Endocrine Abstracts

Insulin-like factor 3 (INSL3), a member of the relaxin-insulin family, is produced in the Leydig cells and at reduced levels in ovarian thecal cells. As ovaries from most of PCOS are characterized by an hyperplasia of the theca interna, we hypothesized that INSL3 could be overproduced in PCOS women and therefore that circulating levels of this hormone could became a new marker for the syndrome. Forty lean and obese women with PCOS and 20 controls comparable for age and weight ...

Selenium (Se) is indispensable for enzymatic activities of glutathione peroxidases (GPx) involved in antioxidative defense and deiodinase isozymes (Dio) that control thyroid hormone (TH) action. Se deficiency can impact negatively on thyroid galnd funtioning and TH metabolism and thereby perturb development and metabolism. We have generated Se-deficient mice by genetic inactivation of Selenoprotein P (SePP), the main plasma Se carrier. SePP-KO mice display decreased serum and ...

A 34-year-old woman was referred by her GP in 2000 with thyrotoxicosis (TSH undetectable, free T4 36.4 pica moles per litre, reference range 10-25). She had no ophthalmic symptoms or signs and no goitre. There was no family history of thyroid disease. Her thyroid peroxidase antibodies were undetectable but thyrotropin-binding inhibitory immunoglobulin was 30 (Reference range 0-15) confirming Graves' disease. Carbimazole was initiated but changed to propylthiouracil after a pre...

Oral but not transdermal ORT reduces serum IGF-1 levels in postmenopausal women. The effect of ORT type on GH dose and sensitivity is unclear. We present a retrospective analysis of GH-deficient women on ORT in the KIMS database.AIM: To determine the type of oestrogen prescribed and its effect on GH dose.METHOD: Patients were divided into groups taking oral oestradiol valerate, conjugated oestrogen, ethinyloestradiol and transderma...

In the thyroid gland the volume of colloid in the follicles varies considerably. The usually used number weighted mean volume (Vn) does not describe this variation in the distribution of the volume of colloid.Aim: To develop a set of assumption-free stereological methods to determine the variation of the volume of colloid in respect of number and size and to determine the coefficient of this variation (CV). For this purpose we introduce the volume-weight...

The generation of a knockout mouse lacking all POMC-derived peptides by Yaswen et al provided further support for the importance of the melanocortin system in regulating body weight. POMC-null mice have a greater food intake than wild-type littermates on both low fat and high fat diets, resulting in increased body weight. In addition to obesity, these mice have altered pigmentation and defective adrenal development.The hypothalamo-pituitary-thyroid axis (HPT) in the...

(This poster is based on OC34.)...

SEVERE HYPERCALCEMIA CAUSED BY A VISIBLE PARATHYROID ADENOMA IN AN ADOLESCENT FEMALEU.Das1, H Iassac1, H Kanchi1, DA Price1, GM Humphrey2 & C M Hall1Departments of 1Endocrinology and 2Surgery, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Manchester, Hospital Road, Manchester M27 4HA.A 16-year-old female collapsed following a 24-hour history of severe abdominal pain and vomiting. She was shocked, hypertensive (16...

Patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) have increased risk of bone fractures. Despite a well-known decrease in bone mineral density (BMD) and content (BMC) in these patients, these changes in bone mineralization cannot explain the increase in fracture rate alone. The purpose of this study was to evaluate collagen morphology in cortical bone from GHD rats in order to provide a further explanation for the increased fracture rate seen in GHD patients.<p class="abstext...

Spontaneous remission of Cushing disease might be a phase of cyclic disease, but could also be explained by an ACTH-microadenoma infarction or hemorrhage. True remission must be differentiated from cyclic Cushing’s disease with prolonged follow up. 63-years-old female patient was referred to endocrinologist’s and presented with uncontrolled hypertension, type 2 diabetes, central obesity, hirsutism, swelling of the face and legs and a ’buffalo hump’. After a...