Endocrine Abstracts

There is limited evidence on the effect of potassium (K+) supplementation on endothelial function. Three studies suggest a beneficial effect in healthy volunteers and mild hypertensives. However potassium increases aldosterone due to a direct effect on the adrenal gland and there is evidence that aldosterone excess is detrimental to cardiovascular health. We therefore aimed to determine the effect of potassium supplementation on endothelial function in patients with >10% c...

There is limited evidence on the effect of potassium (K+) supplementation on endothelial function. Three studies suggest a beneficial effect in healthy volunteers and mild hypertensives. However potassium increases aldosterone due to a direct effect on the adrenal gland and there is evidence that aldosterone excess is detrimental to cardiovascular health. We therefore aimed to determine the effect of potassium supplementation on endothelial function in patients with...

Cyclical Cushing’s syndrome is typically detected by collecting sequential daily early morning urine (EMU) samples for cortisol to creatinine ratio over a 28 day period. More recently nocturnal salivary cortisol (NSC) measurement has been shown to be a sensitive means of screening for Cushing’s syndrome. The Endocrine Society have suggested that NSC may be used to assess patients for cyclical Cushing’s however there is limited evidence that it correlates with th...

Aberrant and upregulated eutopic receptors have been identified in vitro in patients with primary aldosteronism (PA). We previously identified an exaggerated aldosterone response to synacthen in patients with PA versus healthy controls. In this study we aimed to evaluate whether the synacthen test differentiates between patients with PA and essential hypertension (EH). The 250 mcg intramuscular synacthen test was performed after 30 minutes recumbency in the morning and off int...

Objective: To investigate the management of thyroid replacement during pregnancy in women who were prescribed thyroxine prior to pregnancy.Design: Record-linkage technology was used retrospectively to identify pregnant women who were prescribed thyroxine in the general population of Tayside, Scotland.Patients: All pregnant women who were 18 years and above and who delivered between 1st January 1993 and 31st March 2011 in Tayside we...

A 77 year old man with a background of Crohns disease requiring ileostomy, pernicious anaemia and hypertension, presented with a 4month history of dysphagia to solids, hoarseness of voice, anorexia and marked weight loss of 30 kg. He was initially referred to gastroenterology, who performed an endoscopy which was normal. Subsequently he was referred to the ENT and speech and language therapy departments. A video fluoroscopy confirmed severe oropharyngeal dysphagia with effortf...

The prevalence of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is increasing and the majority (over 85%) are now asymptomatic and remain untreated. In order to know whether or not they can be left safely without surgery, issues on disease progression need to be addressed. We aimed to update the natural history of PHPT, with a focus of serum calcium progression in mild untreated patients, selected from a large pre-defined cohort of PHPT in Tayside, Scotland. Possible predictors of progre...

Objective: To investigate the long term outcomes for patients with endogenous subclinical hyperthyroidism (SH).Design: Population record-linkage technology was used retrospectively to identify patients with SH and hospital admissions from January 1, 1993 to December 31, 2009.Patients: All residents over 18 years old with at least two serum TSH measurements below the reference range for at least 4 months apart and normal free T...

Increased hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid (HPT) axis activity results in high bone turnover. T3 stimulates osteoblast and osteoclast activities, whereas TSH is proposed to inhibit bone turnover directly. Resolving the relative importance of T3 and TSH is complicated by their physiological inverse relationship. We studied 10 controls and 4 patients with resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH), in which mutation of thyroid hormone receptor beta (THR...

Objective: To define the rates of progression to frank hyperthyroidism and to normal thyroid function for subclinical hyperthyroid patients (SH).Design: Record-linkage technology was used retrospectively to identify patients with SH in the general population from 1st January 1993 to 31st December 2009.Patients: All residents over 18 years old with at least two measurements of TSH below the reference range for at least 4 months from...