Endocrine Abstracts

The outcome of parathyroid surgery is often not clear for at least 24 hours after an operation. Frozen section is not always helpful in distinguishing between adenoma and hyperplasia. Minimally invasive surgical techniques are being refined so the need for perioperative assurance about the effects of surgery has increased. PTH assays have been adapted to give results in less than 20 minutes. We have tested the value of intraoperative PTH measurements in 10 surgical cases under...

A 71 year old woman presented with visual loss. MR scanning demonstrated a massive invasive pituitary adenoma. She had no features of endocrine dysfunction. 0900hrs cortisol was 278nmol/L. Haemorrhage limited transphenoidal surgery to biopsies. Postoperative CSF leak was repaired 3months later. Histology revealed a corticotroph adenoma on immunostaining.At endocrine follow-up, afternoon cortisol was 645nmol/L, and 875nmol/L fasting, falling after glucago...

BACKGROUND: DHEA and DHEAS, can be converted into Androstenedione, T and DHT as well as oestrogens by peripheral tissues. In normal men the conversion rate of IV-infused radiolabelled DHEAS to T is only 0.7%. In hypogonadal men, this conversion rate may be increased. We hypothesise that a pharmacological dose of orally administered DHEA may be able to raise plasma T into the normal range in hypogonadal men. METHODS: Local Ethical Committee Approval was obtained. Two groups (n=...

Introduction: An audit of outcomes and indications for parathyroidectomy was conducted from April 2016 to April 2018 for all patients had primary hyperparathyroidism at East Sussex Hospitals Trust.Methods: Clinical notes, pathology results and radiology results were accessed to compile the dataset. Indications for surgery were based on the National Institute of Health criteria for parathyroidectomy in hyperparathyroidism from 2013....

Objective: Radiotherapy (RT) can achieve tumour control rates of over 90% in pituitary adenomas. The commonest toxicity of irradiation is hypopituitarism. The exact incidence is variable and requires long-term testing for deficiency of all hypothalamic-pituitary axes (HPA). The aim of this study is to determine the time to onset of individual hormonal deficiencies and establish a timeframe for endocrine testing post-RT.Methods: We retrospectively assesse...

Background: Self-management is essential for patients with adrenal insufficiency (AI) to achieve optimal outcomes of glucocorticoid (GC) replacement therapy by minimising adverse effects from over- or under-replacement and appropriately adjusting the dose in intercurrent illness to prevent adrenal crisis. Evidence suggests that many patients report deficits in self-management especially concerning ‘sick day rules’, prevention and management of adrenal crisis and have...

Thyroid malignancies are the most common type of endocrine tumors. Of the various histological sub-types, anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) represents 2% of all cases but is responsible for most of the thyroid cancer related death.Indeed, ATC is regarded as one of the more aggressive and hard to treat forms of human cancer. Moreover, to date, there is a paucity of relevant models to study how the signature genetic abnormalities detected in ATC contribut...

Introduction: One in 700 children of school age have diabetes. Children spend on average a quarter of their waking lives in school. It is important that children receive adequate support and supervision in school for the effective management of diabetes.Aim: To evaluate the support given by the schools for lunch time insulin injections, from the perspective of parents of children with diabetes.Methods: Questionnaire completed by di...

A 40-year-old woman, who had developed oligomenorrhoea after discontinuing the contraceptive pill at age 30, presented with a 6-month history of intermittent vomiting associated with abdominal discomfort and distension. Ultrasound, followed by laparotomy, revealed multiple bilateral ovarian luteal cysts consistent with hyperoestrogenism and ovarian-hyperfunctioning.Only 9 months post-operatively her bilateral theca ovarian cysts had recurred. Over 4 mont...

Background: Aldosterone levels in plasma are reported to be associated with risk of hypertension. Aldosterone secretion from the zona glomerulosa is regulated acutely by the renin/angiotensin system and plasma potassium. The role of ACTH in regulation of aldosterone secretion is disputed.Aim: We have utilised a large population study of middle aged adults to test the extent to which acute aldosterone responses to ACTH are associated with cortisol respons...