Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Diabetes increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease irrespective of glycaemic control. Cortisol and growth hormone (GH) abnormalities have been found in these patients and have been proposed as possible mechanisms for this increased risk.Regular exercise, through an unknown mechanism, can modify cardiovascular risk and so prevent or delay the progression of coronary heart disease. In this study we assessed whether an exercise program would a...

The glycoprotein hormone common alpha-subunit (alphaGSU) is an early endocrine marker of pituitary development and is expressed concurrently with the orphan nuclear receptor, steroidogenic factor-1 (SF-1). Our studies have examined the potential role of SF-1 in alphaGSU gene expression using two gonadotroph-derived cell lines as models of the developing pituitary.We investigated the role of SF-1 and its binding site, the gonadotroph-specific element (GSE...

In our in-vitro experiments we examined the involvement of insulin-like growth factor type II (IGF-II) in the control of ovarian function in domestic fowl, together with the intracellular mechanisms of IGF-II action. Fragments of ovarian follicles were cultured with and without IGF-II (1-100 ng/ml), blockers of protein kinase A (PAK, KT5820, 10 mg/ml), tyrosine kinase (TK, AG1024, 1mg/ml), mitogen-activated protein konase (MAPK, PD98059, 10 mg/ml), cyclin-dependent protein kin...

We present a case of acquired hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (HH) in a 54-year-old man that illustrates the need for wider endocrine screening in such patients. Having undergone complete pubertal development as a teenager and subsequently fathered two children, the patient presented with a nine-month history of reduced libido, erectile dysfunction, hot sweats and headaches. His GP had diagnosed HH on the basis of a low testosterone with inappropriately low gonadotrophins. Exam...

The UKPDS trial confirmed that improving glycaemic control (median 0.9 % HbA1c difference over median 10 years), with sulphonylurea or insulin therapy, could reduce significantly the risk of microvascular complications (25%, p=0.0099) and was associated with a 16% trend (p=0.052) to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). In overweight UKPDS patients allocated metformin as first line therapy the 0.6% median HbA1c difference obtained was associated...

Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is one of the most frequent congenital diseases. In 85% of cases, this condition is due to thyroid dysgenesis (TD) whose phenotype - thyroid absent or ectopically located and/or severely reduced in size - clearly represent disturbances during gland organogenesis. Some years ago we discovered that three transcription factors, TTF-1, TTF-2 and Pax-8, are expressed not only in mature thyroid cells but also in their precursors. Work in animal models ...

Roberto Di Lauro, School of Medicine of the University of Naples 'Federico II', Naples, Italy AbstractRoberto Di Lauro is Professor of Human Genetics at the School of Medicine of the University of Naples 'Federico II'. He is also responsible for the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Stazione Zoologica 'Anton Dohrn' (Naples). He was visiting associate from 1974 to 1978 and visiting scientist from 1...

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterised by the loss of specific subsets of neurons, and whilst drug therapies exist for some of these disorders (eg Parkinson's disease) none of them are curative. This has led to the search for a cell-based therapy, the most successful being the transplantation of human fetal tissue into Parkinson's patients. However, there are ethical and logistical problems associated with this tissue collection, hence an alternative source has been soug...

A 74 year old female presented with symptoms of recent fatigue, nausea and weight loss. No other symptoms were present. She had previously had a hysterectomy with conservation of both ovaries 30 years previously for fibroids. The rest of her history was unremarkable. No undue clinical findings were apparent on examination. Initial bloods revealed normal haematology, biochemistry and liver profiles. Corrected calcium was elevated at 3.07 millimoles per litre(2.1-2.6). Subsequen...

The prenatal environment has a major influence on development and function of endocrine systems throughout life. We have shown that a short period of maternal nutrient restriction (48h), at the time of maximal fetal brain growth in the guinea pig, permanently modifies HPA function throughout the life of the offspring. This effect is highly sex-specific; males exhibit decreased basal and activated pituitary-adrenal activity, while females exhibit elevated activity. In the prese...