Endocrine Abstracts

The most important part of any research project is getting it published in the best way; this usually will include a peer reviewed journal paper. Choice of journal is an important decision, with international broad readership journals having much greater prestige than regional or subject-restricted publications. You will need to decide whether to put all your relevant research findings into a single large manuscript, or to split your work up into a series of smaller papers. If...

Hypothyroid patients often present with non-specific symptoms and some of these may persist despite adequate thyroxine replacement, including weakness, poor memory, paraesthesia and numbness or coldness of the extremities. In patients on thyroxine who have been referred due to persistent symptoms, we routinely look for vitamin B12 deficiency, if symptoms persist once thyroxine replacement has been optimised.We present three patients who remained symptoma...

Background: Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) arise from neuroendocrine cells, they are commonly found in the pancreas, small bowel and lung. They are a heterogeneous group of tumours capable of secreting a variety of hormones, therefore the spectrum of symptoms is broad. Treatment options for metastatic NETs include cytoreductive surgery, or interventional radiology procedures such as transarterial embolization (TAE). Aims: Previous studies have shown that ...

Introduction: Causes of hypophosphataemia include reduced intestinal absorption, inadequate intake, transcellular shifts (refeeding syndrome, glucose/insulin infusion), renal loss which is either FGF23 mediated (inherited forms or tumour induced osteomalacia) or non-FGF23 mediated (hyperparathyroidism, drugs)Case report: We present a case of 51 years old female referred to us with multiple fractures during her half marathon. She suffered from bilateral m...

Loperamide is a poorly absorbed opioid μ-receptor agonist that is the most commonly used anti-diarrhoeal medication in the UK. Prescription cost analysis from the Department of Health and Social Care Information Centre reported that 1.79 million prescriptions of the drug were issued in 2014 and it is also freely available ‘over the counter’. It is widely believed to be very safe, with constipation as the main side-effect.A 45-year-old man ...

Monitoring patients with thyroid cancer for recurrent disease relies heavily on measuring serum thyroglobulin (Tg). Tg cannot be assessed reliably in the presence of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies for analytical reasons, this being the case in about a third of patients. There has been recent interest in microRNA profiling of fine needle aspiration biopsies of thyroid nodules, with encouraging results. The objective of this pilot was to explore microRNAs in peripheral blood of p...

A previously fit 39 year old joiner presented in November 2003 with a 6 month history of intermittent right-sided abdominal pain. There was no associated nausea or vomiting. An abdominal ultrasound requested by his general practitioner revealed a single gallbladder calculus and a 10 cm right-sided cystic mass with some echogenic areas, probably of hepatic or adrenal origin. He was normotensive and clinical examination was normal. CT scan of the abdomen confirmed a 9 cm mass ar...

There are discrepancies between different studies with regards to the association of subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH), dyslipidaemia and cardiovascular (CV) disease. Therefore, we have conducted a systematic search and meta-analysis of population-based studies of CV disease in which thyroid status was examined and randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of treatment.The PubMed and Embase databases were searched for relevant studies published between 1976 and...

ObjectiveIt is controversial whether subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) always reflects mild thyroid failure and if treatment is beneficial. The arguments in favour of treatment are prevention of progression, reducing cholesterol levels and improving symptoms. The consequence of SCH on body weight and its response to treatment has never been studied in a systematic manner.MethodsUnselected population-based stud...

Introduction: The biochemical diagnosis of hypophosphataemic rickets relies on measurement of tubular phosphate reabsorption. However, as the renal tubules are immature at birth and the reference range for urine phosphate excretion is not well defined in young children, there is uncertainty about how early in life a biochemical diagnosis of phosphate wasting can be made. In addition, the benefit of early treatment of hypophosphataemic rickets is unclear.<p class="ab...