Endocrine Abstracts

Corepressors and coactivators of thyroid hormone receptor-mediated function facilitate repression and transactivation of positively-regulated target genes respectively, but their role in negative regulation is not understood. A 13 yr old boy, born at 31 weeks gestation, was jittery at birth, with neonatal respiratory distress. Childhood features included poor weight gain, heat intolerance, tachycardia and hyperactivity. Ongoing problems are low frequency hearing loss, poor sig...

The measurement of serum testosterone in women is difficult with most automated immunoassays because of poor sensitivity, accuracy and precision at low concentrations. Mass spectrometry is the gold standard for these measurements but it is slower and requires special expertise and equipment. We investigated whether the modification of a commercial RIA allowed improved testosterone measurements in laboratories without access to mass spectrometry.A commerc...

Aims: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with insulin resistance, obesity and cardiovascular complications. Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is a novel anti-angiogenic adipokine highly expressed in obese, insulin-resistant subjects. We sought to assess TSP-1 levels in adipose (AT) from PCOS women and matched controls. The effects of metformin treatment on circulating TSP-1 levels in PCOS subjects; effects of serum from normal and PCOS women on in vitro migration and...

Pituitary carcinoma is rare and diagnosis requires demonstration of cerebrospinal and/or systemic metastasis. We present case of a 64-year-old lady who presented with widespread spinal metastasis from a pituitary adenoma diagnosed 36 years ago. Our patient presented in 1971 with visual failure, headache and oligomenorrhoea. Imaging confirmed pituitary macroadenoma and she underwent transcranial hypophysectomy. Histology revealed chromophobe adenoma. Post operatively her vision...

Resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH) is a rare, autosomal dominant disorder characterised by a reduced sensitivity of peripheral tissues to thyroid hormone. Thyroid function testing shows elevation of free T4 and T3 with non suppressed TSH levels.Vascular function in these patients has not been fully evaluated. We have studied central arterial stiffness in a cohort of RTH patients, comparing them with age and sex matched controls.Me...

Background: Secretory pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (PanNET) are common in MEN1. The MEN1 Clinical Practice guideline (Thakker, 2012) recommends annual assessment of fasting gut hormones (FGH) with annual pancreatic imaging for routine NET surveillance in MEN1.Study aim: To determine whether FGH (gastrin, glucagon, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide, VIP, insulin, chromogranin-A) in a cohort of asymptomatic individ...

A 45-year-old female developed clinical and biochemical recurrent Cushings’ Disease 2.5 years after transsphenoidal hypophysectomy for 2cm pituitary macroadenoma. Past medical history included Type 2 Diabetes mellitus, asthma, hypertension, grade 3 obesity, dyslipidaemia, depression and sleep apnoea. MRI showed residual pituitary tissue with left sphenoid sinus extension. MDT advised repeat transphenoidal surgery over radiotherapy due to presence of a clearly visible surg...

Background: Current therapies for reducing raised intracranial pressure (ICP) in conditions such as idiopathic intracranial hypertension have limited efficacy and tolerability. As such, there is a pressing need to identify novel drugs. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists are used to treat diabetes and promote weight loss but have also been shown to affect fluid homeostasis in the kidney. Here, we investigate whether exendin-4, a GLP-1R agonist, is able to modula...

Background: Current therapies for reducing raised intracranial pressure (ICP) in conditions such as idiopathic intracranial hypertension have limited efficacy and tolerability. As such, there is a pressing need to identify novel drugs. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) agonists are used to treat diabetes and promote weight loss but have also been shown to affect fluid homeostasis in the kidney. Here, we investigate whether exendin-4, a GLP-1R agonist, is able to modula...

A 44 year old gentleman presented to his local hospital with a two week history of fevers and rigors. Blood cultures were positive for Streptococcus oralis, and an echocardiogram confirmed new diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) complicated by mitral valve infective endocarditis (IE). Unfortunately, this required a mechanical mitral valve replacement (MVR) and he started warfarin (INR target 2.5-3.5). During his admission, he reported chronic headaches. An MRI brain...