Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: In the majority of patients presenting to A&E with hypoglycaemia it is secondary to infection or stress and individuals exhibit a ketogenic response. A minority who first present with hypoglycaemia may have endocrine or metabolic disorders. For this reason a full ‘hypoglycaemia screen’ is undertaken. It is recommended by metbionet that before glucose administration, the following are measured: intermediary metabolites (glucose, b-OHB, free fatty aci...

Silent and post-partum thyroiditis are autoimmune conditions, which result in a triphasic thyroid hormone disturbance. They are distinguished by the later condition’s relation to pregnancy. Their association in the same patient resulting in recurrent episodes of silent thyroiditis suggests a common aetiology.We report a 32-year-old female with post-partum and recurrent silent thyroiditis continuing over a decade. She presented post-partum with thyro...

We describe below a 16-year-old male referred with neonatal hypothyroidism. He was commenced on levothyroxine at the age of 3 weeks. The TSH was >100 IU/l (normal: 0.27–4.7) and Total T4 was <10 nmol/l (normal: 60–150) and there was no uptake on thyroid isotope scanning. He was diagnosed as having congenital absence of thyroid tissue and given levothyroxine and the dose adjusted to maintain normal thyroid function. His mother was diagnosed with hypothyroidism...

A 37 year old male presented with visual problems in June 2006.He gave a history of double vision for 18 months and denied headaches.On examination his Glasgow coma score was 15/15, pupils were equal and reactive to light. Visual acuity; right eye - 6/6, left eye- 6/60. Visual field testing showed a temporal field defect in the right eye and poor vision in the left eye.MRI brain scan showed a very large, fair...

Introduction: haemangiopericytoma is a rare soft tissue tumour originating from pericytes and manifest rarely as hypoglycaemia that can be difficult to treat. We report a case of haemangiopericytoma induced hypoglycaemia treated successfully with radiotherapy.Case report: A 72-year-old lady presented with an episode of confusion. She had had similar episodes usually in the early morning hours. She had had a large bladder haemangiopericytoma removed surgi...

Background: Rare genetic disorders of obesity result from an impaired central melanocortin pathway, comprised of multiple genes, including POMC, PCSK1, and LEPR. Because of their rarity and the difficulty in identifying individuals with pathogenic mutations in these genes, a complete understanding of these disorders remains unclear. We reviewed previous case reports of individuals with POMC, PCSK1, or LEPR deficiencies to understand their cl...

Hypoparathyroidism is a rare endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate production of parathyroid hormone to maintain normal blood calcium levels. Hypoparathyroidism is most frequently caused by damage to or removal of the parathyroid glands but can also be associated with genetic etiologies. Genetic forms of hypoparathyroidism can present as isolated or as part of a syndrome and include disorders of parathyroid gland formation, parathyroid hormone secretion, and damage to...

Aims: Women with gestational diabetes (GDM) who deliver large-for-gestational age (LGA) infants have subtle (1-1.5mM) differences in temporal maternal glucose control detectable by continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), compared to women who deliver appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) infants. It is unclear how these subtle changes cause LGA, but LGA has been linked to placental dysfunction. We aimed to develop an ex-vivo human placental model to mimic subtle differences in te...

Large animals are increasingly used a models for endocrine research. Unlike rodents they are cortisol-dominant and thus more similar to humans. In this study we use two novel analytical methods to compare the steroid profile of pigs, sheep and humans; 1. Simultaneous quantification of primary glucocorticoids, glucocorticoid precursors and mineralocorticoids in plasma (>20 steroids); 2.Quantification of glucocorticoids metabolites (>10 ...

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is associated with increased rates of large-for-gestational-age (LGA) or small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants. Currently, it is not possible to predict which women with GDM are at risk of delivering LGA or SGA infants. Fetuin-A, (α 2-Heremans Schmid glycoprotein; AHSG), a glycoprotein associated with insulin resistance is altered in GDM maternal serum. It is unclear if levels are related to altered fetal growth. This stud...