Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Radiotherapy is an important adjuvant treatment for pituitary and cranial diseases. The aim of the study was to observe response of Radiotherapy (RTX) on Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal (HPA) axis determined by serial Short Synacthen tests (SSTs). Methods: Patients treated with adjuvant Cranial Radiotherapy between the years 2000 and 2018 in the department of Radiation Oncology and who also underwent serial Short Synacthen tests, i...

Introduction: Exposure to deficient/excess glucocorticoids can lead to long-term health problems in patients with adrenal insufficiency. Historically and age-appropriate hydrocortisone formulation has not been available. Adrenal crisis is associated with significant morbidity and mortality.Aims: To assess prescribing practice for oral hydrocortisone and sick day advise across the UK.Methods: Paediatric endocrinologists and parents[...

Case history: A 56 year old man presented with a few months history of diffuse bone pain affecting his arms, legs, ribs and particularly his left hip. Past medical history included well controlled HIV infection, hepatitis B co-infection, peripheral neuropathy associated with HAART, lipoatrophy, Kaposi’s sarcoma, ADHD, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and a history of previous Fanconi’s syndrome associated with Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF) 8 years ago. At his initial ...

Background: Isolated pituitary stalk (PS) lesions/thickening detected on imaging pose challenging dilemmas.Aim: Audit the diagnostic approach and management of patients with isolated PS lesions/thickening reported on MRI in a tertiary hospital.Methods: Reports of pituitary/brain MRIs performed in our Radiology Department between 1/2013 and 12/2015 were searched for the terms ‘stalk’, ‘infundibular’, ‘infund...

Context: Identification of risk factors predicting relapse in patients with hyperthyroidism of Graves’ disease after the first cycle with standard thyreostatic therapy [ATD] is important to guide therapeutic options.Objective: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to study predictors for risk of relapse after the first treatment episode with ATD in patients with Graves’ disease induced hyperthyroidism.Data so...

Background: We and others have shown that ectopic lipids are flexible fuel stores in healthy subjects, in patients with type 1 diabetes or with GHD. IMCL are depleted by exercise and repleted by diet, whereas intrahepatocellular lipids (IHCL) are increased immediately after exercise. It is unclear whether the exercise-induced flexibility of IMCL and IHCL persists until 24 h and whether healthy subjects and patients with GHD behave differently.Methods: Ma...

Objective: Whether additional immunosuppressive drugs to standard treatment with thyreostatic drugs reduce the risk for relapse in Graves’ disease is not well understood. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to study the effects of immunosuppressive drugs on relapse rate and treatment effect of patients with hyperthyroidism due to Graves’ disease.Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane in July 2015 for randomized-controll...

Background: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) predominantly affects obese women of childbearing age. IIH is characterised by increased intracranial pressure (ICP) which results in visual loss and disabling headaches. ICP dis-regulation results from imbalance of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) production rate (at the choroid plexus epithelial cells) and drainage. Treatments for IIH are limited but weight loss is established as disease modifying.Glucago...

Background: Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterised by impaired cortisol synthesis. In the CaHASE study, a surprisingly low number of cases were identified as attending adult endocrine clinics. It has been suggested that patients with CAH are lost to follow up around the time of transition to adult services.In our service, there is a transition clinic that has a lead paediatric and adult Consultant who attend...

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is present in small quantities in human adults (~100 g) and can have a significant influence on metabolism. This effect is mediated by rapid activation of the BAT specific uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), following stimulation of β-adrenergic receptor (AR) by the sympathetic nervous system. AR agonists stimulate rodent BAT, but have so far provided inconsistent findings in humans when administered orally (Vosselman et al. 2012). Rapid activ...