Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Although significant developments have been achieved in the management of steroid-dependent patients, little progress has been made in ensuring their safety using smartphone technology. We present the use of a novel app in steroid-dependent patients.Methods: A group of unselected individuals currently on steroid replacement due to adrenal insufficiency (AI) were assessed regarding their access to intramuscular (IM) hydrocortisone. A smartph...

Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) are rare neuroendocrine tumours, which arise from neural crest (NC)-derived structures: the adrenal medulla and the paraganglia. Around one third of PPGLs are associated with inherited cancer susceptibility genes, the highest rate among all tumour types. Currently, the only diagnostic criterion for malignant disease is the presence of metastasis and no molecular or histological features have been identified that help predict risk. A...

Background: Endocrine systems are known to be disrupted in acute illness, and we previously demonstrated that plasma steroid concentrations correlated with severity in patients hospitalised with COVID-19. Given their similarity to some clinical hormone deficiencies, we hypothesised that ‘long-COVID’ symptoms may be related to ongoing endocrine dysfunction.Methods: Plasma steroids, precursors and metabolites were quantified by LCMS/MS in multi-c...

Background: Benign adrenal tumours are found in 3-10% of adults and can be non-functioning (NFAT) or associated with adrenal hormone excess. Analysing 1305 prospectively recruited patients with benign adrenal tumours, we recently demonstrated that 45% had mild autonomous cortisol secretion (MACS), i.e. biochemical cortisol excess without signs of Cushing’s syndrome (CS). MACS increases the prevalence and severity of hypertension and type 2 diabetes (Ann Int Med. 2022 Doi:...

Introduction: First-line treatment for congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is hydrocortisone1. When adequate control is not achieved, prednisolone (or its prodrug prednisone) are often used. However, there has been no formal comparison of disease control in CAH comparing prednis(ol)one vs hydrocortisone and patients are often on a glucocorticoid dose that exceeds the guideline recommended dose of hydrocortisone (≤25 mg/day)1,2. We report an interim...

Introduction: Glucocorticoids are vital metabolic regulators. However, glucocorticoid excess (GE) causes severe metabolic dysfunction, ultimately leading to Cushing’s Syndrome. This dysfunction is often dependent on the presence of the enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1). Whether GE also alters metabolic rate, and whether this is also dependent on 11β-HSD1, remains unclear.Methods: Male and female wild-type (WT) ...