Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Menopause marks the permanent cessation of periods for a woman. It is commonly associated with cognitive impairment. Oestrogens and progestins have been known to have a profound effect on the central nervous system and can exert neuroprotective effects on the cellular level. This led to the hypothesis that administration of oestrogens, progestins or a combination of both in the form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can have a protective or therapeutic effect ag...

The extrinsic gastrointestinal nervous system plays a key role in the sensing of nutrients and hormones and its translation in terms of control of food intake by the CNS. Regarding major macronutrients as glucose and protein, they are sensed by the gastrointestinal neural system and the transmission of the signals to the brain promotes satiety phenomena. Glucose is sensed in the portal vein by neurons expressing the glucose receptor SGLT3 and activates the main regions of the ...

Whilst the rise in the prevalence of obesity has been driven by environmental factors, there is considerable evidence that body weight and fat mass are highly heritable traits. Differences in susceptibility to obesity between individuals have strong genetic determinants.Our strategy has been based on studies of patients with severe obesity where we hypothesised that major highly penetrant genetic variants were likely to be playing an important role.<...

The transplacental passage of thyroid hormones (TH) from the maternal to fetal circulations is important for normal fetal development, particularly the fetal central nervous system. This is particularly so before the onset of endogenous fetal TH production from the second trimester of pregnancy. The human hemochorial placenta regulates the quantity of TH passing through and the complement of the different forms of TH to ensure requisite levels are present in the fetus for each...

The melanocortin receptor (MCR) family consists of five G protein-coupled receptors (MC1R-MC5R) with diverse physiological roles. MC1R controls pigmentation, MC2R is a critical component of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, whilst MC3R and MC4R have a vital role in energy homeostasis and MC5R is involved in exocrine function.The melanocortin receptor accessory proteins, MRAP and its paralogue MRAP2, are small single-pass transmembrane proteins tha...

Whilst the recent rise in the prevalence of obesity has been driven by environmental factors, there is considerable evidence from twin and adoption studies that body weight and fat mass are highly heritable traits and differences in susceptibility to obesity have strong genetic determinants. The identification of patients with mutations in the gene encoding the hormone leptin, and their successful treatment with recombinant human leptin, have provided insights into the role of...

Whilst the recent rise in the prevalence of childhood obesity has been driven by environmental factors, there is considerable evidence from twin and adoption studies that body weight and fat mass are highly heritable traits and differences in susceptibility to obesity have strong genetic determinants. The identification of patients with mutations in the gene encoding the hormone leptin, and their successful treatment with recombinant human leptin, have provided insights into t...

Insulin has been shown to participate in the long-term regulation of satiety, and it is emerging as a peripheral modulator of the activity of the neuroendocrine reproductive axis as well. Following the observation that mice lacking the expression of brain insulin receptors exhibit central hypogonadism and infertility, we could show that peripheral insulin can stimulate LH secretion in rodents. This effect is likely mediated at the level of the hypothalamus, as suggested by the...

Whilst the recent rise in the prevalence of obesity has been driven in part by environmental factors, there is considerable evidence from twin and adoption studies that body weight and fat mass are highly heritable traits and differences in susceptibility to obesity have strong genetic determinants. The identification of patients with mutations in the gene encoding the adipocyte-derived hormone leptin, and their successful treatment with recombinant human leptin, have provided...

In the prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide reaching 30% of the adult population in some countries. Direct and inferential evidences show that this excess of body fat is associated with adverse health consequences, and that even a modest 5 to 10% weight loss results in substantial improvement in health. Considering the limited efficacy of the so-called ‘life style’ interventions based on diet plus exercise in the obese subjects, and that bariatric surgery is...