Endocrine Abstracts

In recent times, there has been concern about the rising prevalence of obesity in children. Physical fitness, defined as a set of attributes possessed by individuals which relates to the ability to perform physical activity, is a key pathway to healthy living. As part of a larger programme called ‘Triple S’, (designed to underpin a schools health related project) we undertook field-based physical testing of 1733 (7 yr olds) (902 M & 831 F) from 49 primary schools...

Research in farm animals has long been a cornerstone of our understanding of reproduction and holds similar opportunities for understanding mechanisms by which stress affects fertility. Sheep and cow experimental models are appropriate to humans, especially as detailed longitudinal studies are possible because of size and access to ovaries.Failure to realise genetic potential is a better definition of stress than ‘an increase in corticoids’; ma...

Background: A variety of preparations for testosterone replacement therapy are currently available. Testogel, a transdermal gel, is widely used and considered one of the most convenient. Measurement of serum testosterone level at various times after application of the gel is regarded as one of the ways of monitoring response to treatment.Aim: To investigate the variability of testosterone absorption and whether testosterone levels prior to application of...

Adipsic diabetes insipidus (ADI) is a rare condition which has been reported following clipping of anterior communicating artery aneurysms, craniopharyngioma and brain trauma, but not with pituitary adenoma. We report a case of ADI following surgery for a pituitary macroprolactinoma. A 14-year-old boy presented with bitemporal hemianopia due to a large macroprolactinoma. Two debulking surgeries were performed without the development of diabetes insipidus. Following a third rad...

Background: This study was carried out to assess the vasodilatory effect of oestrogen in the human pulmonary circulation. The influence of gender upon the response to oestrogen was also assessed.Method: Isolated human pulmonary arteries were studied by wire myography. Vessels were obtained from male (n=6, age 70±9 years) and female (n=6, age 59±9 years) patients. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. Vessels were p...

The HLA class II region, CTLA-4 and PTPN22, have been consistently associated with autoimmune disease (AID). Recently, three DNA variants, two of which (M55V and 001Msp) are present in NF-κB inhibitors SUMO-4 and MAP3K7IP2, and one of which (fcrl3_3) modulates NF-κB binding and production of the B cell surface molecule FCRL3, have been reported to be associated with a number of AIDs. The aim of this study was to investigate genetic variati...

Prostanoids have been elucidated as potent adipogenic hormones. Cyclooxygenase (PTGS) is the rate-limiting enzyme of prostanoid biosynthesis and its product, prostaglandin (PG) H2 is a precursor of PGE2, PGF2, PGD2 and PGI2. PGH2 is also metabolised by prostaglandin D-synthase (PTGDS) to PGD2 which spontaneously converts to PGJ2 or can be enzymatically converted to PGF2alpha by AKR1C3. These two metabolites have opposite effect on adipogenesis; PGF2alpha is a PPARgamma antagon...

Sporadic pituitary tumours are generally benign tumours in which the none of the oncogenes or tumour suppressor genes classically mutated in other cancers are commonly mutated, nor are there frequent changes in genes associated with genetic endocrine neoplasia syndromes. Such tumours are associated with excessive but not completely unregulated proliferation, implicating a possible abnormality in a cell signalling pathway in their pathogenesis. Recently, the serine/threonine ki...

Seaweed consumption results in high levels of iodine intake in Asian populations and influences the presentation of thyroid and perhaps extrathyroidal disorders. The relationship of seawater to seaweed is analogous to that between the bloodstream and the thyroid. However, seaweed has a dramatically more efficient uptake system than the thyroid, concentrating iodide from seawater by a factor of up to 106 compared to 40-50 for the thyroid. The ability of seaweeds to b...

Myelinolysis is a recognised complication following over-rapid correction of hyponatraemia. However, the risk of myelinolysis following the treatment of Addisonian crisis is rarely reported. We report 2 cases of primary adrenal insufficiency (PAI) both associated with severe hyponatraemia. In the first case, myelinolysis developed following treatment with corticosteroids and isotonic saline in line with current recommendations. In the second case, deliberately cautious correct...