Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Accurate imaging is essential for NETs. 111In-octreotide scintigraphy, 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT are the most commonly used modalities. This study compared the three modalities to ascertain the added value of newer functional imaging approaches.Methods: A retrospective review was performed on patients who underwent 68Ga-DOTATOC PET/CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT between 07/2018 and 03/2023 as part of a clinical trial at BC Cancer. Patient...

Background & Objective: Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP), a heterogeneous condition, classically causes parathyroid hormone (PTH) resistance. PHP1a is caused by heterozygous inactivating mutations on the maternally derived GNAS allele. PHP1b results from methylation defects at the GNAS imprinted gene cluster, which are either sporadic, or familial, normally associated with maternally inherited intragenic STX16 deletions. We investigated the presentation, phenotype, ...

Primary aldosteronism (PA) is the potentially curable cause of high-risk hypertension in 5-10% of unselected patients. Diagnosis and lateralisation of PA is challenging and complex. Outcomes post total adrenalectomy, the standard treatment for unilateral aldosterone producing adenomas (APAs), are variable. Between 30-60% are cured (1), but prediction of outcome is unreliable, and some patients are reluctant to have abdominal surgery to remove a whole adrenal gland. Endoscopic ...

The beneficial effects of relaxin peptide treatment have been demonstrated in animal models of liver fibrosis. However, the low stability of peptide in vivo prevents using it in chronic treatments. We have identified a series of small molecule allosteric agonists of the human relaxin receptor, RXFP1. The therapeutic effects of lead compound ML290 was tested in various models of liver fibrosis. To analyze the anti-fibrotic effects of ML290 on gene expression, we used p...

Estrogen receptor α (ERα) is a key transcriptional regulator in the majority of breast cancers. ERα-positive patients are frequently treated with tamoxifen, but resistance is common. Through ChIP-seq analyses, we presviously identified direct target genes of ERα acting in complex with SRC1, SRC2 or SRC3 (Zwart et al., 2011 EMBO J). Only the 111 genes there were under direct control of ERα in conjunction with SRC3 (but not the other two p160s) predicted...

Changes in glycan composition are common in cancer and can play important roles in all of the recognised hallmarks of cancer (1). We recently identified glycosylation as a global target for androgen control in prostate cancer cells and further defined a set of 8 glycosylation enzymes (GALNT7, ST6GalNAc1, GCNT1, UAP1, PGM3, CSGALNACT1, ST6GAL1 and EDEM3), which are also significantly up-regulated in prostate cancer tissue (4). These 8 enzymes are under direct control of the and...

Androgen deficiency may contribute to sexual dysfunction in hypoadrenalism but its role in normal female physiology is uncertain. The aim of this study was to determine the role of androgens in the aetiology of sexual dysfunction in healthy women. Twenty-nine premenopausal women with loss of libido (subjects) and 13 healthy females (controls) were studied. They were aged 18 to 45 years and in a stable heterosexual relationship. Venous blood was taken at 9 am in the follicular ...

Follistatin is a hepatokine found to be elevated in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and promotes hyperglycemia in mice. We report that elevated baseline circulating follistatin levels predict future T2D incidence in longitudinal cohorts including up to 5274 individuals. Individuals with elevated circulating follistatin had higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes during follow-up of 4 years (IMI-DIRECT-METSIM, n = 1079, Finland), 5 and 19 years (MDC-CC, n...

Introduction: In a prospective within-patient study (MATCH) 11C-metomidate PET-CT (MTO) was an accurate non-invasive alternative to adrenal vein sampling in the detection of unilateral PA1. Post-adrenalectomy (ADX), 24/78 (30%) patients achieved complete clinical success (PASO consensus) at 6 months, but 75% achieved reduction in B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP).Aim: To determine: 1. the number of patients who sustain complete clinical success...

Introduction: Iodine deficiency is a significant global health issue of various severity depending on the age of the deficiency. The foetal period is the most critical stage in life, negatively impacting the brain and neurodevelopment. Hence, the developing foetus is a crucial issue, and the present study focussed on iodine nutrition among pregnant women from the Faroe Islands. The need for iodine increases in pregnancy, and the recommended target for median urinary iodine con...