Endocrine Abstracts

Thyroid physiology in early pregnancy is characterised by an increase of thyroxine binding globulin. This has been taken into account when using total T4 (TT4) if a ‘T3 uptake test (TUp)’ is used to derive the FTI. The American Thyroid Association Guidelines (1990) recommend ceasing the use of uptake tests, although in the USA they are still widely used. The aim of this study is to compare the TT4 and TUp to the FT4 in early gestation. TT4, TUp, FT4 and TSH were meas...

While the hypothalamo-pituitary axis is known to contain high levels of basic FGF (FGF2) and its high affinity receptor FGFR1, the physiological role of FGF2 in this region needs elucidation. Here, we demonstrate that FGF2 and arginine vasopressin (AVP) co-localize within the cytoplasm of nearly all supraoptic and paraventricular magnocellular neurons of human hypothalamus as well as the axonal processes of the neurohypophysis. High-resolution confocal imaging indicates that F...

Objective: To investigate pancreatic beta cell morphology and function in rat adult offspring of dams fed a high fat diet in pregnancy.Methods: Female Sprague Dawley rats were fed either a control breeding diet (4% fat) or a high fat diet (20% animal fat) balanced for vitamins and nutrients. Experimental diets were fed for 10 days prior to mating, throughout pregnancy and weaning. Weaned pups were fed standard low fat chow throughout adult life. The time...

This study aims to recruit 22,000 women in early gestation to screen for thyroid failure. The trial is randomised such that half the women are being tested in early gestation (group1) while the remainder (group 2) are tested after delivery. As T4 is important for the developing foetal brain, the IQ of the children from group 1, whose mothers will have been treated with T4, is expected to be higher than that from group 2.Women are entered on the basis of ...

Lipocortin 1 (LC1) is a well-characterized anti-inflammatory, -anti mitotic and anti-proliferative member of a structurally related family of Ca2+ and phospholipid-binding proteins. LC1 is readily detectable in the neuroendocrine system by Western blot analysis, ELISA, and immunohistochemistry (1). In these tissues, glucocorticoids regulate both the expression and subcellular distribution of LC1. Other studies have also demonstrated the presence of LC1 in endometrium tissue th...

Normal pregnancy is associated with significant but reversible changes in thyroid function. However, maternal thyroid dysfunction during early pregnancy has been associated with neuro-intellectual impairment of the child. The CATS study, a randomised controlled study, has been initiated in order to ascertain if screening for abnormalities in thyroid function in early pregnancy (8 - 16 weeks gestation), with thyroxine replacement in appropriate cases, would be effective in redu...

A 75-year-old female presented with 12kg weight loss and malaise, 18 months after a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Abdominal CT scanning demonstrated bilateral adrenal masses and her symptoms responded rapidly to empirical treatment with dexamethasone. CT guided biopsy demonstrated adrenal hyperplasia.Centripetal weight distribution and proximal myopathy were prominent, and serum cortisol failed to suppress following standard 48h low dose (662nm...

INTRODUCTION: Hyperprolactinaemia frequently causes secondary hypogonadism through central suppression of gonadotropin secretion. Macroprolactinomas (>1cm diameter) may additionally cause more generalised hypopituitarism; a recent series finding the prevalence of TSH and ACTH deficiencies to be 35% and 9%, respectively. Recovery of the thyrotropic and/or corticotropic axes is well described following surgery to pituitary tumours, but remains poorly defined in relation to me...

Graves' disease (GD) is inherited as a complex trait and previous studies have identified linkage and association of both GD and type 1 diabetes to markers on chromosome 18q21. A candidate gene for autoimmunity that is contained within the critical interval on 18q21 is the apoptosis regulator 'Deleted in Colorectal Carcinoma' (DCC).317 Graves' disease probands and 311 controls were genotyped for a single nucleotide polymorphism that encodes a glycine to ...

Background: Nutritional data in NETs is lacking. There are a range of gastrointestinal issues which can be related to the NET, treatment, surgical intervention, or pre-existing diseases1. Many of these can have nutritional consequences or be improved through altering diet with the support of a specialist dietitian.From October 2018, a gastrointestinal specialist dietitian joined the weekly clinic for 12 months. The aim of the service evaluatio...