Endocrine Abstracts

Iodine (I) and selenium (Se) are two essential trace elements for regular thyroid gland functioning and thyroid hormone metabolism. Most Europeans are only marginally supplied with both elements through their daily nutrition. The mammalian organism has developed efficient and highly complex mechanisms to control I and Se uptake, metabolism and recycling. The thyroid gland is equipped with the necessary transporters and metabolizing enzymes for I uptake and bioconversion into t...

We report a rare case of 37 years female of Greek and Irish extraction with a history of thalassemia trait, who presented with generalised weakness and severe loin and pelvic pain 9 days post vaginal hysterectomy and 3 days after hospital discharge. After readmission, she developed mild pyrexia (37.5°C), hypotension, mild hyponatraemia with plasma sodium which fell from 138 to 131 mM and early signs of acute respiratory distress syndrome. A Short Synacthen test was perfor...

Objective: To investigate long-term effects of GH replacement therapy.Material and methods: Thirty-nine patients (mean age 52.5 years, 14 women) with adult-onset growth hormone deficiency (AOGHD), recruited from a randomized placebo-controlled crossover study of treatment with growth hormone (GH) and placebo for 9months each, were enrolled in an open prospective follow up study. GH replacement was given for additional thirty-three months and was individu...

Many endocrine disorders bear an immunological component and involve local cytokines as paracrine signals. Moreover, certain auto-antibodies appear as causative pathological agents in some of the most common endocrine diseases e.g. in type I diabetes mellitus or different forms of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD). Recently, selenium (Se) status and selenoproteins have emerged as important modifiers of the inflammatory response, AITD or sepsis. Notably, mortality risk of patie...

A 21-year-old man presented with tonic–clonic seizures and two-week history of nocturnal headaches, sweatiness, hot flushes and abdominal pain. Blood pressure was 220/110 mmHg and pulse 120–160 bpm. A GTN infusion was commenced and the blood pressure improved to 150/90 mmHg. Examination revealed a large, hard mass in the left hypochondrium. There was no palpable lymphadenopathy and no papilloedema. A 2 cm hard, irregular mass was present on the left testis. CT showed...

Patients with craniopharyngioma are frequently obese with a high prevalence of vascular morbidity. Many patients with treated craniopharyngioma have severe GH deficiency (GHD), which independently results in abnormal body composition and increased cardiovascular risk. This study investigated how GH treatment influences body composition in adults with treated craniopharyngioma and GHD.Using the electronic database Diabeta3® we identified 50 patients ...

Recent reports confirmed increased SSTR expression in the thyroid in some cases of Graves’ disease and hot nodules. It is still not known, whether SSTRs can frequently be found in other thyroid pathologies or normal thyroid glands. Therefore, we performed a systematic analysis of Ga-68-Dotatoc PET Scans for their thyroid image.Eighty-three consecutive patients undergoing Ga-68-Dotatoc PET were analysed for their relative thyroid uptake by ROI techni...

There is a well documented link between melatonin and insulin. Morphological, molecular and functional investigations have shown that the pineal hormone melatonin (MT) influences the insulin secretion. The effects were mediated by specific, high-affinity, pertussis-toxin-sensitive, G-protein-coupled MT1- as well as MT2-membrane receptors which were detected in pancreatic tissue and islets of rats and humans and additionally in rat insulinoma cells INS1. Using the Gi-protein-ad...

Background: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) can progress to hepatic fibrosis and end-stage liver disease. Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are the central mediators of liver fibrosis. The molecular mechanisms linking hepatic steatosis to activation of HSC, thereby promoting inflammation and fibrosis, are mainly unknown. Here, we demonstrate a novel in vitro model to study the effect of hepatic lipid accumulation on HSC.Methods and results:...

Recently updated international guidelines recommend specialist surveillance of adults with Turner Syndrome (TS). In 2005, we established a dedicated TS clinic, attracting referrals from our general endocrine service and other specialities including primary care.Twenty-three patients currently attend of whom 9 were previously under endocrinology review. Karyotypes include 45XO (8/23), 45XO/46XrX (4/23), and 45XO/46XiXq (3/23). Mean (±S.D.</sma...