Endocrine Abstracts

Background: PCOS is a common female endocrine disorder, exacerbated by obesity. International guidelines therefore suggest weight loss as first line management. This service evaluation assessed the care pathway of patients referred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) with suspected PCOS. We aimed to assess the referral wait time, reason for referral, treatment offered, and weight management in clinic.Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional stud...

Hypercortisolaemia (Cushing’s Syndrome) is characterised by abdominal fat accumulation and gluteofemoral fat loss. The mechanisms underpinning this fat mass redistribution are unknown. Adipose tissue blood flow (ATBF) and net fatty acid release rate (lipolysis) are important determinants of depot-specific fat mass. We hypothesized that hypercortisolaemia may result in increased femoral ATBF and lipolysis promoting gluteofemoral fat mass loss. We recruited nine healthy mal...

Introduction: Pituitary surgery is associated with post-operative complications including hypopituitarism and visual field defects. In order to ensure that our surgical outcomes were comparable with other centres, we audited the outcome of a cohort of patients referred for surgery at a single centre.Methods: A retrospective audit of 27 consecutive patients diagnosed with pituitary adenoma at Heartlands Hospital Birmingham, who underwent trans-sphenoidal ...

Background: September is celebrated as PCOS awareness month worldwide and is aimed at improving the lives of those with PCOS, promoting research, and strengthening advocacy efforts. While significant financial and human resources are invested in promotions during this month, to the best of our knowledge, there is no evidence to show the impact of this initiative. In our study, we evaluated the global digital impact of PCOS Awareness Month, tracking commonly used hashtags as su...

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...

Background: Abdominal obesity is associated with insulin resistance and increased cardiometabolic disease risk, whereas lower-body fat accumulation seems protective against metabolic derangements. Differences in upper-body and lower-body adipose tissue (AT) function seem to underlie these opposing associations. Here, we investigated the inflammatory signature of upper- and lower-body AT in women with normal weight and obesity, as well as in human primary abdominal (ABD) and fe...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is prevalent metabolic disorder in women, associated with androgen excess and insulin resistance. These two major features are closely correlated, but the direction of causality remains unclear. Aldoketoreductase type 1C3 (AKR1C3) converts the androgen precursor androstenendione to testosterone (T), and is highly expressed in subcutaneous (SC) adipose tissue. We hypothesised that adipose tissue represents an important site linking androgen acti...

Introduction: Immune dysregulation is a feature of Cushing’s syndrome (CS). We report a case of CS that presented with rapidly developing cutaneous Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS).Case description: A previously well 59-year-old heterosexual man presented with a two-month history of proximal muscle weakness, recurrent mouth ulcers, and purplish skin lesions. He had a background history of hypertension. Skin biopsies were compatible with KS. History of pas...

Objective: This study investigated the association between ethnicity, birthplace and emotional and psychosexual wellbeing in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) in the community.Design: International cross-sectional study.Methods: Women with a self-reported PCOS diagnosis by a healthcare professional were invited to complete an online Blue Morpho questionnaire between September-October 2020 (UK) and May-June 2021 (India). F...

Background: Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder, with an estimated prevalence of 10-15% worldwide. PCOS can have adverse consequences on the emotional wellbeing of the patient. However, evidence exploring the relationship between PCOS and psychosexual wellbeing, specifically sexual function, and dysmorphic appearance concerns, is largely inconclusive.Aim: A systematic review and meta-analysis were undertaken to assess differ...