Endocrine Abstracts

GH acts through a cell surface receptor, GHR, which is a member of the type 1 cytokine receptor family. Cytokine receptors have a single trans-membrane domain and dimerisation is required to activate intra-cellular signalling pathways. In common with other cytokine receptors the extra-cellular domain of the GHR is proteolitically cleaved and circulates as a binding protein. Under physiological conditions GH is in part bound in the circulation and the complex with the binding p...

Knowledge transfer has now entered common parlance to describe the interaction between industry and universities. Knowledge transfer frequently involves exchange of money. It consists of many different activities which include teaching, consultancy, licensing patents, and spinning out companies. Many academics provide consultancy to industry and this has the attractive benefits of bringing money to the individual and bringing industry to the university. Consultancy is usually ...

Section 1: Case history: Adrenal haemorrhage in pregnancy is rare but life threatening. We present the case of a 23-year-old woman who developed idiopathic spontaneous bilateral adrenal haemorrhages during pregnancy. The patient, without significant past medical history, presented at 35 weeks of gestation with right sided lower thoracic and abdominal pain which was thought to be musculoskeletal in nature; she was discharged home once the pain settled. She represented at 37 wee...

We report the case of a 37-year-old woman with a 9-month history of intermittent and variable symptoms of anorexia, nausea & vomiting, muscular weakness and pain in association with recurrent hypoglycaemic episodes. The patient stated that she had episodes of myalgia with generalised weakness affecting mobility and a history of significant weight loss as a result of anorexia and nausea & vomiting. The patient had two previous hospital admissions with similar symptoms a...

Richard JM Ross, Professor of Endocrinology, Faculty Academic Lead for Innovation and Head of Unit Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism, University of Sheffield, UK AbstractRichard Ross trained in Medicine at The Royal London Hospital (1974–1979) and in Endocrinology at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London (1983–1988). He was appointed to Sheffield University in 1995 and is Professor of Endocrinology and He...

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...

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Cranial Diabetes Insipidus is a rare diagnosis and rarer still postpartum. We present the case of 24-year-old woman who developed CDI following pregnancy. The patient had developed polydipsia and polyuria 5 months following pregnancy. The pregnancy had been complicated by Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and a large Postpartum Haemorrhage. The patient reported feeling fatigued, lightheaded and she stated a need to drink water frequently: ~ 8 litres throughout the day and 4 litres...

Parents of children with adrenal insufficiency are taught to administer a hydrocortisone intramuscular (IM) injection in an adrenal crisis. This involves assembling a needle and syringe and drawing up a dose from a vial. It is known that parents report high confidence levels in administration of the injection but at the time of acute illness actual administration is poor. This study set out to see if introducing a planned refresher session for families would impact confidence ...

We report the case of a 47-year-old woman with a 5-year history of weight gain, resistant hypertension and uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. She complained of oligomenorrhoea, depression and had a strikingly Cushingoid appearance and so underwent evaluation for Cushing’s Disease.Investigations revealed elevated 24-hour urine free cortisol (UFC) collections on 2 occasions: 540 nmols/24h and 624 nmols/24h. Overnight dexamethasone suppression testing (ODST...