Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Excess adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH), most often from a pituitary tumour, results in the overproduction of cortisol and the condition, Cushing’s syndrome. Plasma ACTH measurements are used in the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome but due to the presence of multiple dibasic cleavage sites within its sequence, ACTH is extremely labile and far from an ideal analyte. Processing of ACTH by some ectopic tumours releases high levels of smaller-ACTH like fragments, &...

Background: Post-translational modification (PTM) of antigens has been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders. In coeliac disease (CD), tissue transglutaminase (tTG) deamidates gliadin peptides to activate the immune response against gut endomysium. CD is six times more prevalent in Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients than in the general population.Hypothesis: tTG also modifies auto-antigens implicated in the pathogenesis of T1D, lea...

Radioactive isotopes of copper are of interest in the development of imaging agents for positron emission tomography (PET) and companion therapeutics. The synthesis of a ligand, 5-(8-methyl-3,6,10,13,16,19-hexaaza-bicyclo[6.6.6]icosan-1-ylamino)-5-oxopentanoic acid (MeCOSar), designed to form stable complexes with radioactive copper isotopes that can be tethered to tumour targeting peptides and antibodies will be presented.The MeCOSar ligand has been con...

Plasma adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH) is extremely labile and far from an ideal analyte for use in the diagnosis of Cushing’s syndrome. Processing of ACTH by some ectopic tumours releases high levels of smaller ACTH-like fragments, α-MSH and CLIP, which can interfere with individual antibodies in current diagnostic immunoassays. Furthermore, cross-reactivity with the precursor of ACTH, pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC), increases the likelihood of erroneous interpretations an...

Case history: A 20-year-old man was referred to the metabolic bone clinic following a left sided neck of femur fracture (sustained after a simple fall whilst roller skating). He was otherwise well with no past medical history; systemic enquiry was unremarkable. A DEXA scan revealed osteoporosis (Z scores: total hip −2.97; lumbar spine −3.1), and bone turnover markers were significantly raised. Unexpectedly, the patient was found to have an elevated serum t...

Monitoring patients with NETs reveals a significant prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms, often unrelated directly to the tumour1. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency exemplifies a common treatable cause of gastrointestinal symptoms in NET patients undergoing therapy with somatostatin analogues. There is a paucity of data regarding this important issue which affects quality of life in NETs. We explored the value of faecal elastase (FE) as a marker of exocrine pancr...

Background: Accurate early risk prediction for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) would target intervention and prevention in women at the highest risk. We evaluated maternal risk factors and parameters of body composition to develop a prediction model for GDM in early gestation.Methods: A prospective observational study was undertaken. Pregnant women aged between 18–50 y of age with gestational age between 10–16 weeks were included in ...

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an increasing problem worldwide. Post-natal-hypoglycaemia and excess-foetal-growth are known important metabolic complications of neonates born to women with diabetes. This retrospective-cohort-study aims to determine the influence of obesity and glucose-intolerance on neonatal-hypoglycaemia and birth-weight over the 90th percentile (LGA).Methods: Data were abstracted from 303 patient medical records f...

Background: Globally, birth-weights are increasing progressively. Birth-weights large for gestational age (LGA) defined as ≥90th centile are linked to increased delivery complications, and adiposity in the neonate. This has been linked to glucose intolerance and CVD later in life. Oversupply of nutrients in utero contribute to excess foetal growth, and maternal obesity may contribute to this rise. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between para...

Background: Thyrotropinomas (TSHomas) are traditionally considered a rare, albeit important cause of thyrotoxicosis. Although early case series reported a predominance of invasive macroadenomas, emerging evidence suggests microadenomas are being increasingly diagnosed, and the clinical/biochemical phenotype appears to be more variable than previously suspected. We therefore performed detailed phenotyping of patients referred to our centre with a diagnosis of TSHoma over a 4-ye...