Endocrine Abstracts

Metformin has been used extensively in multiple reproductive settings including to ameliorate hyperandrogenism and chronic anovulation, to treat infertility, to prevent miscarriage and to prevent later pregnancy complications. Metformin does result in modest improvements in the PCOS phenotype with reductions in circulating insulin and testosterone levels, weight loss, and improved menstrual/ovulatory frequency. It is relatively ineffective as a solo agent to treat infertility,...

When humans are placed in a competitive setting, particularly in the sporting arena, they will attempt to gain an advantage over their opponent in order to win. When all legitimate methods have been exhausted and the athlete has reached their peak performance, there is a temptation for some to seek out pharmacological methods to improve performance yet further.The earliest records of doping in sport come from ancient times but with the advent of modern p...

There is widespread anecdotal evidence that GH has been misused by athletes, including adolescents, for its anabolic and lipolytic properties since the early 1980s, at least a decade before GH was used therapeutically by adult endocrinologists. Since then a number of high profile athletes have admitted using GH. Despite its widespread abuse, there is debate about whether GH is ergogenic. Until recently most scientific studies have not shown a performance enhancing effect but m...

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a thermogenic organ. Its tremendous thermogenic potential is conferred by uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), which dissociates ATP synthesis from energy substrate oxidation and thereby insures heat production. BAT represents a key thermogenic effector implicated in thermoregulatory thermogenesis. The physiological control of BAT activity and capacity is ensured by the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), which densely innervates brown adipocytes. SNS-media...

Cushing’s syndrome (CS) is characterized by chronic overproduction of cortisol resulting in significant morbidity and, when untreated, an increased mortality. CS is divided into adrenocorticotropin (ACTH)-dependent CS and ACTH-independent CS. ACTH-dependent CS, the majority of cases, can be caused by a corticotroph pituitary adenoma and, more rarely, by ectopic ACTH production. ACTH-independent CS is usually caused by an unilateral adrenal adenoma and less frequent by an ...

Growth hormone (GH) is a potent anabolic hormone; deficiency results in extreme short stature and excess in gigantism and acromegaly. It is just over 50 years since Raben first demonstrated the dramatic impact of GH replacement on linear growth in a young boy with pituitary infantilism. Since then milestones in GH research have included identification of the GH binding protein (1986), the crystal structure of GH (1987), cloning of the GH receptor (1987) and the discovery of a ...

Potassium channels control the membrane voltage of aldosterone-producing zona glomerulosa cells in the adrenal glands. They are necessary for the unique K+ sensitivity of these cells and targets of angiotensin II signaling. The 2-P-domain K+ channels TASK1 and TASK3 are among those K+ channels that exhibit strongest expression levels in the adrenal gland. Knockout mice for TASK1 and TASK3 have highlighted the functional relevance of these channels: In young mice before puberty...

The explosion in our understanding of bone biology has resulted in a number of key targets in bone that should allow the development of new treatments. There are other important regulators of bone resorption that are being targeted and these include src kinase and the chloride channel on osteoclasts. The key enzyme in bone resorption is cathepsin K and small molecule inhibitors have been developed and these are currently in phase II and III clinical trials. These are an intere...

One in eight hundred young adults is now a survivor of childhood cancer as a result of tremendous advances in cancer therapy. However, this success now brings with it the challenge that both the cancer and its therapy may have late effects. In a recent review of 10 397 young adult survivors, 62.3% had at least one chronic condition; 27.5% had a severe or life-threatening condition (grade 3 or 4). The adjusted relative risk of a chronic condition in a survivor, as compared with...

Chronic physical aggression has been linked to cortisol secretion and testosterone. Such links could be programmed by environmental effects on gene expression during pregnancy and early childhood. This paper will review research on the chronic aggression-cortisol-testosterone links and summarize a research program on pre and postnatal epigenetic programming....