Endocrine Abstracts

This short presentation will consider the fact that many adults underestimate children’s ability to understand many things – this works in two ways, sometimes children understand more, and sometimes less than we might imagine – and by doing so may cause upset and misunderstanding. In any case we will see that all of us, including children, try to make sense of our surroundings, of new information, and of what happens to us, and children, in particular, need a ce...

Introduction: Some functional neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) secrete serotonin, leading to the symptoms of carcinoid syndrome (e.g. diarrhoea and flushing). In this condition, increased urinary concentrations of the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) are often detected. Measurement of 24-hour urinary 5-HIAA is therefore used to investigate patients with confirmed or suspected carcinoid syndrome. We sought to evaluate the appropriateness and effectiveness o...

The proglucagon-derived hormone, glucagon-like peptide–1 (GLP-1), augments both beta cell function and mass. However, GLP-1 is rapidly degraded in plasma, thereby limiting its potential as a treatment for diabetes. One approach to circumvent this problem would be to stimulate synthesis of GLP-1 locally in the islet.Emerging evidence suggests that pancreatic alpha cells, which normally produce glucagon, can adapt to produce GLP-1. This phenomenon may...

Neuronal glucose and insulin signals are integrated by hypothalamic neurons to regulate energy balance. These signalling mechanisms are not clearly defined in the hypothalamus, and may be altered in obesity and diabetes. This study aimed to analyse quantitatively hypothalamic expression of candidate genes in signal transduction pathways and investigate dysregulation using Zucker and Zucker Diabetic Fatty (ZDF) models.Taqman RT-PCR was used to compare exp...

Peripheral metabolic signals such as leptin, glucose and insulin are integrated by neurons in the hypothalamus to regulate both short and long term energy balance. However, the signal transduction mechanisms by which neurons sense glucose and insulin levels are unclear and specific parts of the pathways may be distinct from those in the pancreas. The aim of this study was to quantitatively analyse hypothalamic expression of genes known to be involved in pancreatic glucose/insu...

Introduction: Luteinising Hormone Releasing Hormone stimulation test (LHRH) is the gold standard test for diagnosing central precocious puberty (CPP). However, previous studies have advocated using a single LH (Luteinising Hormone) measure to diagnose CPP thus reducing the patient’s investigative burden.Method and aims: We assessed if i) baseline LH levels predicts response on LHRH test ii) the timing of basal LH me...

Introduction: In the UK, the fasting plasma concentrations of a panel of gut hormones (vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), gastrin, pancreatic polypeptide, glucagon and somatostatin as well as chromogranin A) are frequently measured during the evaluation of patients who have confirmed or clinically suspected neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). However, elevated concentrations of these hormones are sometimes also detected in patients who have no other evidence of a NET. We sought t...

Background: People who have autoimmune atrophic gastritis commonly develop type 1 gNETs, but are also at increased risk of developing gastric adenocarcinoma. Type I gNET patients usually have multiple gastric polyps and have an excellent prognosis when the polyps measure.Method: Retrospective audit of type I gNET patients managed within Liverpool ENETS Centre of Excellence 2004–2018.Results: 86 patients (median age 67 years, 5...

Generalised resistance to thyroid hormone (GRTH), a subset of the syndrome of resistance to thyroid hormone (RTH), is characterised by variable reduced target tissue responsiveness to circulating thyroid hormones. Plasma thyroid hormone levels are raised and TSH levels inappropriately non-suppressed. We describe a 54-year-old female with GRTH diagnosed from the finding of raised fT4 and fT3 levels coincidental with non-suppressed TSH levels. A thyrotropin (TRH) test resulted i...

Pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) is endoproteolysed by prohormone convertase-1 (PC1) to ACTH within the secretory pathway in pituitary cells, where the regulation of ACTH release is essential for mediating the stress response. However POMC is present in the human circulation, indicating that not all POMC is processed. This suggests that regulation of trafficking and processing of POMC are important in determining ACTH release. To investigate this, we analysed steady-state release o...