Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome is a complex multi-organ disorder with significant associated morbidity and mortality. Patients see multiple specialities and have many clinic appointments which can significantly disrupt their lives. In 2012 the St Bartholomew’s VHL multi-disciplinary clinic was set up. It consists of an amalgamated one-stop clinic for patients and their families when all relevant specialities are seen in one sitting. The major aims were to:...

Background: Neutropenia due to anti-thyroid drug (ATD) therapy in Graves’ disease is rare but is well recognised. However, the effect of hyperthyroidism, prior to and after ATD therapy, on absolute neutrophil counts in patients with Graves’ disease is unclear.Methods: We noted neutrophil levels in consecutive patients with newly diagnosed Graves’ thyrotoxicosis in 2010–2013. We further noted neutrophil levels once patients had been tr...

Several recent publications have advocated that patients with primary and secondary adrenal insufficiency (PAI and SAI) be given emergency injectable hydrocortisone to reduce the risk of adrenal crisis. There is a limited evidence-base for this recommendation and consequently the Edinburgh Centre for Endocrinology (ECE) does not routinely issue kits to its patients. This study assessed the frequency of hospital presentations in ECE’s AI patients, and the severity of their...

A 75-year-old female presented with increasing drowsiness and no other specific features. Past medical history included the antiphospholipid syndrome, three episodes of myocardial infarction, left ischaemic leg, epilepsy, hypothyroidism and splenectomy. Medications included warfarin. Examination showed pulse 70/min, blood pressure 120/60 mmHg, crepitations at the left lung base, a Glasgow Coma Scale 14/15. Investigations revealed serum sodium 117 mmol/l, urea 8.8 mmol/l, serum...

Introduction: Symptomatic hypogonadism affects 5–6% of men aged 30–79 years and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There are currently no trust guidelines for the diagnostic workup of these patients.Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed of diagnosis and assessment of adult men with low serum total testosterone (TT) and compared with clinical practice guidelines of The Endocrine Society. We identified all patients with...

Bromocriptine (BC) and cabergoline (CAB) are ergot-derived dopamine agonists (DAs) used for the treatment of hyperprolactinaemia. Recently, concern has been raised about a possible association between long-term DA use and cardiac valvular abnormalities. These concerns are largely derived from studies in patients with Parkinson’s disease receiving higher doses (typically CAB 3 mg/day vs 0.5–1 mg/week for hyperprolactinaemic patients). Studies in hyperprolactinaemic pa...

Objective: The main physiological function of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is the regulation of water and salt homeostasis as well as arterial blood pressure. In addition, the RAAS is proposed to be involved in the pathophysiology of several diseases like hypertension, vascular remodelling, atherosclerosis, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. In a cohort study in north-east Germany, we investigated the association of plasma renin- (PRC) or plasm...

Platinum nanoparticles have shown to have a remarkable antioxidant activity. Growing evidence between oxidative stress and bone loss suggests that platinum nanoparticle could protect bone loss via modulating oxidative stress. Intragastrical administration of platinum nanoparticle reduced ovariectomy (OVX)-induced bone loss with lowered level of in vivo bone resorption. Platinum nanoparticle inhibited osteoclast (OC) formation via an impaired receptor activator of nuclea...

In 100 consecutive osteoporotic women referred to our clinic we assessed 25OHD3 and PTH levels. Patients suffered from postmenopausal osteoporosis and intolerance of oral bisphosphonates, were treated at least for 6 months with calcium and vitamin D. The reasons of intolerance of oral medication were gastritis (53), esophagitis (18) or peptic ulcer (29 cases). Patients were therefore chronically treated with proton pump inhibitors (PPI). They were referred to our Clinic in ord...

Cardioprotective actions of urocortin (Ucn) I have been proposed by several studies and may play a critical role on stress adaptation. And one of the beneficial actions on cardiovascular cells may be anti-oxidative actions. In addition, Ucn I may be regulated by oxidative stress, therefore, the present study is designed to reveal anti-oxidative actions of Ucns on cardiomyocytes. Mouse atrial cell line, HL-1 cardiomyocytes, was cultured in standard Claycomb medium supplemented ...