Endocrine Abstracts

Prostate growth during development and at puberty is dependent on androgens. After puberty, growth ceases and the secretory function of the organ is maintained in the presence of high circulating testosterone levels. However, in cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer, growth resumes inappropriately. Like normal prostate growth, tumour growth is initially androgen-dependent; hence, treatment involves removing circulating androgens by chemical castration and o...

Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) derived peptides coordinate energy balance via central melanocortin receptors. In order to monitor central POMC expression and processing in-vivo, we have quantified the POMC derived peptides ACTH, alpha-MSH and the high molecular weight precursors POMC/proACTH in rat cerebrospinal fluid (csf). POMC/proACTH levels were significantly lower in csf samples from fasted versus fed rats (65.2 ± 4.5 pmol/l versus 112 ± 10.1 pmol/l; p = 0.00...

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) is an important signal for mammary gland development and epithelial cell survival. Following lactation, the mammary gland undergoes involution through extensive epithelial cell apoptosis and thus, the IGF-I survival signal must be inhibited. IGF actions are regulated by association with high affinity binding proteins (IGFBPs) and the aim of this study was to investigate the expression of IGFBPs during mouse mammary gland development to determ...

Introduction: MRONJ is defined as exposed bone in the maxillofacial region that persists after eight weeks in patients treated with antiresorptive or anti-angiogenic drugs, without previous radiotherapy. The estimated United Kingdom incidence of MRONJ in osteoporosis patients is 0.01-0.1% (1). MRONJ can cause severe disfigurement, speech and feeding difficulties. We aim to investigate MRONJ incidence and utility of dental screening in patients receiving Zoledronate ...

Background: Childhood growth monitoring aims to identify growth failure and detect underlying pathology. According to UK guidance, height <-2.7 standard deviation score (SDS) (<0.4th percentile) is used as the referral threshold. Additional referral criteria include height deficit (HSDS-target height SDS) <-2.0 and height velocity (HV) SDS <-1.3. Lack of routine HV and mid-parental height calculation, combined with stricter cut-offs compared to other European c...

Objectives: Little is known about the mechanisms responsible for improvement in insulin resistance after bariatric surgery. We examined the impact of three types of bariatric surgery, in comparison with dietary intervention (DIET) on concurrent changes in Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) and appetite hormones over the period of 3 years. We also investigated the weight loss independent hormonal effects on insulin resistance.Me...

Background: Cross-sectional imaging (e.g. CT/MRI) can not always reliably identify the site of ACTH secretion in Cushing’s disease (CD) or the ectopic ACTH syndrome (EAS). We report our experience of localising the source of ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome, using functional imaging with 11C-methionine positron emission tomography (Met-PET).Methods: Forty consecutive patients with: (i) de novo ...

Background: BIPSS is considered the gold-standard procedure for differentiating autonomous pituitary [Cushing’s Disease (CD)] and ectopic ACTH syndrome (EAS) sources of ACTH hypersecretion. A basal (i.e. unstimulated) pituitary:peripheral ACTH ratio >2, and/or a CRH stimulated pituitary:peripheral ACTH ratio >3, have been proposed as indicative of CD, with a range of sensitivities and specificities cited in the literature. Ad...

Background: Cross-sectional imaging (e.g. CT/MRI) can not always reliably identify the site of ACTH secretion in Cushing’s disease (CD) or the ectopic ACTH syndrome (EAS). We report our experience of localising the source of ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome, using functional imaging with 11C-methionine positron emission tomography (Met-PET).Methods: Forty consecutive patients with: (i) de novo ...

Background: BIPSS is considered the gold-standard procedure for differentiating autonomous pituitary [Cushing’s Disease (CD)] and ectopic ACTH syndrome (EAS) sources of ACTH hypersecretion. A basal (i.e. unstimulated) pituitary:peripheral ACTH ratio >2, and/or a CRH stimulated pituitary:peripheral ACTH ratio >3, have been proposed as indicative of CD, with a range of sensitivities and specificities cited in the literature. Ad...