Endocrine Abstracts

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Abstract Unavailable....

Thyroid hormone action in individual target tissues is a complex and tightly regulated process. Thyroid hormones (thyroxine, T4 and triiodothyronine, T3) enter target cells via active transport mediated by specific transporter proteins. T4 is a biologically inactive pro-hormone that is converted to the active hormone T3 by removal of a critical iodine atom. Two iodothyronine deiodinase enzymes (Dio2 and Dio3) are expressed in periphe...

Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) has become more prevalent as routine screening for serum calcium became more widespread. The current prevalence of PHPT is about 0.5–1% and possibly higher. The majority of patients are asymptomatic or have relatively subtle symptoms. NIH criteria for surgery are mainly based on patient symptoms and/or signs of end-organ damage, and the majority of patients do not fulfil these criteria. However it has become apparent that patients not fu...

This presentation will look at specific samples of SCE exam questions. The rationale of the questions and the thinking behind the question writing will be explained. The background and rationale of the exam will be explained in terms of this being an ‘exit’ exam in Endocrinology and Diabetes to test clinical discernment and understanding within a practical context. It is linked with the JRCPTB specialty training curriculum, to enable a CCT to be awadred in awarded in...

A key role of the thymic medulla is to negatively select CD4+ and CD8+ thymocytes expressing potentially autoreactive αβT-cell receptors (αβTCR), a process important for T-cell tolerance induction. It is known that tolerance induction in the thymus involves multiple processes, and the thymus medulla is also known to contribute through guiding the generation and selection of natural FoxP3+ regulatory T-cells (nT-Reg). Of the ...

The scientific literature abounds with the reports of new hormones and related biomarkers and their preliminary application to clinical situations. A small proportion of such discoveries translate into service delivery because initial studies are not substantiated and/or the economics of commercial method development are not favourable. There is a spectrum of endocrine biomarker assay provision from research assay, to specialised service assay to routine service assay. In gene...

Leptin is a 16kDa protein produced mainly by adipocytes. Animal models demonstrate that leptin is required for control of bodyweight and reproduction, since mice defective in leptin or the leptin receptor are obese, hyperphagic insulin resistant and infertile. Our initial series of observations lead us to propose that leptin also had significant effects on human type I proinflammatory immune responses. In support of this hypothesis, leptin deficient mice are resistant to a wid...

The majority of T3 actions are mediated by nuclear thyroid hormone receptors (TRα and TRβ), which act as hormone-inducible transcription factors. TRs are constitutively localised to the nucleus and, in the absence of hormone, bind to T3-response elements (TREs) located in the promoter regions of T3 target genes to mediate transcriptional repression. Entry of T3 to the nucleus and high affinity binding to TRs results in de-r...

Hypothyroidism delays bone formation, whilst thyrotoxicosis accelerates skeletal development but is a risk factor for osteoporosis. We characterized mice with mutation or deletion of T3 receptors, TRα and TRβ, in several genetic backgrounds. Delayed ossification and growth retardation were observed in TRα mutants, whereas TRβ mutants had advanced bone age. Adult TRα mutants had high bone mass, whereas TRβ mutants were osteoporotic. Targ...