Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Increased cardiovascular risk in hypopituitary patients was first documented by Rosen in 1990. Subsequent studies confirmed increased prevalence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in these patients. The exact mechanism for this is unclear. There is no clear consensus on how best to quantify or predict cardiac risk in hypopituitarism. QRISK2 cardiovascular disease risk algorithm provides estimates of 10-year cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in patients...

Introduction: Patients with craniopharyngioma are characterised by a high incidence of hypopituitarism, visual failure and hypothalamic dysfunction. Standardised mortality is markedly elevated and controversy exists about optimal treatment.Aim: We aimed to examine the temporal trends in the treatment of craniopharyngioma at our centre. Also, we sought to examine treatment needs and long-term morbidity in this patient group.Methods:...

Many cases of hypertension are associated with inappropriately high levels of aldosterone secretion and it has been proposed that microRNAs play a role in this dysregulation. Previously, we showed that microRNAs expressed within the adrenal cortex significantly repress aldosterone production. Furthermore, stimulation of aldosterone secretion by three different means in the H295R cell line – the most commonly-used in vitro model of the human adrenal cortex – ...

Inappropriately high secretion of aldosterone can lead to hypertension and its various cardiovascular consequences. We previously showed that microRNA (miRNA) plays a significant role in the regulation of aldosterone biosynthesis. In this study we measured miRNA levels in H295R cells, the most commonly-used human adrenocortical cell line, and investigated how these change in response to the stimulation of aldosterone biosynthesis.H295R cells (n=...

Introduction: Hypoparathyroidism is most commonly observed following neck surgery and is characterized biochemically by deficient parathyroid hormone (PTH) and hypocalcaemia alongside hyperphosphataemia and reduced 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Standard treatment with oral calcium and vitamin D aims to maintain serum calcium within the low-normal range whilst avoiding hypercalciuria due to over replacement. However, concerns remain over the presence of hypercalciuria and the associ...

Background: Decreased bone mineral density using dual energy absorptiometry (DXA) is reported in mixed cohorts of testosterone treated and testosterone naïve men with Klinefelter syndrome (KS). Bone mass and body composition in men with congenital anorchia (CA) have not been reported.Hypothesis: Men with KS and CA treated with testosterone from adolescence have normal bone mass and body composition.Methods: DXA and pQCT were p...

Background: Adrenocortical tumors consist of benign adenomas (ACA) and highly malignant carcinomas (ACC). Dysregulation of the Notch signalling pathway is implicated in several cancers with oncogenic or tumor suppressor functions. JAG1 is a Notch1 ligand of the Jagged family and a common target gene for Notch and Wnt/β catenin pathways. It has been reported that upregulated expression of JAG1 enhances cell proliferation in ACC.Material and methods: ...

Background: The glands most commonly affected in MEN1 are parathyroid, pituitary and pancreas. Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (pNETs) are of foregut origin, but a number of other so-called ’foregut carcinoid tumours’ may also occur in MEN1, including tumours of bronchial, thymic, and gastrointestinal origin. Reported rates of prevalence of these latter tumours vary from 2% for thymic and bronchial carcinoids, to 10% for gastric carcinoids. Thymic carcinoids have b...

Injected depot formulations of somatostatin peptide analogs are routinely used to treat acromegaly and neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Paltusotine (CRN00808), a small molecule nonpeptide selective somatostatin receptor 2 (sst2) agonist, is being evaluated for efficacy and safety in patients with acromegaly. The current Phase 1 study (NCT04246749) was conducted in two Parts: In Part A, the absorption, metabolism, excretion, and mass balance of a single oral dose of 20 mg [14C]-pa...

A 35 year-old lady presented to her local hospital with a 3 year history of fatigue, weight gain, recurrent tonsillitis and oligomenorrhoea. Examination revealed facial plethora, round facies and thin skin on the dorsum of the hand. She appeared tanned, with evidence of spontaneous bruising and difficulty standing up from a chair unaided. No striae were present. Blood pressure was 152/91 mmHg. Investigations revealed a 0900 h cortisol of 632 nmol/l (ACTH 59 ng/l) and an elevat...