Endocrine Abstracts

Daily rhythmicity in neuroendocrine functions and sleep-wake cycle is controlled by an endogenous circadian timing system, organized in a network of oscillatory structures. At the top of this circadian multi-oscillatory network, there is a master clock located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus. The molecular clockwork involves various clock genes, such as Period (Per).Light is the most potent synchronizer of the suprachiasmatic clock. By ...

Objectives: To assess whether nutrition education via the Filipino Plate Method ‘Pinggang Pinoy’ will be effective in developing better meal planning skills and 2-Hour Post Prandial Blood Sugar levels (2h-PPBS), comparable to standard nutrition education as recommended by the ADA.Research design and method: The Filipino Plate Method ‘Pinggang Pinoy’ is a simple tool for nutrition advise and would only take approximately 15 minutes...

Headaches associated with acromegaly are common even after hypophysectomy. Medical treatment with dopamine agonists and Somatostatin analogues often help. We report two cases when pharmacological therapy failed but further surgical removal of residual pituitary tissue cured the headaches.A 38 year-old lady presented with an eight year history of headaches, unresponsive to simple analgesia. Acromegaly was confirmed by a raised serum growth hormone (GH) 33...

Transphenoidal hypophysectomy is often carried out to remove ACTH-secreting tumours of the pituitary. A postoperative serum cortisol of <50nmol/l usually indicates cure of the disease but after other audits found persistent cases, 'remission' is thought to be a more appropriate term.Charing Cross Hospital is the tertiary neurosurgical centre for West London where a single, dedicated pituitary surgeon was appointed in 1995. We analysed the success of e...

BackgroundTSHomas are a rare cause of hyperthyroidism, and account for 0.5 to 3% of pituitary tumours. Incidence=0.15 per million per year. Prevalence=1 per million. Our limited experience of this condition can result in diagnostic and treatment challenges. Here we describe a case treated surgically lead to successful outcomesCase35 years old female referred to our service with secondary amenorrhea for the la...

Background: Determining post-operative remission in Cushing’s disease is challenging. There is no consensus for the post-operative serum cortisol value which reliably predicts remission of Cushing’s disease following trans-sphenoidal surgery. Traditionally, an early post-operative serum cortisol of below 50 nmol/L has been used to predict remission, but achieving this is often at the expense of hypopituitarism.<p class="abst...

Background: Determining post-operative remission in Cushing’s disease is challenging. There is no consensus for the post-operative serum cortisol value which reliably predicts remission of Cushing’s disease following trans-sphenoidal surgery. Traditionally, an early post-operative serum cortisol of below 50 nmol/L has been used to predict remission, but achieving this is often at the expense of hypopituitarism.<p class="abst...

A 57-year-old woman was referred in 2012 following an incidental finding of a pituitary macroadenoma. It measured 17×9 mm and was confined to the sella. There was no clinical or biochemical evidence of pituitary dysfunction. In 2017, she was found to have proximal myopathy, plethoric facies and purple abdominal striae. She was also on medication for hypertension and type 2 diabetes. There was no history of sleep apnoea, fractures or use of exogenous steroids. An MRI showe...

Background: Acromegaly is associated with multiple co-morbidities and increased mortality. Surgery is the first-line intervention and remission of acromegaly can restore normal life-expectancy. Pre-operative somatostatin analogues (SSA) may increase the likelihood of remission in large invasive tumours by causing tumour shrinkage prior to surgery.Aims: To audit the management of acromegaly patients at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHNT) against...

Context: Since the exact cause of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) remains unclear, the detection of novel biomarkers is necessary to complement the information obtained from the presence of autoantibodies together with genetic and environmental risk factors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNA molecules that negatively regulate gene expression. Changes in their expression were described in several pathological conditions, including autoimmune diseases. Circul...