Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction and aims: Following treatment for acromegaly, both growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels are predictive of mortality. These data are derived from studies of either a single GH or the mean circadian GH, with a threshold of 2 mcg/l. However, consensus target criteria (Giustina et al. 2000) require: a nadir GH of <1 mcg/l on OGTT and IGF-I within the age/sex-adjusted normal range. We aimed to determine the degree to which norm...

Background: Prolactin levels are affected by stress, and in patients with moderate hyperprolactinaemia, a repeat test and/or a resting prolactin has been recommended, but there are very few data addressing the utility of these additional measurements.Aim: To study the value of: A) Repeat measurement and B) Resting measurement of serum prolactin in mild to moderate prolactin excess (510–7500 IU/L).Methods and subjects: Case not...

Intro: A subset of pancreatic and gastric neuroendocrine tumours (NET) are associated with hypercalcaemia attributed to tumour secretion of parathyroid hormone related peptide (PTHrP). Hypercalcaemia may be severe and refractory to conventional treatment....

PCOS is the most common endocrine disorder of premenopausal women. The in utero testosterone-treated ewe shares several key features with PCOS women (sub/infertility, multi-follicular ovaries, hypersecretion of gondotrophins and androgens) and, therefore, may be a useful animal model for this condition. In addition to reproductive abnormalities, PCOS women are at increased risk of hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance. The aim of this study was to determine if similar metab...

Background: The Controlled Antenatal Thyroid Screening II (CATS) study, a large randomised trial of thyroxine supplementation for suboptimal gestational thyroid function (SGTF), reported a higher prevalence of elevated attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) scores in 9 year-old children exposed to higher thyroid hormone (TH) in utero. Here we investigated if this was accompanied by altered neurodevelopment.Methods: 85 children aged 11-1...

Background: 5-Cytosine methylation of DNA is a means of encoding epigenetic information. In the testis, the generation of de novo methylation is conducted by the enzymes DNMT3a and 3b and the co-enzyme DNMT3L. Epigenetic marks made to the DNA of germ cells are important as a potential means of trans-generational carriage of environmental information. In fetal life, germ cell demethylation and remethylation are important physiological events and these overlap with key ...

Introduction/Background: ACTH production from a midgut mesentery NET is extremely rare (1). A 62y old woman presented with hypokalaemia (2mmol/L) and hyperpigmentation, 11y after surgery of a pT3N1Mx non-functional G1 NET with SRS positive, non-resectable but stable, residual mass encasing mesenteric vessels. Serum cortisol (3261 nmol/L), ACTH (796 ng/L), CgA (530 pmol/L) and urine total cortisol metabolites (33920 μg/24h) including 14 sub-products indicated change of bio...

Background: Fetal glucocorticoid overexposure is associated with low birthweight and increased cardiovascular disease risk in the offspring. Such ‘programmed effects’ can be transmitted across generations through both male and female lines. Disruption of a germline epigenetic reprogramming pathway, characterised by genome-wide erasure and subsequent re-establishment of DNA methylation, may underpin the intergenerational transmission of programmed effects. We used a r...

Obesity is a growing global epidemic and current medical therapies have proven inadequate. Endogenous satiety hormones provide an attractive target for the development of drugs which aim to cause effective weight loss with minimal side effects. Two related peptide hormones, glucagon and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), are the subject of this investigation. Both have been found to reduce appetite and cause weight loss. Additionally, glucagon increases energy expenditure. It is...

Background: Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is an incretin hormone released from enteroendocrine L-cells in the gut. GLP-1 analogues and dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 inhibitors are currently used to treat type-2 diabetes. A greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying the release of GLP-1 may facilitate the development of therapeutics to stimulate the release of endogenous GLP-1. Bile acids have been shown to induce GLP-1 release via the G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1 ...