Endocrine Abstracts

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic disease. Steroid hormones and bile acids are established regulators of metabolic phenotype. 5β-reductase (AKR1D1) is highly expressed in human liver where it inactivates steroid hormones and catalyzes a fundamental step in bile acid synthesis. We hypothesized that AKR1D1 plays a key role in hepatic metabolic homeostasis. Genetic manipulation of AKR1D1 ...

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic disease. Steroid hormones and bile acids are established regulators of metabolic phenotype. 5β-reductase (AKR1D1) is highly expressed in human liver where it inactivates steroid hormones and catalyzes a fundamental step in bile acid synthesis. We hypothesized that AKR1D1 plays a key role in hepatic metabolic homeostasis. Genetic manipulation of AKR1D1 ...

Congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) is a pathological condition characterised by lack of pubertal onset and must be differentiated from self-limited delayed puberty (SLDP). There is a significant overlap between these two conditions both in clinical and biochemical features, with current diagnostic approaches lacking sensitivity. Thus, paediatric endocrine clinicians are faced with difficulty in ascertaining the correct diagnosis in adolescence. The presence of cert...

Background: Primary hypothyroidism affects about 3% of the general population (5.1% women and 0.9% men). The majority of people are treated adequately with levothyroxine. However about 5–10% of hypothyroid patients (representing between 75 000 and 150 000 adults in the UK) continue to experience profound and sometimes disabling symptoms, such as fatigue/depression/impaired cognition, in spite of being adequately replaced biochemically. Before any trial of alternatives to ...

Background: Neuroendocrine tumours (NET) can affect various tissues and organs, have different clinical presentation and prognosis, depending on the primary tumour site, grading, differentiation and functional status. Reported prevalence of bone metastases (BM) from NETs has been increasing with improved imaging modalities, reaching >40% in some reports. The BM diagnosis is associated with reduced overall survival; however, this was not confirmed by all studies.<p clas...

Background: The urinary steroid metabolome is considered the fingerprint of adrenal gland function. Novel methods using mass spectrometry profiling have seen the advent of a new era for metabolomics with powerful implications for both diagnostics and discovery. Its interpretation is difficult and performed by few specialists with the expertise to do so. This makes it a relatively inaccessible tool for the majority of Clinical Endocrinologists.Objective: ...

Context: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is characterised by elevated intracranial pressure and occurs predominantly in obese premenopausal women. Signs and symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) often coexist in IIH. Here we compared the androgenic and metabolic phenotypes in IIH, PCOS and simple obesity.Patients and Methods: We studied 25 patients with IIH (mean age 34.4±9.2 years; mean BMI 37.8±5.2 kg/m2), in comp...

Insulin resistance and androgen excess are the cardinal features of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Severity of hyperandrogenism and metabolic dysfunction in PCOS are closely correlated, but underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Aldoketoreductase type 1C3 (AKR1C3) is a key source of adipose androgen generation, activating androstenedione to testosterone (T). We postulated that AKR1C3 plays a critical role linking androgen metabolism and metabolic ...

Context: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) is characterised by elevated intracranial pressure and occurs predominantly in obese premenopausal women. Signs and symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) often coexist in IIH. Here we compared the androgenic and metabolic phenotypes in IIH, PCOS and simple obesity.Patients and methods: We studied 25 patients with IIH (mean age 34.4±9.2 years; mean BMI 37.8±5.2 kg/m2), in comp...

Increased adiposity is associated with insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and metabolic dysfunction. Altered adipokine secretion, changes in local and systemic glucocorticoid metabolism and increased inflammation have all been postulated as contributory mechanisms. We have previously described changes in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) gene expression that are associated with obesity and glucose intolerance in cross-sectional studies. However, the effects of longitudinal ch...