Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: The relationship between food intake and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis has been studied in the development of visceral adiposity and obesity. The HPA axis may interact with the reward system, thus influencing food choices. On the other hand, it has been shown that macronutrients differently modulate the HPA axis activity.The aim of this study was to evaluate the dietary habits in subjects with adrenal masses (adenoma o...

Introduction: Eating habits, food choices and exercise affect glycaemic control in patients with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). The purpose of this study was to evaluate eating behaviors, food choices and the level of physical activity in patients with T1DM.Methods/design: A random sample of 84 patients (M/F: 31/53) with T1DM, aged 34+11.9 years, living in central Greece, were individually interviewed. Food consumption was assessed by a semi-q...

Background: Thyrotoxicosis may be associated with considerable patient morbidity. Graves’ disease (GD) and toxic multinodular goitre (TMNG) are the most common causes of thyrotoxicosis. Therapeutic options include anti-thyroid medication or definitive treatment by radioiodine or surgery. Efficacy, quality of life and cost-effectiveness are among the outcomes that have been compared between these two therapies. However, there is still no clear consensus as to which treatme...

All secretory cells of the anterior and intermediate pituitary derive from the oral ectoderm that forms Rathke’s pouch. Pituitary progenitors present in the pouch as well as similar progenitor/stem cells that remain along the cleft of the adult gland, are marked by expression of Sox2. Sox2-positive progenitors can self-replicate or enter differentiation. Before any differentiation marker is expressed, progenitors first exit the cell cycle under the control of the cell cyc...

There is now evidence that patient choice in GH device not only improves adherence with GH therapy, but in addition is associated with improved height velocity (Kapoor et al. 2008). In order to find out how common free patient choice is for those commencing GH therapy, and how choice is provided, a questionnaire was sent to all members of the BSPED.A total of 38 questionnaires were received, including from 19 Health Services Human Growth Hormone C...

Thyroid physiology in early pregnancy is characterised by an increase of thyroxine binding globulin. This has been taken into account when using total T4 (TT4) if a ‘T3 uptake test (TUp)’ is used to derive the FTI. The American Thyroid Association Guidelines (1990) recommend ceasing the use of uptake tests, although in the USA they are still widely used. The aim of this study is to compare the TT4 and TUp to the FT4 in early gestation. TT4, TUp, FT4 and TSH were meas...

It is widely recognised that diabetes education allows for improved time in range and glycaemic control, hopefully leading to improved health outcomes and therefore quality of life of those living with Type 1 diabetes. The school of nursing team at University of Ulster led by David Chaney, identified a lack of structured diabetes education for children and young people with Type 1 Diabetes in Northern Ireland. A multi-centred Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) was designed whic...

Introduction: Approximately 3200 children and young people in the UK receive GH therapy. Currently 12 different GH injection devices are available, with NHS guidance (NICE-TA188) recommending that patients/carers should have a choice of product. Whilst there is evidence that offering such choice may improve treatment adherence, little is known about its importance to patients/carers, nor whether device preferences should be reviewed after a period of treatment.<p class="ab...

The objectives of this study were to investigate intertemporal choice in patients with type 2 Diabetes and whether blood glucose control is related to intertemporal choice. Ninety seven diabetes patients (41 inpatients and 56 outpatients) were recruited. All patients were subjected to the following tests: DM Distress Scale (DDS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the Big Five Inventory-K-10 (BFI-K-10). 73 of recruit...

The use of anti-thyroid medication is favoured first line therapy in Graves’ disease (GD). However, relapse rates are high (up to 50%) and definitive therapies of either surgery or radioactive Iodine therapy (RAI) are often considered following an informed decision. The definitive choice taken depends on several factors considered during the patient-doctor interaction. The aim of this study was thus to determine the influence of such factors.A cross...