Endocrine Abstracts

LHX3 is a LIM homeodomain transcription factor necessary for proper development of the pituitary and central nervous system. Patients with mutations in coding regions of the LHX3 gene have complex syndromes including combined pituitary hormone deficiency and nervous system defects resulting in symptoms such as dwarfism, thyroid insufficiency, infertility, and developmental delay. Although previous studies from our group and others have identified promoter and intronic elements...

Clinical presentation of pituitary adenomas is influenced by age of patients and stage of the tumour at diagnosis. In this study we intended to analyse the features of pituitary adenomas in old patients.Subjects and methods: It is a retro- and prospective study concerning 37 patients (19F/18M) aged 60 years and over harbouring a pituitary adenoma, these patients were divided into two groups:Group 1 (G1): Patients with invasive and/or giant tum...

A 22 years old woman, with secondary infertility, was found to have secondary hypothyroidism and referred to endocrinology. On review her symptoms consisted of headache for 6 months, amenorrhoea, weight gain and progressive loss of vision in the left eye for 6–9 months, which had been investigated by opticians and opthalmologists. Other history includes Von Willebrand disease type2. Clinical examination confirmed total loss of vision of the left eye and complete temporal ...

Alterations in thyroid hormone levels are commonly observed in critical illness with thyroxine replacement remaining a controversial issue. We undertook a prospective observational cohort study in medical intensive care unit of Gauhati Medical College to evaluate whether thyroid hormone levels at admission could be used to predict mortality and compared it to the well established APACHE II scoring system for ICU patients. Serum T3, T4 and TSH were estimat...

Background: Surgery remains the mainstay of treatment for both benign and malignant thyroid disease. Permanent hypoparathyroidism and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury are the two most commonly occurring complications post thyroid surgery. The aim of this study is to determine the risk factors for developing post-operative complications.Methods: From January 1999 to March 2009, all patients who underwent thyroid surgery under the care of one surgeon were ...

Introduction: We describe an 11-year-old boy (N) with Medium-Chain Acyl Dehydrogenase Deficiency (MCADD) diagnosed at one year of life and type 1 IDDM diagnosed at 10 years.History and discussion: N was diagnosed with MCADD when he was found hypoglycaemic. He was treated with the standard Emergency Regimen (a special feeding plan used if the child is unwell or not feeding well, wherein glucose polymer feeds are given frequently) and has had no further pr...

Hypophosphatemic rickets is a genetically heterogeneous disorder of defective renal phosphate transport and vitamin D metabolism with an X-linked dominant (XLHR), autosomal-dominant (ADHR) or autosomal-recessive (ARHR) pattern of inheritance. Germline mutations in the PHEX gene are associated with the X-linked form which affects both males and females. The autosomal dominant form is characterised by mutations in the FGF23 gene and the autosomal recessive form by ...

Background: Bone densitometry by DXA is now considered routine part of clinical management of children at risk of osteoporosis. Data on activity of a paediatric DXA service would be helpful for service planning but are currently lacking.Aim: A survey of referrals to the service and size-adjusted total body (TB) and lumbar spine (LS) bone mineral content for bone-area standard deviation scores (BMC for BA SDS) were obtained from the local database.<p ...

Life events occurring during the perinatal period have strong permanent long-term effects on the behavioural and neuroendocrine response to stressors. In rats, repeated restraint stress of the pregnant dam during the last week of pregnancy produces long lasting changes in the HPA axis function and behaviours in the offspring. These changes include a hyperactivity of HPA axis response associated with a reduction in the number of hippocampal corticosteroid receptors. The HPA dys...

It has previously been shown that protein restriction during pregnancy impairs the physiological adaption to pregnancy by reducing plasma volume expansion. This may mediate the effects of maternal diet on placental and fetal development. This study investigated the mechanisms by which maternal diet interacts with plasma volume expansion.Female Wistar rats were mated and fed a control (18%, n=32) or low protein (9%, n=32) diet during pregnan...