Endocrine Abstracts

Background and Objective: Disrupted thyroid hormone (TH) signaling has devastating effects on human neurodevelopment. The molecular mechanisms underlying TH regulation and action are largely based on animal models. However, animal models are limited in revealing some of the most fundamental aspects of neurodevelopment that are unique to humans. We employed human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to study the effects of T3 on neurodevelopmental processes in a huma...

Background: Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is a rare disease accounting for 1-3% of all thyroid carcinomas. Unfortunately, most patients present with metastasized disease: 70% with cervical lymph node metastasis and 5-10% with distant metastasis. Survival strongly correlates with stage of disease at diagnosis, illustrating the need for early diagnosis. Calcitonin is a well-established tumour marker for MTC, but its use in the screening phase is limited by a high rate of fal...

Background: Recent studies suggest enhanced peripheral thyroid hormone metabolism as an explanation for the changes in thyroid hormone levels in patient treated with Sorafenib.Methods: In this single centre, prospective, observational cohort study 60 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were treated with Sorafenib. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4) were measured at baseline (time-0), at 6 weeks (time-1) and at the end of therap...

Background: The interest in the potential effect of thyromimetics in lowering serum cholesterol is growing. Thyroid hormone actions on lipid metabolism are exerted in the liver and mediated by the T3 receptor TRβ1. The creation of molecules transported into hepatocytes by liver-specific transporters can increase the liver selectivity of thyromimetics. Sodium taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (NTCP), a solute carrier protein primarily expressed on the basolateral me...

Introduction: POU1F1 is a pituitary transcription factor, critical for differentiation of pituitary somatotrophs, thyrotrophs and lactotrophs. POU1F1 expression depends on the presence of PROP1, which attenuates expression of transcriptional repressor HESX1. Previous mutation screening of POU1F1 coding exons in our cohort of patients with combined pituitary hormone deficiency (CPHD) showed POU1F1 mutations in only 1% of the families. We hypo...

Context: High maternal TSH and/or low FT4 during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of premature delivery. hCG is the main determinant of thyroid function changes during pregnancy but has a versatile pattern with high inter and intra-individual variability. We hypothesised that the correct interpretation of thyroid function tests and its use in the risk assessment of premature delivery during pregnancy depend on hCG levels.Design, ...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder in women in their reproductive years, is defined by two out of the following three criteria: hyperandrogenism, oligo/anovulation, and polycystic ovaries. Affected women are often obese and insulin-resistant. Recently, we developed a mouse PCOS-model through chronic exposure to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Here, we studied whether the PCOS-phenotype remains after withdrawal of DHT treatment, which would more clo...

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in women in their reproductive age. Based on the Rotterdam criteria PCOS is defined by two out of the following three criteria: hyperandrogenism, oligo/anovulation, and polycystic ovaries. In addition, PCOS patients are often abdominal obese, which can lead to insulin resistance. The subsequent increased insulin levels stimulate the ovary to further increased androgen production. Thus, the elevated androgen...

Introduction: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrine disorders of premenopausal women. It is also the most frequent cause of female infertility and affects 6.5–8% of women in their reproductive age. Two out of three criteria diagnoses PCOS: oligo- or anovulation, clinical or biochemical signs of hyperandrogenism and polycystic ovaries at ultrasound. In addition, PCOS women frequently display features of the metabolic syndrome, such as abdomin...

Introduction: Severe hypocalcemia is a life threatening condition, usually symptomatic with cardiovascular and neuromuscular manifestations. Varying clinical presentations and concomitant infections, however, might obscure the right diagnosis, delaying early treatment.Case: A 51-year-old African male presents himself at the emergency department (ED) with complaints of a soar throat, a productive cough and a striking pinched voice. Investigation revealed ...