Endocrine Abstracts

Irisin is an adipomyokine produced during physical activity and implicated in the browning of adipose tissue. Existing evidence suggests an inverse relationship between irisin plasma levels and adverse metabolic outcomes; however, the exact impact of diet on irisin levels remains unclear. We aimed to assess the effects of two dietary patterns, Christian Orthodox fasting (OF) and 16:8 time-restricted eating (TRE), on irisin concentrations among overweight, metabolically healthy...

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) poses multiple risks to both the mother and foetus. This includes foetal macrosomia and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) due to their metabolic profile are at greater risk of developing GDM and its long-term sequelae. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and associations of GDM at St George’s Hospital, with emphasis on women diagnosed with PCOS. The K2 maternal med...

Annexin 1 (ANXA1) is a Ca 2+ and phospholipid binding protein that plays an important role as a mediator of glucocorticoid (GC) action in the host-defence and neuroendocrine-systems. Our previous studies (Christian et al., 1998) in ovarietomised rats +/- oestradiol (E2) replacement suggested oestrogen may exert an inhibitory influence on ANXA1 expression in the pituitary gland. Our more recent finding that ANXA1 knockout mice exhibit unexpected sexual dimorphisms in...

The activin-binding protein follistatin is produced by folliculostellate (FS) cells of the anterior pituitary. FS cells make numerous contacts with the classical endocrine cells of the anterior pituitary including gonadotrophs. Follistatin released from the FS cells could therefore play a role in the regulation of gonadotrophin secretion, in particular of FSH. We have previously shown by confocal microscopy (1) that annexin 1, which is also produced by FS cells, is secreted fr...

Annexin I (ANXA1), a Ca2+- and phospholipid-binding protein is an important mediator of glucocorticoid (GC) action in the host defence and neuroendocrine systems. In the anterior pituitary ANXA1 is highly expressed by the folliculo-stellate (FS) cells (1). We have shown that GCs cause the externalization of annexin I in a FS cell line (murine TtT/GF) despite the fact that ANXA1 lacks a signal sequence and is not packaged in secretory granules. In bacteria and yeast ...

Recent evidence suggests that endogenous glucocorticoids (GC) may be suppressed by adipocyte-derived leptin and elevated by dietary acidity. Therefore we examined whether these factors might be predictors of potentially bioactive free glucocorticoids independently of adrenocortical activity.Body composition, plasma cortisol, plasma leptin, 24-h urinary excretion rates of net acid (NAE) reflecting daily diet-dependent acid load, total nitrogen, urinary fr...

Introduction: Neurofibromatosis type 1 or von Recklinghausen disease is a systemic hereditary disease characterized by disorders regarding the skin, neural and skeletal systems. Osteoporosis is one of the skeletal manifestations of neurofibromatosis type 1, being associated with increased fracture risk. Neurofibromatosis type 1 is associated with a propensity for the development of cancer, breast cancer in particular being associated with neurofibromatosis type 1.<p class=...

Introduction: Central obesity has been linked more to adverse cardiovascular risks than general obesity. The cut-off values for BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist:hip ratio (WHR), and waist:height ratio (WHtR) have been shown to vary with ethnicity. This study sets out to determine the optimal cut-off values for obesity in adult Nigerians using four anthropometric indices.Method: In a cross-sectional study of adults in Delta State, Nigeria, data on wei...

Question: Can be reliably diagnosed osteoporosis with quantitative ultrasound of bone? Can the therapeutic progress of a specific osteoporosis therapy reliably judged by that?Patients and methods: Three hundred and twenty patients were enrolled between July 1999 and October 2004. All patients were studied in the osteoporosis clinic at time 0, after 1, 2 and 3 years. BMD was done with Hologic QDR-1000 (low back or hip) and the Osteometer DTU one (paramete...

Adipocyte fatty acid binding protein (FABP4) is emerging as a novel risk marker for metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis. In this context we recently showed that FABP4 released by human adipocytes suppresses cardiomyocyte contraction, thus suggesting a pathogenic role for FABP4 in the cardiac dysfunction in obesity. Since a new FABP4 inhibitor which competitively inhibits the binding of endogenous fatty acids to FABP4 was effective in the treatment of atherosclerosis and dia...