Endocrine Abstracts

Testicular cancer has a peak incidence in young men between the ages of 15 and 40, with an increased frequency in individuals with disorders of the reproductive tract such as hypospadia and cryptorchidism. It has been proposed that carcinoma in situ cells are derived from testicular germ cells that have not differentiated appropriately during fetal life, perhaps as a result of disturbance of the hormonal environment. The aim of this study is to investigate whether estrogen may...

Synthetic C19 gestogens which are used in combination with testosterone as hormonal contraception in men bind to both the androgen and progesterone receptor. The relative contribution of these two components is unclear. In this study, we have compared the effect of a synthetic gestogen (desogestrel) with naturally occurring progesterone on the pattern of secretion of LH and FSH in healthy volunteers. Twenty men aged 18-40 were randomised to receive either progesterone (gestone...

OBJECTIVE Recent studies have shown the benefits of insulin sensitising agents such as Metformin in the treatment of infertility and hirsuitism in PCOS. However not all women with PCOS are insulin resistant. Within a clinic population of women referred for treatment of hirsuitism, we examined the utility of fasting insulin/glucose measurement in identifying which women were insulin resistant.DESIGN We evaluated an outpatient clinic group of 25 PCOS pati...

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) frequently associates with increasing multi-morbidity/treatment complexity. Some headway has been made to identify genetic and non-genetic risk factors for T2DM. However longitudinal clinical histories of individuals both before and after diagnosis of T2DM are likely to provide additional insight into both diabetes aetiology/further complex trajectory of multi-morbidity.Methods: This study utilised diabetes p...

Background: Hypertension (HT) is common in adults with Turner Syndrome (TS) but less is known about HT in children with TS.Aim: To determine the frequency of HT in girls with TS in West of Scotland and to assess its association with clinical characteristics. Patients and methods Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of 126 girls with TS in the West of Scotland, with at least 2 clinic blood pressure (BP) measurements in the preceding 12 months. HT was de...

Introduction: The importance of good transition care has been highlighted by NICE and NHSI. Over the last 5 year we have focused on transforming our endocrine transition service.Background: Our centre took part in the BSPED/BES-led 2014 National Adolescent Care and Transition Audit of Young people with Hormone Conditions. From this we identified key areas for service improvement including: families wanted to establish a better relationship with and have ...

Introduction: Measurement of microRNA (miRNA) in aldosterone-producing adenoma (APA) tissue from primary aldosteronism (PA) patients show levels of the miR24-1 cluster miRNAs (i.e. miRNAs 24-1, 27b and 23b) are significantly reduced relative to normal adrenal tissue. Our previous studies also show that miRNA-24 directly targets CYP11B2 (aldosterone synthase) gene expression. Circulating miRNAs released into the bloodstream may be diagnostic biomarkers or signalling mo...

Intracellular cortisol is regulated by 11βHSD1. Although the field has focused on regeneration of cortisol from inert cortisone by 11β-reductase activity of 11βHSD1, we have used stable isotope tracers and arteriovenous sampling to quantify simultaneous dehydrogenase (cortisone generation) and reductase (cortisol regeneration) in human adipose and skeletal muscle. In vitro studies suggest insulin regulates this balance of reductase vs dehydrogenase acti...

We present two uncommon cases of cyclical ectopic ACTH-dependent Cushing’s syndrome due to diffuse idiopathic pulmonary neuroendocrine tumour (DIPNECH).Case 1: 62 yr lady presented with rapid onset of muscle weakness, diabetes and hypokalaemia. Random cortisol:1710 nmol/l, ACTH level:610 ng/l. LDDST: failure to suppress cortisol levels. Imaging: normal pituitary gland and bilateral adrenal hyperplasia, consistent with ACTH dependent Cushing’s s...

Higher short-term exercise-associated reproductive, psychological and bone health-related outcomes have been reported in women than men, although the reasons for this are poorly understood. The first, all-female transantarctic expedition provided a unique opportunity to perform an observational study examining concurrent effects of extreme exercise on pertinent hormonal axes to reproductive dysfunction and associated pathology. Body composition was measured by dual-energy xray...