Endocrine Abstracts

Objective: To audit GH deficiency in the transition service at our institution.Methods: Patients between 19–25 years old were identified from the database of patients having GH replacement. Data were obtained from case notes and electronic records.Results: Twenty-four patients in the transition service were identified to be GH deficient, 13 female and 11 male. 14/24 had CNS or pituitary tumours treated in childhood, 11 having ...

Mrs. P.A., a 75 year old lady, presented to Accident and Emergency with a severe persistent headache of 3 days duration. She was disorientated and drowsy. She has a history of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, depression and hypothyroidism. She was a smoker of 20 a day and consumed no alcohol. Her Glasgow Coma Scale was 13/15, her examination was normal. An initial CT head showed a pituitary tumour with haemorrhage. Tests showed an FSH of 14.1 IU/L, LH 2.9 ...

Background: Peri-operative guidelines (POG) published early 2020, were followed by the NHS National Patient Safety Alert (NatPSA) and launch of the NHS Steroid Emergency Card (SEC) in Aug 2020. The NatPSA was sent to all NHS health and care providers. This survey was undertaken to assess the implementation and impact of both.Methods: A pilot survey was undertaken at Endocrine Nurse Update 2022 and amended survey emailed ...

Introduction: The RECOVERY trial2 reported patients with Covid-19 receiving requiring invasive mechanical ventilation or oxygen that the use of dexamethasone (6 mg for 10 days) resulted in lower 28-day mortality. Adrenal insufficiency (AI) from hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis suppression3 is a serious, potentially life-threatening side effect of glucocorticoids treatment.Objective: We aimed to investigate the effects of Co...

Introduction: Gestational diabetes (GDM) affects 1 in 6 pregnancies globally, increasing babies’ risk of being born large-for-gestational-age (LGA). This can cause birth injuries and predisposes offspring to developing cardio-metabolic disease in adulthood. The cause of LGA in GDM is unclear, however GDM placentas have been shown to display abnormal morphology indicative of vascular network immaturity. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known regulators of vascular development, inclu...

Case history: A 61-year-old gentleman first presented to A&E following a collapse at work. After missing lunch, he became combative towards his colleagues and was found to be hypoglycaemic with capillary blood glucose of 2.5 mmol/l. Symptoms rapidly improved after oral glucose intake. The patient reported similar episodes in the past, usually occurring before meals and mainly if missing or delaying a meal. The patient did not have any past medical history of note, did not ...

Although characterised predominantly for its role in the brain, the neuropeptide kisspeptin has previously been shown to potentiate glucose-stimulated insulin through its receptor, GPR54; expressed abundantly in β-cells. We have previously reported a physiological role for kisspeptin signalling in the islet adaptation to pregnancy, using a β-cell specific GPR54 knockout mouse line (βGPR54ko). The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of impaired &#...

Previous studies have shown beneficial effects of the corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) family, including the urocortins (UCN1, UCN2 and UCN3), on pancreatic islets and subsequent glucose homeostasis. However, the physiological relevance of this interaction is not currently understood. CRH and urocortins are also expressed by placenta, so this study investigated whether signalling through CRH receptor 1 or 2 (CRHR1/CRHR2) plays a role in the islet adaptation to pregnancy. ...

Phaeochromocytomas (PC) are tumours of the adrenal medulla and paragangliomas (PGL) refer to their extra-adrenal counterpart arising from sympathetic or parasympathetic tissue. Mutations in the citric acid cycle enzyme succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) predispose to PC/PGL. Clinical practice guidelines suggest that plasma metanephrine and normetanephrine levels measured in the supine position should be used in the first instance for biochemical diagnosis, and those with positive r...

Objective: To evaluate the outcome of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of solid thyroid nodules, and the utility of thyroid ultrasound in determining the nature of solid nodules in our practice.Methods: We reviewed the diagnostic outcome of FNAB of solid thyroid nodules in 93 patients from our dedicated thyroid biopsy clinic. In addition we compared the predictive value of sonographic assessment with FNAB in a subset of patients who had undergone bot...