Endocrine Abstracts

Systematic collections of neuroimaging data are rare in brain tumour survivors treated with adult growth hormone replacement therapy (AGHRT). In 1993, our unit implemented a policy of performing baseline brain scans on every brain tumour survivor before starting AGHRT, with repeat neuroimaging at least once after 12 to 18 months treatment. This retrospective study analyses the neuroimaging results for this cohort of 60 patients. Follow-up scans were available in 41 (91%) of th...

Background: Considerable overlap of IGF-I levels exists between normal subjects and those with severe GHD determined by conventional testing of GH status. Recognised factors influencing IGF-I status in GHD patients include age, gender, timing of onset of GHD and exogenous oestrogen therapy, but these do not fully explain the GH/IGF-I discordance in severe GHD. The primary structures of prolactin and GH are similar. Effects of hypoprolactinaemia are not well described in humans...

Adult growth hormone replacement is currently given by daily sc injections in the vast majority of children and adults treated for growth hormone (GH) deficiency. In recent years, sustained-release preparations of GH have been developed; the preparations available so far maintained therapeutic GH concentrations for approximately 14 days, but were characterised by a dominant early release, which resulted in high supraphysiological early GH peaks, and a rapid decline thereafter....

Background: Hypomagnesaemia is one of the most commonly encountered electrolyte disorders in clinical practice. The reported prevalence of hypomagnesaemia varies from 2.5 to 15% in the general population to as high as 65% among patients admitted to intensive care units. There is a general lack of awareness among physicians regarding the prevalence, clinical significance, and management of hypomagnesaemia.Aim and method: To review current practice of the ...

Females release 2–3 fold greater GH compared with males whilst maintaining similar IGF-I levels. IGF-I generation tests in healthy subjects suggest this discordancy results from resistance to GH in females. In GHD females the presumed relative insensitivity to GH is reflected by a lower basal IGF-I and higher GH maintenance doses during replacement. GHD adults of childhood- (CO) and adult-onset (AO) show CO-GHD adults to have lower basal IGF-I values and require higher ma...

Endocrine sequelae occur following cancer therapy. The majority of studies focus on childhood survivors of common cancers, in particular brain tumours, and isolated growth hormone deficiency (GHD) following radiotherapy is well recognised. The need for endocrine follow up in adults or following treatment of less common cancers with lower survival rates is often overlooked. Survival following treatment for nasopharyngeal cancer is improving. Although therapy options are changin...

Introduction: Patients with pituitary deficiencies suffer from impaired quality of life regardless of substitution therapy with hydrocortisone, thyroxine (T4), sex hormones or GH. Central hypothyroidism (CH) is difficult to diagnose and treat because symptoms are non-specific and TSH-levels cannot be used for assessment. There is no consensus for the fT4-goal of thyroxine-replacement in patients with CH.Aim: To determine the impact ...

Introduction: Central hypothyroidism (CeH) is diagnosed when low thyrotropin (TSH) is associated with a free thyroxine (fT4) below the normal range. Jostel proposed a ’fT4-adjusted TSH’ (TSH index: TSHI = log TSH +0.1345 · fT4.), to estimate the degree of pituitary dysfunction (Jostel et al. Clin End 2009).Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients investigated for pituitary hormone deficiencies (n=276; M:F 166:...