Endocrine Abstracts

Recent genome-wide association studies of estimated BMD (eBMD) have now included 426,000 individuals, identifying 518 genome-wide significant loci (301 novel), which explain 20% of the total variance in eBMD. Some of these loci are also strongly associated with risk of fracture in a GWAS meta-analysis of 1.2 million individuals. In this talk, I will discuss functional genomics methods that can use this information to identify proteins strongly enriched for known causal protein...

The majority of this talk will be used to describe and illustrate the sonographic features that are associated with thyroid cancer, briefly looking at the supporting evidence. I will also review some cross-sectional and functional imaging characteristics of thyroid malignancy and discuss the role of fine-needle aspiration cytology.Declaration of interest: There is no conflict of interest that could be perceived as prejudicing the impartiality of the rese...

The Src substrate associated in mitosis of 68 kDa (Sam68) is a KH-type RNA binding protein that has been shown to regulate several aspects of RNA metabolism. The tyrosine phosphorylation of Sam68 was shown to negatively regulate its RNA binding activity and hence it was termed a Signal Transduction Activator of RNA (STAR) protein. Although KH-type RNA binding domains are known to mediate specific protein-RNA interactions, their RNA targets remain elusive. Nevertheless, Sam68 h...

Richard JM Ross, Professor of Endocrinology, Faculty Academic Lead for Innovation and Head of Unit Diabetes, Endocrinology & Metabolism, University of Sheffield, UK AbstractRichard Ross trained in Medicine at The Royal London Hospital (1974–1979) and in Endocrinology at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London (1983–1988). He was appointed to Sheffield University in 1995 and is Professor of Endocrinology and He...

Dr Richard J Auchus is Professor of Pharmacology and Internal Medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes at the University of Michigan and Director of the Diabetes, Endocrinology, & Metabolism Fellowship Program at Michigan. He did postdoctoral work and training at the University of California, San Francisco prior to joining the faculty at UT Southwestern in Dallas. He served as Acting Chi...

Introduction: Glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchored proteins are common on the surfaces of eukaryotic cells. An example is alkaline phosphatase. Fluorescently Labelled Aerolysin (FLAER) is a bacterial toxin produced by the gram-negative bacterium Aeromonas hydrophila that binds naturally to GPI anchored proteins and utilizes them as receptors to cause cytotoxicity. FLAER has been used to discriminate the GPI deficient red blood cells in cases of paroxysmal nocturn...

Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) have an age-adjusted incidence of 1.2-2.1 per 100,000. We have studied 36 such patients with NETs who are being followed up in our multidisciplinary clinic. Of these 36 patients, there are 17 males (median age 71, range 55-88) and 19 females (median age 66, range 36-79). The presenting features were highly variable; only three patients (8.3 percent) presented with the carcinoid syndrome, eight patients (22.2 percent) presented with small bowel obs...

Introduction and Objectives: Guidelines are available for the investigation of thyroid nodules. These include a general agreement that patients with abnormal thyroid function tests (TFTs) do not need routine ultrasound (US) assessment. Thyroid US is a common imaging request made by General Practitioners (GPs). This audit was devised to determine the range of clinical indications for GP thyroid US and the frequency with which TFTs are assessed by the GP prior to requesting the ...

A 24-year-old girl was referred with a massive thyroglossal duct cyst (TGDC) and an intra-cystic papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). The impressive clinical photographs, striking radiological images and histology slides are presented.She presented eight and half months post partum with a 10 cm midline neck lump of 4 years duration. She was asymptomatic and was on levothyroxine for Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.Clinically, there was a cy...

Objective: The incidence of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes has reached epidemic proportions. Glucocorticoid excess causes central obesity and diabetes mellitus as seen in Cushing’s syndrome. The 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 enzyme (11beta-HSD1), which is predominantly expressed in liver and adipose tissue, regenerates active cortisol from inactive cortisone. Increased 11beta-HSD1 may cause tissue-specific Cushing syndrome with central obesity and impa...