Endocrine Abstracts

Animal and clinical models of GHRH excess suggest that GHRH provides an important trophic drive to pituitary somatotrophs. Mice in which GHRH neurons have been ablated using a novel viral ion channel transgene (GHRH-M2 mice) show marked anterior pituitary hypoplasia and GH deficiency although GH cells are present. GHRH-M2 mice are also deficient in prolactin which is surprising as GHRH has little or no direct effect on PRL synthesis or release (Le Tissier, Mol Endo 19). In mic...

In Europe the trace element selenium has been shown to be diminished on farmland and consequently in the food chain. Selenoproteins play a major role in the redox-systems of the body; glutathion-peroxidase is important for the enzymatic reduction of hydroperoxides in the thyroid gland. Furthermore, various forms of dejodases contain selenium, which convert thyroxin into triiodthyronin.We investigated the incidence and the extent of selenium deficiency in...

Dairy cows normally calve for the first time when not yet fully grown. Subsequent pregnancies occur during lactation. Therefore in primiparous (PP) cows the fetus competes for nutrients with maternal growth, while in multiparous (MP) cows they compete with milk production. Human epidemiological studies demonstrate that low birth weight can predispose offspring to a variety of metabolic diseases in adult life. This study investigated the hypothesis that such competition limits ...

Nitric oxide (NO) is a regulator of pituitary gonadotrophs via local paracrine and autocrine actions. Gonadotrophs express neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) but the effects of NO on gonadotrophs are controversial and both stimulation and inhibition of LH release has been reported. nNOS -/- mice have reduced fertility, but this is attributed to ovary actions, because no difference was detected in basal or GnRH-stimulated LH release (Klein et al 1998). We have therefore exam...

Introduction: Gynaecomastia (GM) is a major contributor to psychological morbidity in adolescent boys, yet there is a lack of evidence for effective treatment. It is known to develop due to the relatively higher diurnal oestradiol–testosterone ratio in early to mid puberty.Aims: We retrospectively looked to identify possible criteria for the selection of patients to predict optimal management of GM. We also examined the effect on the persistence of ...

Secondary causes for Hypertension account for 5% of hypertension cases. Renal Artery Stenosis due to Fibromuscular Dysplasia is an uncommon cause of Secondary Hypertension. This is a case of a 35-year old lady who presented with headache and vomiting and was found to have malignant hypertension with resultant acute left caudate nucleus infarct in the brain. A mild hypokalaemia on admission prompted measurement of renin and aldosterone which were both elevated. She also had ele...

Chronic wounds (e.g. diabetic foot ulcers) have a major impact on quality of life, yet treatments remain limited. Glucocorticoids impair wound healing; preclinical research suggests that blocking glucocorticoid activation by the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) improves wound repair. This investigator-initiated double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled parallel-group phase 2b pilot trial investigated efficacy, safety and feasibility of 11&...

Aims: The lowest licensed dose of tolvaptan for treatment of hyponatraemia is 15 mg. There is little data on lower doses. Our study aimed to evaluate the safety of an initial dose of 7.5 mg tolvaptan.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed data from a London teaching hospital over a 6-year period. All adults administered a first dose of 7.5 mg tolvaptan were included. Three different timeframes were reviewed: 4-12, 12-18 and 18-30 hours. We analysed respons...

Introduction: Women with PCOS have a higher risk of metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular complications. We aimed to understand if routinely measured hormonal parameters can identify women with PCOS with a higher risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS).Methods: The data for the study consisted of a discovery cohort (PCOS clinic database) and a replication cohort (Hull PCOS Biobank.) We used eight routinely measured hormonal parameters in our clinics (free andr...

Background: Minimally invasive parathyroidectomy relies on accurate localisation of the culprit gland. Combination of US plus Technetium 99m-sestamibi is considered the gold standard. CT parathyroid is thought to be a valuable tool in the pre-operative localisation.Aim: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of 2D CT parathyroid in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP).Methods: This was a single-institution prospective st...