Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Non-ketotic hyperglycemia hemichorea is a movement disorder characterized by irregular, involuntary and abrupt hyperkinetic movements caused by hyperglycemia. The pathophysiology remains unclear however there are several theories on its mechanism. The diagnosis is confirmed by presence of involuntary irregular movements combined with findings of hyperdensities on the basal ganglia in cranial computed tomography scan (CT-scan) or magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI...

Positron emission tomography (PET) using the glucose analog tracer fluoro-deoxy-glucose (FDG) is today a widely available and highly useful functional imaging modality. Thus, FDG-PET has proved its clinical worth in particularly malignancy detection and treatment monitoring and is now often a first-line choice in the diagnostics of a range of diseases. However, PET is also an excellent tool for non-invasive measurement of metabolic processes, pathophysiology and pharmacokineti...

Introduction: The N-formyl peptide receptor (FPR) family of G-protein-coupled receptors, originally identified to recognise N-formylated bacterial peptides, has in more recent times been shown to bind annexin-1 (ANXA1). ANXA1 is a signalling molecule well demonstrated to mediate two key glucocorticoid effects in the anterior pituitary: inhibition of ACTH release from corticotrophs and regulation of cell proliferation. Whilst previous RT-PCR studies have detec...

Calcium mobilization from intracellular stores represents an important cell signalling process that is regulated, in mammalian cells, by inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3), cyclic ADP ribose (cADPR) and nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP). Intracellular calcium is important for mobilization of secretory granules to the plasma membrane in preparation for exocytosis. NAADP mobilizes calcium from lysosome-related acidic compartments and it has been sho...

Epidemiological studies have identified the intrauterine environment as a major contributor to increased rates of metabolic disease in adults, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a common liver disease of pregnancy that affects 0.5–2% pregnant women and is characterised by increased bile acid (BA) levels in the maternal serum. The influence of ICP on the metabolic health of offspring is unknown.<p class="...

Testicular adrenal rest tumors (TART), described in patients with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) secondary to 21-hydroxylase deficiency, are responsible for Leydig cell failure and impaired spermatogenesis. These tumors, often unresponsive to intensified glucocorticoid therapy and surgical resection, may lead to infertility or even sterility. Here, we studied the effects of long term treatment with mitotane (Lysodren), a specific adrenolytic agent, on TART in 4 C...

Introduction: Free fatty acids (FFAs) affect pituitary function. While no effect of FFAs on ACTH and cortisol seems to exist in men, data in women are somewhat controversial. Therefore, we aimed to assess the effect of an acute increase of circulating FFA levels induced by the infusion of a lipid-heparin infusion on ACTH and cortisol secretion in healthy young women.Methods: Following a 10-h overnight fast 13 healthy female volunteers were investigated i...

Circulating levels of the antiangiogenic protein vasoinhibin (16 kDa PRL), a fragment of prolactin, are of interest in vasoproliferative retinopathies, preeclampsia, and peripartum cardiomyopathy, but are unknown due to the lack of a quantitative assay. Here, human serum samples were investigated for the concentration and bioactivity of vasoinhibin using a novel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for human vasoinhibin employing an anti-vasoinhibin monoclonal antibody, a...

Background: Obesity is increasingly becoming prevalent among the general population and in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in particular. This unhealthy association contributes to increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients.Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of obesity among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.Materials...

Background: Obesity is increasingly becoming prevalent among the general population and in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in particular. This unhealthy association contributes to increased morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients.Objectives: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of obesity among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.Materials...