Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology

ea0025pl6 | Society for Endocrinology Medal Lecture | SFEBES2011

The bare bones of thyroid hormones

Williams Graham R

Hypothyroidism delays bone formation, whilst thyrotoxicosis accelerates skeletal development but is a risk factor for osteoporosis. We characterized mice with mutation or deletion of T3 receptors, TRα and TRβ, in several genetic backgrounds. Delayed ossification and growth retardation were observed in TRα mutants, whereas TRβ mutants had advanced bone age. Adult TRα mutants had high bone mass, whereas TRβ mutants were osteoporotic. Targ...

ea0025pl6biog | Society for Endocrinology Medal Lecture | SFEBES2011

Society for Endocrinology Medal Lecture

Williams G R

G R Williams, Imperial College London, London, UK. AbstractGraham R Williams obtained a BSc in Anatomy and MBBS from St Thomas’s Hospital, London and undertook PhD studies in Molecular Endocrinology at Birmingham University. He trained as a Howard Hughes and MRC Fellow at Harvard Medical School, USA and was an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellow in Birmingham. He was appointed Senior Lecturer at the Royal Postgraduate...

ea0024s17 | Symposium 1 – Transition and Therapeutics | BSPED2010

Steroid replacement

Ross R J M

Cortisol secretion follows a distinct circadian rhythm, with circulating levels low at sleep onset, beginning to rise between 0200 and 0400 h, peaking within an hour of waking and then declining through the day. This circadian rhythm is determined by the central endogenous clock (pacemaker) of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, located in the hypothalamic supra-chiasmatic nucleus. The HPA axis plays an important role in maintaining alertness and modulatin...

ea0024p18 | (1) | BSPED2010

The effect of pubertal timing on later adult obesity

Prentice P , Viner R

Introduction: Obesity has become an international epidemic, with complex multifactorial aetiology. Both modifiable and unchangeable risk factors must be identified, to target public health interventions. Some studies have suggested that earlier pubertal maturation increases risk of adult obesity, although others have found no relationship. We aimed to meta-analyse existing data and hypothesised that any association is likely to be confounded by childhood adiposity.<p class...

ea0022pl6 | Sex and SOX | ECE2010

Sex and SOX

Lovell-Badge R

Abstract Unavailable....

ea0019s39 | Novel aspects of bone physiology in relation to osteoporosis treatment | SFEBES2009

AMEND Young Investigators Award

Williams G R

Osteoporosis is characterised by bone fragility with increased susceptibility to fracture. The burden of osteoporosis already costs the NHS over £1.7 billion per annum but its prevalence is increasing. The skeleton is continually remodelled in response to endocrine, paracrine and mechanical signals by the coupled activities of osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Nevertheless, the continuous process of bone turnover results in an inexorable loss of bone because osteoblast-mediate...

ea0019p24 | Clinical practice/governance and case reports | SFEBES2009

All that glitters (on a bone scan) is not cancer

George J , Moisey R

Introduction: Malignancies and hyperparathyroidism account for over 90% of cases of hypercalcaemia. When presenting with suppressed PTH, malignancy is its commonest cause. We present a case of PTH-independent hypercalcaemia of immobilisation responding to bisphosphonate therapy.Case summary: A 57-year-old Caucasian male presented with significant weight loss and severe back pain. He consumed 50 units of alcohol a week, had stopped smoking 20 years earlie...

ea0019p313 | Steroids | SFEBES2009

Dehydroepiandrosterone steroids are regulators of immune function via leukocyte annexin 1

Renshaw D , Flower R

There is evidence from human studies that dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) may regulate acquired immunity by promoting a shift towards a T helper type 1 (Th1) phenotype and in innate immunity by suppression of inflammation. Interestingly, circulating levels of DHEA/DHEA-S are significantly reduced in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosis and are also negatively correlated with age.Annexin 1 (ANXA1) is a glucocorticoid-induced p...

ea0019p336 | Steroids | SFEBES2009

1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 increases the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and interleukin 8 (IL-8) in a human proximal tubule cell line

Markovic D , Bland R

The active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25D3), is a potent regulator of the immune system and activation of the vitamin D receptor alters expression and secretion of cytokines, chemokines and cell adhesion factors. Initial studies suggested that 1,25D3 synthesis and metabolism are increased in renal epithelial cells by TNFα and IL-1β. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether vitamin D alters the expression of immune activated molecule...

ea0015s23 | Thyroid hormones in development: physiology and clinical implications | SFEBES2008

The HPT axis in control of skeletal development

Williams Graham R

Hypothyroidism delays bone development, whilst thyrotoxicosis causes osteoporosis. Recent studies have challenged understanding of skeletal responses to thyroid hormone by proposing TSH as a negative regulator of bone turnover and suggesting bone loss in hyperthyroidism results from TSH deficiency and not T3-excess. To investigate, we characterised mice with mutations or deletions of the genes encoding T3 receptor (TR) α and TRβ. Endochondral ossification was retarde...