Endocrine Abstracts

Objectives: (1) to establish the relative level of osteoporotic fracture in the thyroid population compared to the general population, and (2) to establish whether osteoporotic fracture in patients receiving thyroxine was associated with plasma thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level or thyroxine dose.Method: A database of clinical information from subjects with treated thyroid disease was linked to morbidity records describing all in-patient episodes of...

Objective: The spontaneously hypertensive stroke prone rat (SHRSP) is a model of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Feeding a 60% fructose diet exaggerates these phenotypes. The Y chromosome may influence lipid levels in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). Therefore we aim to characterise the metabolic syndrome using in vivo and dyslipidemic phenotpyes in the SHRSP and examine the contribution of the Y chromosome.Methods: SHRSP and WKY Y consomic strains (SP...

Objective: To construct rat congenic strains to confirm and narrow down a region on rat chromosome 2 previously implicated in blood pressure regulation. To determine expression profiles and identify differentially expressed genes between congenic strain and respective parental strain using microarray technology.Design and Methods: Total RNA was prepared from whole kidney homogenates from 2x parental SHRSPGla and 2x SP.WKYGla2a congenic rats. Expression ...

Objective: The spontaneously hypertensive stroke prone rat (SHRSP) is a model of insulin resistance and dyslipidemia. Feeding a 60% fructose diet exaggerates these phenotypes. It has been suggested that the Y chromosome may influence lipid levels in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). Therefore we examined the effects of Y chromosome on lipid phenotypes in the SHRSP after fructose feeding.Design and Methods: The S.W. Y consomic strain was construc...

Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) has been postulated to function as a vasodilator via a nitric oxide (NO) pathway. IGF-1/growth hormone deficiency in humans is associated with endothelial dysfunction and increased cardiovascular mortality.We compared the effects of IGF-1 on vascular function in control Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) (n=6) and stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats characterised by endothelial dysfunction (SHRSP) (n=7)....

Introduction: Adipocytes have been shown to exhibit considerable heterogeneity. In humans, they vary in size from <20 to 300 µm in diameter, which equates to a several hundred-fold difference in cell volume within the same tissue. Population based studies indicate larger adipocytes are associated with metabolic diseases, but how cell size is related to metabolism is poorly understood. Recent studies measured glucose levels in individual cells in cultu...

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is a rare hereditary autosomal dominant disorder characterised by the occurrence of multiple endocrine tumours, predominantly affecting parathyroid glands, pancreatic islet cells and anterior pituitary. Consensus guidelines for MEN1 recommend intensive clinical, biochemical and radiological surveillance commencing in early childhood. The current regimen, which is subject to debate given lack of strong evidence for some aspects of care...

Background: Lipocalin 2 (NGAL) is considered a pro-inflammatory adipokine. Noting the conflicting reports as to the role of Lipocalin 2 in metabolic disease, it remains unclear whether an acute or chronic state affects its impact on adipocyte function. In an attempt to address this our current studies investigated for the first time in humans, whether Lipocalin 2 in abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (AT) may influence mitochondrial function and browning of adipocytes, as c...

Introduction: Knowledge about end-user perceptions is important to ensure educational resources have maximal impact.Objective: To understand school children’s perceptions and ideas about three endocrine topics.Methods: This activity was done as part of Society for Endocrinology public engagement grant. Years 5 and 6 school children (aged 10-11 years) from Nonsuch Primary School in Birmingham were invited to create posters on t...

Background: In an obese state, pro-inflammatory adipokines can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction and reduced brown adipocytes properties in white adipocytes (BRITE adipocytes), all of which contribute to the pathogenesis of obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A recent novel adipokine, asprosin, that influences appetite and glucose homeostasis, appears to drive inflammation in obesity. However, asprosin expression in human adipose tissue (AT) depots, its impact on mito...