Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Ectopic Cushing’s syndrome constitutes the second most common paraneoplastic syndrome and has been seen in 1-5 % of small cell lung cancers. It has a poor prognosis and can present with life-threatening complications.Case: We present a 66-year-old lady who attended with peripheral oedema, bruising and visual blurring. Past medical history included bronchiectasis, oesophageal web, ischemic colitis, Ehlers Danlos syndrome, and hypoxic br...

Carbimazole is one of the most commonly prescribed endocrine medications. There are a wide range of side effects associated including bone marrow disorders, severe cutaneous reactions, agranulocytosis and vasculitis. There have been few reports of anti-thyroid associated arthritis, described as migratory arthritis with prompt resolution following medication discontinuation. Side effects reported in British national Formulary and Electronic Medicine Compendium include myopathy ...

During the establishment of pregnancy, the endometrium undergoes dynamic remodelling in order to establish a ‘receptive’ microenvironment. Decidualisation, a key part of this process, is characterised by differentiation of endometrial stromal fibroblasts which secrete factors that regulate implantation and placental development. Recent studies in our laboratory have revealed that decidualisation results in altered expression of enzymes that regulate biosynthesis and ...

Introduction: Skin tags (acrochordons) are a recognised feature of insulin resistance, but the extent to which they predict an adverse metabolic profile or the response to lifestyle modification in severely obese adults is not known.Aims: We sought to quantify prospectively differences in anthropometric and metabolic characteristics in severely obese adults with acrochordons vs those without acrochordons, and to determine whether the presence of acrochor...

Premature menopause (PM) occurs spontaneously as premature ovarian failure (POF), or is medically induced (MIPM) by oophorectomy, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. PM is associated with increased health risks, including osteoporosis. This study explored understanding of menopausal therapies, medication use and health-related behaviour in women with and without PM.Methods: Cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study involving 23 premenopausal, 25 POF and 29 MI...

Case Summary: A 72 year-old man presented with a one month history of anorexia, weight loss, lethargy, constipation, increased thirst and generalised aches and pains. He had a background of hypertension, ischaemic heart disease, aortic stenosis, and a renal transplant 23 years ago with declining renal function. No significant abnormalities were noted on physical examination. Investigations confirmed hypercalcaemia, with serum calcium rising from 2.8–3.05 mmol/l. This was ...

Background: Children receiving chemotherapy for ALL may be susceptible to fractures and avascular necrosis (AVN).Aim: To determine the incidence and risk factors for bone-related morbidity in children on ALL chemotherapy.Patients and methods: The medical records of all (n, 186, male: 122) children presenting with ALL between 1997 and 2007 and treated with ALL97/01or UKALL 2003 at one centre were studied. Bone morbidity was d...

Background: Giving patients information about steroid replacement is an inherent part of endocrinologists' and endocrine nurse roles. This information can be life saving and it is imperative that patients have not only understood the information correctly when it is given to them, but that they retain it and are able to act appropriately in times of stress and illness.Method: Following a pilot study, a questionnaire was sent to 102 patients attending the...

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...

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) frequently associates with increasing multi-morbidity/treatment complexity. Some headway has been made to identify genetic and non-genetic risk factors for T2DM. However longitudinal clinical histories of individuals both before and after diagnosis of T2DM are likely to provide additional insight into both diabetes aetiology/further complex trajectory of multi-morbidity.Methods: This study utilised diabetes p...