factors.Methods: Three hundred and ninety nine patients...

Glucocorticoid (GC) excess inhibits wound healing (WH) causing increased patient discomfort and infection risk. The GC-activating enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) regulates local GC availability in tissues including liver, adipose, and muscle. 11β-HSD1 is also expressed in skin, where studies recently demonstrated increased levels in older donors and a reversal of age-induced dermal atrophy in 11β-HSD1-null mice. However, the role o...

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency is increasingly being recognized as a metabolic disorder in temperate climates with various bone, cardiovascular and systemic manifestations. However topical, it is important to exclude tumour induced osteogenic osteomalacia as a possible aetiology in severe vitamin D deficiency when other risk factors (vegetarian diet, ethnicity, etc.) are absent. Early diagnosis of malignant tumors could be life saving and their resection may make this vita...

Liquorice (scientific name Glycyrrhiza glabra) is historically used for gastrointestinal complaints. Now it is primarily used as a flavoring agent in the tobacco, confectionery and to some extent in the pharmaceutical and beverage industries. Excessive intake of liquorice may cause a primary hyperaldosteronism-like syndrome characterized by sodium and water retention, hypertension, hypokalaemia, metabolic alkalosis, low-renin activity, and hypoaldosteronism. We descri...

Hypoparathyridsm and pseudohypoparathyroidsm are the common causes of pathological calcification in the brain though 0.3–1.5% cases are physiological. The clinical presentation of hypoparathyroidsm can vary with the calcium levels and chronicity of hypocalcaemia. We describe a 39-year-old female who had type one diabetes for the last 23 years. She was repeatedly hospitalised with collapse episodes thought to be hypoglycaemic though never proved. She also had primary hypop...

We previously showed acute hypoxic conditions result in atrophy of myotubes in vitro. Chronic hypoxic exposure in vivo induces muscular atrophy in healthy mountaineering individuals and patients with COPD. Myotubes in vitro increase myostatin expression in response to hypoxic exposure. Further, hypoxic COPD patients show cachexia and increased serum myostatin expression. However, in vivo results are cofounded by disease factors in COPD patie...

Thyrotoxicosis is a common disorder especially in women. Most of the patients tolerate antithyroid medications very well with very few developing life threatening side effects. We describe a 64 years old gentleman who was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism secondary to Grave’s disease (autoimmune). He was treated with Carbimazole 20 mg daily. With in a month, he presented with malaise and reduced oral intake. Laboratory investigations showed acute cholestatic hepatitis with r...

Postoperative hypocalcaemia is usually transient; we present a case report of persistent symptomatic hypocalcaemia following elective thyroid surgery; its challenging pharmaceutical management including the successful use of a novel therapeutic agent. A 56 yr old woman with known type 2 diabetes, morbid obesity (treated with gastric band), and benign intracranial hypertension underwent total thyroidectomy for a multi-nodular goitre, following which she became symptomatic with ...

Glucocorticoids (Gc) are the most potent anti-inflammatory agents known. A major factor limiting their clinical use is the wide variation in responsiveness to treatment between individuals and over time. Generating a reversible model of Gc resistance in vitro that will mimic the cellular microenvironment in vivo is critical in (i) defining biomarkers that predict patient steroid responsiveness; (ii) provide a model to screen new GR modulators capable of potentiating GR ...