Endocrine Abstracts

Glucocorticoid signalling is essential for cardiac maturation late gestation. In mice, global glucocorticoid receptor deficiency (GR−/−) severely impairs cardiac function and ultrastructure at embryonic day (E) 17.5. To dissect direct effects of GR deficiency in the heart from effects on other systems, Sm22α-Cre mice were crossed with ‘floxed’ GR mice to generate SMGRKO mice with disrupted GR signalling in cardiomyocytes and vascular smoot...

Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is a well reported cause of hypopituitarism but the precise incidence is controversial. We aimed to prospectively determine the incidence of acute and long term hypopituitarism in SAH.We prospectively recruited 100 patients (61% female, median age 53 (range 16–82)) with non-traumatic aneurysmal SAH. Each patient had plasma sodium, urea, osmolality, glucose, and 0900 h cortisol (PC) measured on days 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10...

Hyponatraemia is the most common electrolyte abnormality following subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Retrospective data suggests that the Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuresis (SIAD) is the most common cause, although glucocorticoid deficiency and rarely cerebral salt wasting may also cause hyponatraemia.We prospectively studied 100 patients (61% female, median age 53 (range 16–82)) with non-traumatic aneurysmal SAH. Each patient had plasma sodium (p...

High dose glucocorticoids reduce hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity and insulin secretion. However, the metabolic consequences of typical therapeutic glucocorticoid doses (e.g. prednisolone <10 mg/day) are poorly characterised. The aim was to determine the acute effect of low dose prednisolone on carbohydrate metabolism and then assess whether subjects taking chronic prednisolone had increased adiposity that amplified carbohydrate metabolism perturbations.<p cl...

Introduction: Delivering an equitable service is one component defining a quality service. Various factors impact on diabetes control including health beliefs and socioeconomic pressures. To determine the role played by ethnicity and/or deprivation we audited access to insulin treatment regimens and overall diabetes control in our clinic population of children and young people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (CYPT1DM).Methods: Three hundred and twenty-five...

We prospectively assessed endocrine, cognitive and visual outcomes in eight (three males) craniopharyngioma (CP) patients aged 7.98 (range 2.45–14.15) years presenting to our centre over the last 18 months, according to initial risk-based surgical strategy. Four patients had incomplete debulking (GpA), and four had conservative cyst decompression surgery (GpB). One patient (GpB) recurred 8 months later and needed repeat cyst decompression surgery. Four patients (two from ...

Cannabinoids are known to exert effects throughout the endocrine system, including in the anterior pituitary. Whilst cannabinoid receptors (CB1 in particular) are expressed in numerous tissues, expression and function of an endocannabinoid system within specific anterior cell types has not been investigated. We have used well-characterised gonadotroph (LβT2 and αT3-1) and somatolactotroph (GH3) cell lines to establish the expression and functional role for cannabinoi...

Leptin is an adipocyte-derived cytokine critical to the integration of energy homeostasis and reproduction which putatively acts as a metabolic gate for the onset of puberty. However, it is unknown whether the age of puberty reflects leptin levels or leptin sensitivity. If pubertal age reflects leptin sensitivity, it may also reflect susceptibility to diet-induced obesity.We hypothesised that age of pubertal onset reflects leptin sensitivity. We assessed...

Neuromedin B (NMB) is a highly conserved bombesin-related peptide found in mammals. The mammalian bombesin family of receptors consists of three closely related G protein coupled receptors, BB1, BB2 and BB3. The BB1 receptor subtype has the highest affinity for NMB. NMB mRNA is detected in the CNS and is expressed at relatively high levels in the rat hypothalamus, in particular the medial preoptic area and the arcuate nucleus.<p ...

Context: Phaeochromocytomas are rare, but potentially fatal, neoplasms. The diagnosis and localization of phaeochromocytoma can be challenging and recently there has been some debate regarding the role for adrenal venous sampling (AVS). The utility of AVS in this setting is hampered by a lack of normative value data for adrenal vein catecholamine concentrations and the reliability of lateralization ratios. We sought to address these concerns by analyzing AVS catecholamine conc...