Endocrine Abstracts

Corepressors and coactivators mediate thyroid hormone receptor-dependent repression and transactivation of positively-regulated target genes respectively, but their role in negative regulation is not understood.A 4 years old boy was born at 31 weeks. He was jittery at birth, with neonatal respiratory distress. Childhood features included poor weight gain, heat intolerance, tachycardia and hyperactivity. Ongoing problems are low frequency hearing loss, po...

The incidence of type 1 diabetes in children under 5 years is increasing. The insulin requirements, eating regimens and reaction to invasive procedures make this group a challenging cohort to manage on multiple daily injections. NICE Guidance was amended in 2008 to include the option of using CSII at diagnosis in the under 5’s.Seven CSII starts at diagnosis have been done (from 2009 to current). CSII is initiated within 72 h from initial diagnosis, ...

Clinical trials of multiple dose insulin (MDI) or pump therapy (CSII) suggest a short term effect with a waning of effect over time – the ‘Hawthorn Effect’. This may relate to interest in the patient during the trial or to lack of reinforcement of the education and training programme. We reviewed our experience in this area where we have used a structured education programme for CSII and MDI over the last 6–8 years and used Quality Control Theory to explore...

Resistance to thyroid hormone due to a mutation in thyroid hormone receptor alpha (RTHα) is a syndrome whose features include delayed growth and neurocognitive development. Macrophages, which derive from circulating monocytes and have recently been recognized as important thyroid hormone target cells, are innate immune cells that are capable of adopting a wide range of phenotypes. Assuming the right phenotype in the right setting is crucial as macrophage dysfunction has b...

Mutations in THRA, a ligand-inducible transcription factor, cause Resistance to Thyroid Hormone α (RTHα). RTHα manifests with features of hypothyroidism (skeletal dysplasia and growth retardation, neurocognitive impairment, low metabolic rate, reduced intestinal transit) reflecting hormone resistance in TRα-expressing tissues, but associated paradoxically with near-normal circulating TH levels. The lack of clear-cut, abnormal thyroid function tests...

Abdominal obesity (AO) might have a hyperactivation of the HPA axis but previous studies are limited by the small and heterogeneous number of patients investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate urinary free cortisol (UFC) output during daily and nightly hours in a large cohort of AO women versus normal weight controls (CT). 107 AO women and 37 CT women were enrolled in this study; all subjects underwent a complete physical examination, an OGTT and biochemical determin...

Corepressors and coactivators of thyroid hormone receptor-mediated function facilitate repression and transactivation of positively-regulated target genes respectively, but their role in negative regulation is not understood. A 13 yr old boy, born at 31 weeks gestation, was jittery at birth, with neonatal respiratory distress. Childhood features included poor weight gain, heat intolerance, tachycardia and hyperactivity. Ongoing problems are low frequency hearing loss, poor sig...

Introduction: Delivering an equitable service is one component defining a quality service. Various factors impact on diabetes control including health beliefs and socioeconomic pressures. To determine the role played by ethnicity and/or deprivation we audited access to insulin treatment regimens and overall diabetes control in our clinic population of children and young people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (CYPT1DM).Methods: Three hundred and twenty-five...

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a disease that results from impairment of insulin synthesis/secretion or signaling. The glycemia of type 1 DM (DM1) patients is controlled by insulin replacement therapy, which chronically results in insulin resistance. We have shown that alloxan-induced diabetic rats present hypothyroidism, and that T3 treatment reduced the inflammatory state and hepatic glucose production and increased insulin sensitivity, improving glycemia control. Considering tha...

Introduction: Acromegaly is characterized by high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality possibly due to increased prevalence of main traditional cardiovascular risk factors. It is not clear though whether the incidence of atherosclerosis is truly enhanced. Moreover recent in vitro studies show a protective role of (GH) and IGF1 (insulin-like growth factor-1) on the endothelium. As expression of endothelial regenerative reserve, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) could...