Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis is one of the major clinical concerns of long-term steroid treatment. Previous studies have shown that immunosuppressive doses of glucocorticoid can lead to osteoporosis. This study investigated whether there is a relationship between cortisol exposure and the development of osteoporosis in patients receiving replacement doses.Methods: Hydrocortisone day curves (HCDCs) performed a...

Case history: An asymptomatic 26-year-old female was found to have hypercalcaemia with an associated normal PTH and vitamin D deficiency on blood tests in primary care. She was referred to the endocrinology clinic for further assessment. There was no history of renal calculi, constipation or fractures. The patient was taking the combined oral contraceptive pill only. There was a family history of hypercalcaemia, with an uncle affected in his 50s and a first cousin in his 20s. ...

Prednisolone is widely prescribed in the UK, whereas prednisone is used instead for the same indications in the United States. Both have utility as anti-inflammatory agents and for use as glucocorticoid replacement therapy at lower doses. Oral prednisone is converted to prednisolone by first pass hepatic metabolism by 11 beta HSD-1. This study was undertaken to compare the bioavailability of prednisone against prednisolone. To determine the conversion of prednisone to predniso...

Background and Aim: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) disparately affects ethnic groups. Prevalence is higher in Asian and Black ethnicities, and these patients suffer increased rates of some diabetes-related complications. Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment for T2DM and can lead to complete diabetes remission. The aim of this study was to assess if T2DM remission rates at 1-year following bariatric surgery vary between different ethnicities.Metho...

Introduction: Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is an important risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Direct LDL-C measurement is not widely performed. LDL-C is typically estimated using the Friedewald (FLDL), Martin-Hopkins (MLDL) or Sampson (SLDL) equations, which may be inaccurate at high triglycerides (TG) or low LDL-C levels. We aimed to determine if machine learning (ML)-derived LDL-C levels agree better with direct LDL-C than...

Background: The study aimed to establish a mouse model of Graves’ disease (GD) with Graves’ ophthalmopathy (GO; GD+GO) that can represent the clinical disease characteristics.Methods: A eukaryotic expression plasmid of insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) α subunit (pcDNA3.1/IGF-1Rα) and a thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) A subunit plasmid (pcDNA3.1/TSHR-289) were injected in female BALB/c mice to induce a GD+GO model. Grouping w...

Case History: A 64-year-old gentleman presented to the emergency department with acute onset dizziness, nausea, vomiting and difficulty in standing. Although his symptoms lasted only for a few hours, his neurological examination was unremarkable. His past medical history included atrial fibrillation, factor V Leiden deficiency and previous left lower limb DVT. He was not on any medications that can cause hyperprolactinaemia. The stroke team who reviewed him initially diagnosed...

Efnb2 encodes for the ligand Ephrinb2 that binds to its cognate Eph receptor, with which plays an integral role in angiogenesis, stem cell regulation and tumorigenesis. Using a pituitary-specific Cre-driver (Hesx1Cre), we conditionally deleted Efnb2 from the early stem/progenitor cells (PSCs) of the developing pituitary gland. We found that Efnb2 is expressed in PSCs both during embryogenesis and adulthood, suggesting its...

Introduction: Obesity-associated psychopathological co-morbidities have a negative impact on quality of life. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB) has been shown to ameliorate psychological health, however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Changes in gastrointestinal and central neuroendocrine signalling have been postulated as mediators of psychological and eating behaviour changes following RYGB. Here we assess the impact of subcutaneous infusions of th...

Introduction: Children with adrenal insufficiency require emergency hydrocortisone for serious illness in addition to any regular requirements. Individualised emergency plans for patients during sick days, detailing their oral and intramuscular hydrocortisone requirements, should be maintained, alongside appropriate alerts on hospital and pre-hospital systems to ensure health professionals are aware of their requirements promptly if they present acutely unwell. Following a chi...