Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: The diagnosis of subclinical Cushing’s syndrome in patients with incidentalomas is not always straight forward and a number of different criteria have been used. The 1 mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test has been recommended as a screening test, followed up by other tests of the hypothalomo–pituitary–adrenal axis to confirm the diagnosis. In this study we investigate whether the low-dose dexamethasone suppression test offers additional informa...

IntroductionWe have previously demonstrated profound effects of hormone replacement treatment (HRT) in post-menopausal women on the IGF-system. HRT is widely used to prevent osteoporosis. The IGF-system has been implicated in bone formation. IGFBP-4 and IGFBP-5 are known to be important in modulation of IGF activity in bone. In this larger study we have examined the effects of HRT on circulating IGFBP-4 levels.MethodOral conjugated equine estrogen (CEE) alone or in...

Background: The Endocrine Society clinical practice guidelines suggest use of the 1 mg overnight dexamethasone suppression test (ONDST) to screen for cortisol excess in patients with adrenal incidentalomas, followed by the 48-h, 2 mg/day, low-dose dexamethasone-suppression test (LDDST), to confirm a positive result. Visceral fat accumulates in cortisol-excess and accounts for increased cardiovascular risk. In this study, we investigate whether the LDDST offers additional infor...

Background: Adult hypopituitarism is associated with premature vascular mortality for which the underlying mechanisms are unknown but untreated GH deficiency is proposed as a potential contributor.Objectives: To characterise vascular risk, including paraoxonase-1 (PON1; an antioxidant enzyme which preserves LDL against oxidation), in adults with treated panhypopituitarism.Study subjects: The study had full ethics approval. Data are...

Background: Adult hypopituitarism is associated with premature vascular mortality for which the underlying mechanisms are unknown but untreated GH deficiency is proposed as a potential contributor.Objectives: To characterise vascular risk, including paraoxonase-1 (PON1; an antioxidant enzyme which preserves LDL against oxidation), in adults with treated panhypopituitarism.Study subjects: The study had full ethics approval. Data are...

Introduction: Propensity to centripetal adiposity is an ethnic characteristic amongst South Asians, which may underlie the excess risk for both coronary heart disease (CHD) and diabetes in this population. Circulating levels of adipocytokines (hormones which include leptin, adiponectin, tumour necrosis factor (TNF-alpha)) and C-reactive protein (CRP) reflect the adipose tissues endocrine and metabolic activity, and are implicated in CHD.Methods: We compa...

AimsThe increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus with age in the context of ageing populations worldwide highlights the need to understand better factors that influence glucose homeostasis. Our hypothesis was that lifestyle change accompanying migration influences the relationship between pancreatic beta cell function (HOMA-B) and age.MethodsWe compared a specific migrant Gujarati community in Britain...

IntroductionThe IGF-system has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. We report the effects of total energy intake on the IGF-system in two populations with a markedly different dietary macronutrient intake and cardiovascular event rate.MethodDietary macronutrient intake was measured in a specific Gujarati migrant community in Sandwell UK (n=205) compared with people ...

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that impaired high density lipoprotein (HDL) function is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). HDL is essential for removing excess circulating cholesterol by reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). Additionally HDL reduces inflammation and oxidative stress, especially through paraoxonase-1. Whereas HDL’s capacity to accept cholesterol from peripheral cells is key (i.e. cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC)), successful RCT depends ...

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that impaired high density lipoprotein (HDL) function is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). HDL is essential for removing excess circulating cholesterol by reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). Additionally HDL reduces inflammation and oxidative stress, especially through paraoxonase-1. Whereas HDL’s capacity to accept cholesterol from peripheral cells is key (i.e. cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC)), successful RCT depends ...