Endocrine Abstracts

Evan Simpson, Prince Henry's Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, Victoria, Australia AbstractProfessor Simpson is generally recognised as a world leader in the area of oestrogen biosynthesis. His lab was the first to clone the cDNA and subsequently the human gene encoding aromatase, the enzyme responsible for oestrogen biosynthesis. They were the first to show that tissue-specific regulation of this gene is media...

E R Simpson, Prince Henry's Institute, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. AbstractDr Evan Simpson is a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. He has had a long interest in the basic biology of estrogen biosynthesis, especially its relationship to breast cancer.His group was the first to clone and characterize the aromatase gene and to show the unique use of tissue-specific promoters to regulate tissue-specif...

We describe two very rare genetic diseases characterized by particular physical features and deviation from normal growth. The first patient, CM, was admitted for delayed growth (113 cm at 8 years of age, -3 S.D.). The child had short lower arms with small hands and clinodactyly of the fifth finger. He had round widely spaced eyes with long eyelashes, a flat profile and prominent forehead, short upturned nose, misaligned teeth and gum hypertrophy. We diagnosed a...

Reactive Hypoglycaemia (RH) is a controversial condition that has been popularised in the media and lay literature. A recent survey of randomly selected women in Nottinghamshire revealed that 37.8% experience symptoms that they attribute to a 'low blood sugar', with over 18% experiencing symptoms more than once a week (1). The aim of this study was to investigate whether a non-patient group who report symptoms synonymous with RH have concomitant hypoglycaemia.<p...

It is a real honour to be named Outstanding Clinical Practitioner by the Society for Endocrinology, especially as I am sharing this with my award twin, Professor Kristien Boelaert. For my presentation I will talk about aspects described in the nomination and discuss how improving patient care is at the heart of all we do. This can be achieved at an individual patient level, organisational level, and a national systems level. I will describe work around the NHS steroid emergenc...

During this session I will discuss some ways of approaching requests for interviews by the media. The media can be main stream media such a television or radio, social media such as Twitter or web based journals. It can be daunting to consider having your views for all to see or hear, however there are many reasons to engage with the media. I will discuss some strategies on how to react to requests for information and offer some suggestions on how to approach interviews and me...

During this session I will discuss some ways of approaching requests for interviews by the media. The media can be main stream media such a television or radio, social media such as Twitter or web based journals. It can be daunting to consider having your views for all to see or hear, however there are many reasons to engage with the media. I will discuss some strategies on how to react to requests for information and offer some suggestions on how to approach interviews and me...

Multidisciplinary working is key to working as an endocrinologist. MDTs can be formal, such as in an oncology context, or a looser working arrangement of health care professional across different specialties and roles providing care to patients, often with multisystem or rare endocrine conditions. They can range from an MDT with no patients present, to a multidisciplinary or joint clinic. I will discuss some different models of multidisciplinary working and ideas on how to dev...

All metabolites in the body are in a state of constant flux, and changes in their levels may reflect either increased rate of production or decreased clearance, or both. Stable isotope technology can be used in physiological studies to determine mechanisms mediating changes in metabolites. For example, the decline in blood glucose following administration of insulin could be due to either increased uptake into peripheral tissues, or (as is the case) by suppression of hepatic g...

Models of estrogen insufficiency have revealed new and unexpected roles for estrogens in both males and females. These models include knockouts of aromatase in mice (the ArKO mouse) as well as of the estrogen receptors (ERKO mice). There are also a number of individuals with natural mutations in the aromatase gene, as well as one man with a mutation in the ERa receptor. Some of these roles of estrogens apply equally to males and females and do not relate to reproduction, for e...