Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Vitamin D is important to skeletal health and is standard care in conditions with low BMD. Thyrotoxicosis caused by Graves’ disease (GD) leads to increased bone turnover and reduced BMD. We aimed to test the hypothesis that vitamin D supplementation would improve bone recovery in GD.Methods: Using a double-blinded design, hyperthyroid patients with a first time diagnosis of GD were randomized to supplementation with vitamin D3 70 mg/day...

Background: Replicating the physiological cortisol secretion is key in treatment of glucocorticoid insufficient individuals. A sub-optimal replication may explain the impaired quality of life experienced by these individuals. The study investigates fatigue measured by ecological momentary assessments in patients treated with conventional hydrocortisone compared with a once-daily dual-release formula of hydrocortisone (Plenadren) that follows the cortisol physiology more closel...

Peripheral insulin resistance is a major defect associated with glucose intolerance and type two diabetes. Yet the mechanism(s) responsible for this defect remain to be determined. Inositol pyrophosphate (IP7) is formed via the enzyme IP6K1 from IP6. The inhibition of Akt, and the potential decrease in insulin signalling, through the binding of IP7 to the Akt PH domain represents an exciting research area.Firstly, we will characterise this mechanism in h...

Prostate and breast cancers remain common causes of cancer related deaths in the UK. The majority of cases appear to be of a multifactorial aetiology that includes a genetic component. It has been suggested that low levels of circulating 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 are associated with an increased risk of both breast and prostate cancer. A number of polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene have been identified resulting in differing genotypes that may alter s...

Background: Vitamin D deficiency has been proposed to play a role in development and course of Graves’ disease (GD). Muscle weakness and fatigue are shared features of GD and vitamin D deficiency. We aimed to investigate whether vitamin D supplementation would improve restoration of muscle performance and thyroid-related quality of life (QoL) in GD.Methods: In a double-blinded clinical trial, hyperthyroid patients with a first time diagnosis of GD w...

Background: Risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality is increased in Graves’ disease (GD) even years after initial diagnosis and treatment. The mechanisms are incompletely understood. Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with an increased risk of CVD and has been reported to occur frequently in GD. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) and blood pressure (BP) are important predictors of CVD. We performed a clinical trial, testing whether vitamin D supplementation affects P...

Objectives: Quality of life (QoL) is severely affected in Graves’ disease (GD) but long-term longitudinal assessment of QoL is lacking. Furthermore, whether QoL is comparable to controls after treatment of GD is unclear. For the first time, we present serial, longitudinal data on thyroid-related QoL during 24 months of follow-up in a cohort of newly diagnosed GD patients. In addition, we compare QoL in GD and controls.Methods: All patients were tre...

Objective: Thyroid diseases have been shown to affect quality of life. A thyroid-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) measuring quality of life, the ThyPRO, has recently been developed and validated using classical clinic- and psycho-metric methods. The purpose of the present study was to apply modern psychometrics to validate the measure as the extent of differential item functioning (DIF) according to sex, age, education and diagnosis, within the ThyPRO.<p class="abst...

Objective: During the development of a thyroid-specific quality of life (QoL) questionnaire, patients and clinicians rated the relative relevance of a list of possibly relevant QoL issues. In this study we compare the patient and clinician ratings.Methods: Fifteen thyroid experts and 80 thyroid outpatients (14 with non-toxic goitre, 12 nodular toxic goitre, 21 Graves’ disease, 17 thyroid associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) and 16 primary hypothyroidism)...

Background and aim: In clinical populations, generic quality of life (QoL) questionnaires should be supplemented with disease-specific questionnaires, which may have higher sensitivity and clinical relevance. For the purpose of developing a comprehensive thyroid QoL questionnaire, we have evaluated the relative importance of various QoL aspects to thyroid patients.Methods: A list of problems (issues) related to thyroid diseases, previously identified thr...