Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Large populations of HIV and tuberculosis occur in South Africa and, amongst these patients, Addison’s disease is probably underdiagnosed. Preliminary data in 60 HIV-positive patients with a CD4 count less than 100 cells/mm3 showed that the overall prevalence of hypoadrenalism was 6.7%, with 1 patient having primary hypoadrenalism and 3 patients having central hypoadrenalism. This report describes the prevalence of hypoadrenalism and its association...

Introduction and aim: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (PNETs) may occur sporadically (sPNETs) or as part of the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1(MEN1) syndrome, which is characterised by occurrence of PNETs, parathyroid and anterior pituitary tumours. Our aim was to review the management of these patients in relation to the clinical practice MEN1 guidelines, and the ENETS and UKINETS guidelines for PNETs.Patients and methods: Patients attending with...

Introduction: Adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) is a rare disease with a poor prognosis and limited therapeutic options. Mitotane is considered as a first-line therapy but only 30% of the patients showing an objective tumour response.Erlotinib and gefitinib (tyrosine kinase inhibitors – TKI) inhibit the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which is highly expressed and occasionally mutated in various cancers. EGFR expression was found to be a good ...

Introduction: NETs are a diverse group of neoplasms that originate from cells of the diffuse endocrine system. Often somatostatin analogues (SSA) are used as a first line treatment. Loose stools and steatorrhea are common adverse effects of SSA. This can affect the absorption of fat soluble vitamins and trace elements (TE). In this study we assess the prevalence of these deficiencies.Methods: A prospective study of 66 patients on SSA. Vitamins A,D,E,K an...

Background: The low dose dexamethasone suppression test (LDDST) is an important investigation for suspected Cushing’s syndrome (CS). The traditional definition of normal suppression of serum cortisol to ≤50 nmol/l (0.5 mg 6 hrly × 48 hrs) comes from a time when biochemical auto analysers did not routinely detect very low values. Previous studies reported 5.1–8.3% of patients with Cushing’s disease (CD) suppressed to <50 nmol/l at 48 hrs. Many clin...

Introduction: Angiogenesis is regulated by different components of the tumour microenvironment (TME) including cytokines and immune cells. Although angiogenesis has been studied in pituitary adenomas (PAs), the role of individual TME components in PA angiogenesis remains largely unknown. We aimed to characterise the role of the TME components in determining the angiogenesis of PAs, focusing on PA-infiltrating immune cells and the PA-derived cytokine network.<p class="abste...

While pituitary adenomas (PA) usually occur as a sporadic disease, an increasing number of patients are recognised with a family member also suffering from a PA. If no other syndromic features are present, these families are categorised as FIPA. In published studies, 20% of the FIPA families, 20% of sporadic childhood and 13% of sporadic young-onset (≤30 years) acromegaly patients carry a germline AIP mutation. As familial disease is more aggressive, family scre...

Background: Botulinum neurotoxin inhibits muscle function by interfering with neurotransmitter release from secretory vesicles. The mechanism underlying this effect involves cleavage of SNARE proteins which are required for vesicle docking at the plasma membrane. The ability of botulinum neurotoxin serotypes to cleave SNARE proteins and inhibit secretion is being exploited for therapeutic purposes by Syntaxin Ltd with their ‘targeted secretion inhibitor technology’ (...

Mutations in the co-chaperone molecule AIP account for a predisposition to pituitary tumours in some families with familial isolated pituitary adenomas (FIPA). We now report on four apparently-unrelated families with the same mutation and originating from the same geographical area, suggesting a possible founder mutation.The index patient had gigantism (19 years, 208 cm) and had a female 4th cousin, once removed (13 years, 191 cm) with a large pituitary ...

Introduction: Hypercortisolaemia is characterised by an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), either through a direct action on the myocardium or by affecting traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The electrocardiogram (ECG) is the initial examination to assess the structural and functional characteristics of the myocardium.Aim of the study: To investigate whether the metabolic and cardiovascular features of Cushing’s disease (CD) are a...