Endocrine Abstracts

Hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance (IR) are well recognised features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). There is an interaction of BMI with ovarian morphology so that the more obese the subject with PCOS the greater the degree of IR compared with weight-matched controls. There is an associated dyslipidaemia and it has been suggested that women with PCOS are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, although there is, as yet, little direct evidence for this. It is, h...

The key centre regulating energy balance is the hypothalamus. It receives several inputs. First there is the input from the CNS. Higher centres (psychological input) give information about food palatability, likely environmental dangers during feeding etc. There is also information of a more basic kind (sleep/wake cycles, pain, metabolic disturbance etc). Secondly there is somatic afferent input, for example from the vagus, which is mainly processed and relayed through the bra...

We have established a cohort of 700 subjects with severe early-onset obesity. The average age of onset of clinical presentation of obesity is less than 5 years of age and the mean body mass index standard deviation score is >4. In this cohort, we have detected three independent probands with congenital leptin deficiency, and they and their families are currently undergoing a long-term therapeutic trial of leptin replacement therapy with beneficial effects on energy balance,...

Cyclooxygenase (COX), the rate-limiting enzyme in prostaglandin (PG) biosynthesis exists in two isoforms, COX-1 and COX-2. They are encoded by two separate genes, and show cell-type specific expression and regulation. The expression of COX-1 is constitutive, whereas that of COX-2 is inducible by cytokines/growth factors or inflammatory stimuli. Since the processes of ovulation and implantation are considered analogous to 'proinflammatory' responses, and the involvement of PGs ...

An estimated 100 million people worldwide currently suffer from type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The incidence of T2DM is steadily escalating throughout the world in people from a wide range of ethnic groups and all social and economic levels. Parallel with the global epidemic of T2DM in adults, an 'emerging epidemic' of T2DM has been observed in youth over the last decade. Research and clinical experience in adults have established that insulin resistance is a major risk fact...

Obese boys tend to begin puberty later than their peers who are not overweight. This was a clinical observation made in the Clinic's population of overweight boys. The study described here follows from this observation. The study group consisted of 45 boys in the age 12-15 years with a BMI of 25 or over and were in SMR1. The control group consisted of age matched 15 boys with a BMI ranging from 12-15 and their maturity varied from SMR 2-4. These boys were attending the Clinic ...

Modern methods of induction of ovulation and assisted conception techniques have offered renewed hope for many infertile couples, including those with genetic causes of infertility. Turner's syndrome is, of course, characterised by primary ovarian failure and although spontaneous ovulation and conceptions have occasionally been reported, (usually in mosaic forms of Turner's) these events are rare and unpredictable. Attempts to induce ovulation are futile. The most realistic ch...

Being different = XOTurner Syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality where all or part of one X chromosome is missing causing some or all of the body cells to have one inactive, an absent or only a fragment of one X chromosome. Physical manifestation of the classic features of Turner Syndrome are well described, what is not so well understood are the psychosocial aspects of Turner Syndrome.Although intelligence is generally in the norm...

Vitamin D deficiency and osteomalacia continue to cause significant morbidity in Bradford. Outpatient attendance suggests this condition remains widespread. Poor awareness of this preventable and treatable condition exists. This audit was undertaken to highlight the frequency of normal biochemistry in patients with osteomalacia / vitamin D deficiency. Fifty-five patients (4M, 51F; 51 Asian, 4 Caucasian) were identified from our departmental computerised endocrine database. 25-...

β-catenin is thought to play an important, intrinsic role in early pituitary development by regulating adenohypophysis (anterior pituitary) transcription factor activity. Expression of β-catenin is detected in the adenohypophysis, rostral mesenchyme, and neural ectoderm, including the area that develops into the infundibulum and neurohypophysis, and nearby regions. The importance of β-catenin expression in the neural ectoderm and mesenchyme has not been addresse...