Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Recent randomised controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of very low calorie diets (VLCD) in carefully selected patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, there is paucity of evidence regarding the efficacy of VLCD in the real-world setting. We evaluated outcomes in obese T2DM patients who underwent VLCD at our institution.Methods: This retrospective observational study included all patients who had undergone VLCD fro...

Background: Aldosterone-producing adenomas (APA) are a major cause of primary aldosteronism. Somatic mutations explain the excess aldosterone production in the majority of patients with APA with mutations in the potassium channel KCNJ5 the most prevalent. In contrast, mechanisms driving cell proliferation are largely unresolved.Objective: To identify genes that modulate cell growth in APAs.Methods: Quantitative transcripto...

Objective: Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the most frequent cause of secondary hypertension. According to the Endocrine Society Guidelines, up to 50% of hypertensive patients should be screened for PA, using the aldosterone to renin (or plasma renin activity (PRA)) ratio (AARR and ARR respectively). The automated Diasorin LIAISON chemiluminescent immunoassay for renin and aldosterone measurement became available and in many laboratories is currently used instead of the classica...

Background: Measuring testicular volume (TV) by orchidometer is a standard method of male pubertal staging. Previously we have developed a simulation model for TV estimation with different sized silicon testes housed in latex scrotum and displayed on paediatric mannequins. When used in a study of 215 paediatric endocrinologists TV was measured accurately on only 33% of occasions. Intra-observer reliability was also lacking with participants giving different estimations for the...

The pattern of food consumption has a profound influence on metabolic hormone secretion, but until recently only crude manipulations of feeding events have been possible in rodents. Using a CLAMS-based system to overcome this problem, we have investigated the effect of 3 weeks of grazing (consumption of 1/24th of the total daily food intake of ad libitum-fed controls every 30 min during the dark phase (18.00–06.00 h)) and meal feeding (three 1-h periods of ad...

Congenital hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia is generally characterised by low levels of ketone bodies, fatty acids and branched chain amino acids at the time of severe hypoglycaemia, and by a requirement for a relatively high rate of glucose infusion (>10 mg/kg per min) to maintain euglycaemia. It is caused by physiologically inappropriate insulin secretion from the pancreatic beta cells due to mutations that uncouple insulin secretion from normal hyperglycaemic and other s...

Bone loss in anorexia nervosa and following bariatric surgery is associated with an elevated circulating concentration of the gastrointestinal anorexigenic hormone peptide YY (PYY), which acts principally via the Y1R and Y2R receptors. Selective deletion of Y1R in osteoblasts or Y2R in the hypothalamus results in high bone mass, but deletion of PYY has resulted in conflicting skeletal phenotypes leading to uncertainty regarding its role in the regulation of bone mass. We hypot...

Primary Aldosteronism (PA) is the most frequent cause of secondary hypertension and patients display an increased prevalence of cardiovascular events compared to essential hypertensives. To date, three familial forms of PA have been described and termed, familial hyperaldosteronism types I, II and III (FH-I to -III). The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of the three forms of FH in a large population of PA patients. Three hundred ...

Background: Thyroid disease is associated with BMI with hyperthyroidism causing weight loss and hypothyroidism leading to weight gain. However, the relation of body weight distribution to thyroid function in euthyroid individuals is unclear. This study assessed body composition in euthyroid women.Methods: Euthyroid women (n=1072) from the Osteoporosis and Ultrasound Study (OPUS), a population based cohort study recruited participants from 5 Europe...

The hypothalamo-pituitary–thyroid (HPT) axis maintains controlled systemic levels of thyroid hormone (TH). This is achieved through negative feedback via the hypothalamic arcuate and paraventricular nuclei. The effects of thyroid hormone in other hypothalamic nuclei are yet to be elucidated. Administration of triiodothyronine (T3, thyroid hormone) into the hypothalamic ventromedial nucleus (VMN) increases food intake in rats. Thyroid hormone activation and inac...