Endocrine Abstracts

Kisspeptin, the endogenous ligand of the GPR54 receptor, is a key regulator of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis. GPR54-null mice exhibit reproductive dysfunction and exogenous kisspeptin potently stimulates the HPG axis in rodents, primates and human males. The effects of kisspeptin administration to human females are not known.Aim: To investigate the effects of kisspeptin on luteinising hormone (LH) release during the menstrual cycle in fema...

(This poster is based on OC17)...

Hypothalamic-pituitary (HP) dysfunction is common in children treated with cranial radiotherapy (RT) for brain tumours but there is little known about the risk of HP dysfunction in adults treated with RT for primary non-pituitary brain tumours.We aimed to investigate the frequency of HP dysfunction in adults after RT for primary brain tumours which are distant from the HP region.We studied 56 adult patients who received external be...

Mutation of the GPR54 receptor is associated with a failure of reproductive function. The endogenous neuropeptide agonist for GPR54, kisspeptin, potently stimulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis in rodents and primates.Objective: The present study was designed to determine the effects of elevating circulating kisspeptin levels on LH, FSH and testosterone in male volunteers.Method: Study (i) Volunteers were infused w...

The relationship between serum TSH and thyroid autoantibodies is frequently used to classify thyroid disease both overt and subclinical. Further debate has centred on the validity of the cutoff point for serum TSH elevation (generally between 4-5 mU/l) which it has been suggested is inappropriately high. The significance of the presence of thyroid autoantibodies (hereafter termed antibody positivity) in extrathyroidal disease is unclear but an increased prevalence has been rep...

Background: Central diabetes insipidus (cDI), a rare neuroendocrine condition affecting 1 in 25.000, is characterized by deficiency of arginine vasopressin. Data about treatment-related side effects, psychological co-morbidities, and incidence of wrong management due to confusion with diabetes mellitus are scarce and limited to small studies or case series. Furthermore, increasing interest has arisen on a potential need for re-naming the condition.<p class="abstex...

The ability of the thyroid to accumulate iodide via the sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) can be utilised to successfully treat the majority of thyroid cancers with radioiodide. However, approximately 25% of thyroid cancers lose this functional NIS activity and become unresponsive to radioiodide therapy, resulting in a poorer prognosis. Our knowledge of NIS regulation is limited, but as dimerisation of NIS has been proposed, we sought to investigate NIS dimerisation and its impact...

The ability of the thyroid to accumulate iodide via the sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) can be utilised to successfully treat the majority of thyroid cancers with radioiodide. However, approximately 25% of thyroid cancers lose this functional NIS activity and become unresponsive to radioiodide therapy, resulting in a poorer prognosis. Our knowledge of NIS regulation is limited, but as dimerisation of NIS has been proposed, we sought to investigate NIS dimerisation and its impact...

Background: Fine needle aspiration (FNA) is the preferred method for assessing thyroid nodules but concern remains about false negative results. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the malignancy rate in nodules which were initially classified as benign (BTA classification Thy 2). The secondary aim was to look at the distribution of different cytological categories in a large cohort of patients.Methods: We retrospectively examined 719 nodule...

Introduction: Alterations in the hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axis have been reported following GH replacement, with a decline in circulating T4 concentration the most consistent finding. However, the clinical significance of GH-induced alterations in circulating levels of thyroid hormone is unclear.Aim: To examine the relationship between changes in serum concentration of thyroid hormones and known biological markers of thyroid ho...