Endocrine Abstracts

Hypoglycemia is an uncommon clinical problem in patients without diabetes mellitus. Potential aetiologies include drugs, critical illness, hormone deficiencies, and non islet cell tumors. In the absence of these causes, the possibility of accidental, surreptitious, or even malicious hypoglycemia should be considered. We present three cases of severe, prolonged hypoglycemia occurring spontaneously in healthy young men without a history of diabetes mellitus or chronic illness. A...

Objective: The aim of this study conducted in a German University Hospital was to systematically assess health care utilisation and delivery in patients with acromegaly and to thus identify possible starting points for the improvement of patient care.Design/Methods: By means of a standardized anamnestic interview, 41 patients with biochemically proven acromegaly were questioned on the course of their disease. To investigate patient care the interview inc...

We report a 61-year-old lady with sudden onset diplopia caused by abducent palsy which was initially right- and later left-sided. MRI scanning revealed an extensive sellar and suprasellar mass and the lady was referred to our department for transphenoidal surgery with the imaging diagnosis of pituitary adenoma. Upon close inspection of the films, cavernous sinus invasion of the tumour as a morphologic correlate of the N. VI palsy was missing; however, there was an unusual cont...

Objective: Brain tumour treatment with radio- and chemotherapy may lead to endocrine and other medical sequelae. Still, many countries lack tailored surveillance programs for such patients so that potential health problems may remain unrecognized. The present study was performed to investigate endocrine and psychosocial impairment in a single centre university setting in Germany in patients treated with cranial radiotherapy as a part of brain tumour or leukaemia treatment....

Background: In the first trimester, the foetus is dependent on circulating maternal thyroid hormones for normal brain development. Maintenance of euthyroidism is important throughout pregnancy and maternal hypothyroidism is associated with adverse foetal outcomes.Aim: To audit the management of pregnancies complicated by hypothyroidism in a joint antenatal endocrine clinic in comparison with the UK guidelines from the British Thyroid Association (2006).<...

Glargine is an analogue insulin which has a peakless action profile over approximately 24 hours. As a result it has been shown to reduce the frequency of hypoglycaemia thereby enabling achievement of tight glycaemic control. This is important during pregnancy in order to lower the risk of foetal malformations.Method: 17 women, mean age 28 years, with type 1 Diabetes Mellitus on a basal bolus regimen including Glargine became pregnant between January 2004...

Introduction: Craniopharyngiomas are rare, pituitary tumours which, though benign with good survival, carry high neuroendocrine morbidity. Optimum management remains controversial despite a UK consensus strategy (2005).Aim: To study disease- and treatment-related neuroendocrine, visual and cognitive outcomes in our most recent cohort, managed with individualised multidisciplinary decision making to limit hypothalamic morbidity.Pati...

The obesity epidemic has affected many nations. In Canada, by some estimates, more than 6 million Canadian adults age 20 to 64 are overweight and nearly 3 million are obese. The common tendency is to blame people’s dietary choices and sedentary habits. Yet, it can also be argued that poor urban planning practices have largely contributed to a lack of active lifestyles. Low-density suburban sprawl, long commutes, diminishing land for green area and the elimination of sidew...

A 45-year-old man was found wandering in the streets by the Ambulance Service. He complained of productive cough with haemoptysis. On examination he was cachectic with clubbing, and he was confused (abbreviated mental test score 1/10). Chest XR showed left hilar and perihilar air space shadowing. He was treated for a community acquired pneumonia. A CT scan of the head showed a mass lesion in the pituitary fossa, confirmed on an MRI scan.Assessment of his...

Background: Hypercalcemia is a common clinical problem. Severe hypercalcemia or hypercalcemic crisis is an endocrine emergency and can be life threatening if left untreated. The condition has high mortality and requires immediate therapeutic interventions and diagnostics. A rapid rise to the calcium levels can result in the impaired function of organ systems including central nervous system. Hypercalcemia is mainly (more than 90%) caused by primary hyperparathyroidism or malig...