Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Although biochemical markers of acromegaly disease activity, including GH and IGF1, may fluctuate from day-to-day, biochemical treatment response in clinical trials is generally monitored using single-point analyses. Accordingly, longitudinal evaluations may assess patient status more accurately. In a phase 3 trial, oral octreotide capsules (OOC) demonstrated sustained composite endpoint GH and IGF1 response for ≤13 months in 151 patients with acromegaly pr...

Background: Adult GH deficiency (GHD) is diagnosed by provocative testing of GH secretion. To improve diagnostic accuracy of GHRH plus arginine (GARG) testing, we evaluated the influence of age, BMI, and sex. Furthermore, we aimed to established normative data for an automatic immunoassay specifically measuring 22kD human GH.Methods: Eighty-seven patients with hypothalamic-pituitary disease and 200 healthy controls were enrolled. Controls were prospectiv...

Background: There are differences in the development of diabetic nephropathy (DN) between men and women but the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. The urinary proteome may contain sex-specific biomarkers and thereby identify differentially regulated pathways to DN in men and women.Method: Urine samples were obtained from 157 patients with type 2 diabetes (age, 61 (29–71) years; 120 men and 37 women), preserved renal function (eGFR, 88 &#17...

Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is characterised by raised intracranial pressure (ICP) and papilloedema, diagnosed primarily in obese women of reproductive age, with the incidence rising with the global epidemic of obesity. Weight-loss lowers ICP and treats IIH. No mechanism explains the link between obesity and raised ICP. We hypothesise that adipose tissue from IIH patients has a metabolically distinct profile that contributes to raised ICP. Our previous data demo...

Recent guidelines indicate that pregnant women with subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH, TSH above the pregnancy-related reference range where available, or ≧2.5 mU/l) should be treated with thyroxine. We aimed to determine the frequency of overt hypothyroidism (OH; TSH>5 mU/l) and SCH (TSH >2.5 but <5 mU/l) in pregnancy, and to examine how many are diagnosed with thyroid problems after pregnancy. Four thousand three hundred women were recruited between 2007 and...

Background: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) has a positive linear relationship to antral follicle count (AFC) in healthy women. However, studies of intra-follicular AMH-levels indicate a non-linear relation to AFC. It is speculated whether high AMH in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) women is due to overactive follicles rather than directly reflect AFC.Study design: We used data from a previous case–control study, including 262 women with prior te...

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia due to 21-hydroxylase deficiency (CAH) is encoded by the CYP21A2 gene. The CYP21A2 gene is partially overlapped by the TNXB gene encoding an extracellular matrix protein called Tenascin-X. Deficiency of Tenascin X can cause the Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS). Deletions of CYP21A2 extending into TNXB rarely cause CAH combined with EDS. CAH associated with mild hypermobility form of EDS due to TNXB haploinsufficiency caused by heterozygous mutation h...

GH levels decline with age and weight gain and are enhanced in response to nutrient deprivation. Under these circumstances, GH levels are negatively correlated with IGF1 and insulin levels. Since IGF1 and insulin can directly inhibit GH synthesis and release from primary pituitary cells of different species, it is commonly accepted that changes in circulating IGF1 and insulin serve to directly regulate somatotrope function in response to metabolic extremes. However, teasing ap...

Context: Primary aldosteronism (PA) represents the most frequent cause of a curable secondary arterial hypertension. Conflicting data have been published regarding the effect of aldosterone excess on glucose and lipid metabolism.Objective: Our aim was to analyze insulin sensitivity and beta cell function in a cohort of PA patients. Prospective follow-up investigations were performed in a subgroup of patients before and after adrenalectomy to assess the m...

Introduction: An increased frequency of autoimmune diseases and an elevated incidence of autoantibodies have been observed in Turner syndrome (TS), but indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) has not been able to demonstrate autoantibodies against the adrenal cortex. We asked if the more sensitive radioimmunosorbant assay employing recombinant human 21-hydroxylase was able to identify autoantibodies against 21-hydroxylase, (21OH-Ab) in TS patients; 21-hydroxylase is the major adrena...