Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Although acyl–ghrelin has been considered essential for ghrelin’s GH-releasing activity, several recent in vitro studies have shown that desacyl–ghrelin exhibits biological activities on metabolism and proliferation of adipocytes, myocytes, cardiomyocytes, and myelocytes. The full desacyl–ghrelin biological activity still remains a matter of debate.Aims: To assess desacyl–ghrelin circulating levels and its R51Q...

Background: Adiponectin is an adipokine with anti-diabetic properties. Recently, retinol binding protein-4 (RBP4) was identified as an adipokine associated with insulin resistance (IR) and a potential marker for type 2 diabetes (T2D) development.Aims: To compare adiponectin and RBP4 circulating levels according to presence/absence of diabetes/prediabetes, in obese women. To study the degree of association of those adipokines with indexes of IR and insuli...

Background: Adiponectin is an important adipokine to which have been attributed anti-diabetic and anti-atherogenic properties. Excess of abdominal fat deposition is undoubtedly assumed as a cardiometabolic risk factor. It has been hypothesized that peripheral deposition of fat could exert a protective effect in cardiometabolic profile.Aims: To evaluate the influence of anthropometric parameters on adiponectin levels in both obese and normal-weight premen...

We describe the case of an Asian male who is currently 20 years of age. He originally presented aged 18 months with short stature (height below 3rd centile). Isolated growth hormone (GH) deficiency was confirmed by an insulin tolerance test (normal thyroid function/cortisol/GH antibodies). He commenced GH injections (1 unit/day), to which he responded well, reaching the 50th centile for height within one year. Due to his parents’ wishes, GH therapy was discontinued at 3 y...

Obesity-associated inflammation is a major contributory factor in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, the mechanisms underlying the progression of T2DM are yet to be fully elucidated. The adipokine, resistin, has recently been implicated as a pro-inflammatory cytokine in obesity-related T2DM. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterise the role of resistin in the innate immune inflammatory pathway within isolated human abdominal subcutaneous ...

Obesity-mediated diabetes is associated with insulin resistance/hyperinsulinaemia and chronic sub-clinical inflammation. Recent studies have highlighted fatty liver(steatosis) as a risk factor for diabetes. Fatty liver disease (FLD) progresses through fatty liver, necro-inflammation (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, NASH) and fatwith fibrosis. In addition, hepatic steatosis per se can lead to hepatic insulin resistance/hyperin...

Chronic sub-clinical inflammation is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Patients undergoing CABG are at high risk of further cardiovascular events and also demonstrate sub-clinical inflammation. We therefore investigated alterations in the relative balance between pro-inflammatory agents, such as hsCRP versus changes in anti-inflammatory factors (adiponectin) and as such the potential molecular pathways mediating these changes. The ai...

The insulin tolerance test (ITT) is used to determine the integrity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-somatotroph (GH) axes in patients suspected of ACTH and GH deficiency. In adults a cortisol response <500nmol/L is considered pathological and a GH peak <9mU/L is consistent with severe GH deficiency. Exercise is an alternative stimulus to GH release which may be used to diagnose GH deficiency during childhood but is rarely used during adult li...

Chronic sub-clinical inflammation is associated with increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease and is particularly observed in patients that have undergone CABG. Resistin, a novel adipocyte derived protein, has been linked with central adiposity, insulin resistance and sub-clinical inflammation and may mediate both systemic and local paracrine pro-inflammatory responses in vivo. As such we investigated serum resistin from CABG patients and examined whether e...

Introduction: Lipodystrophies are a group of genetic or acquired diseases characterized by abnormal adipose tissue deposition, frequently associated with insulin resistance, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, hypertension and hepatic steatosis. Congenital generalized lipodystrophy (LCG) is a well-defined syndrome with autosomal recessive heredity, prevalence <1:10million, with about 400 cases being described. Extreme shortage of subcutaneous adipose tissue, muscle hypertrop...