Endocrine Abstracts

INTRODUCTION: Hyperprolactinaemia frequently causes secondary hypogonadism through central suppression of gonadotropin secretion. Macroprolactinomas (>1cm diameter) may additionally cause more generalised hypopituitarism; a recent series finding the prevalence of TSH and ACTH deficiencies to be 35% and 9%, respectively. Recovery of the thyrotropic and/or corticotropic axes is well described following surgery to pituitary tumours, but remains poorly defined in relation to me...

The synthetic retinoid N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4HPR) has manifold actions which may be involved in its chemopreventive effects on breast cancer growth and progression. Ceramide is a sphingolipid involved in the mammalian stress response and is implicated in the induction of apoptosis. Its role in the mechanism of 4HPR action has not been fully explored. Here we attempt to elucidate the relationship between 4HPR, ceramide production and cell viability. Survival of viable...

BACKGROUND: Primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT) is increasingly diagnosed, particularly in an older population. Recent studies indicate improvement in bone mineral density (BMD) and psychological wellbeing even following treatment of apparent asymptomatic disease, supporting a lower threshold for surgical intervention. With disease being due to a solitary adenoma in most (83%) cases, we have utilised preoperative imaging together with intra-operative parathyroid hormone (IOPTH) ...

Regulatory peptides are known to have a role in tumour growth. Local peptide concentrations will be affected by their proteolytic release from precursors, together with the rate of their proteolytic degradation. In this study three inhibitors of proteolysis were examined, Captopril, an ACE inhibitor, Thiorphan an inhibitor of Neutral Endopeptidase and Phosphoramidon which inhibits both Neutral Endopeptidase and also Endothelin Converting Enzyme (ECE). The effect of these inhib...

Ectopic ACTH secretion due to malignant tumor is the most frequently underdiagnosed form of Cushing`s syndrome .A 41-year old woman was admitted to our Center with severe hypertension, oedema, oligomenorrhea which developed 5 months ago. The purpose of admittion was to exclude the endocrine genesis of the clinical features. There were no biochemical alterations. Suprisingly, high levels of urinary cortisol (>8000nmol/l) and plasma ACTH (morning 136 ng...

A 75 year old woman was treated for over three years with the somatostatin analogue, octreotide for insulinoma. She had presented in a hypoglycaemic coma. C-peptide and insulin levels were both raised. Cortisol, TSH, a gut hormone screen and urinary sulphonylurea levels were all normal. No adenoma was identified on CT or MRI scanning but angiography showed an area of increased vascularity within the pancreas. At laparotomy no lesion was found and no resection was undertaken. B...

The use of Sandostatin analogues for the treatment of acromegaly is now widely accepted practice for use as an effective method of reducing growth hormone levels to normal, either as primary therapy or prior to or post surgery.An audit was carried out on 11 patients who had been commenced on monthly depot injections of Sandostatin LAR over a 12 month period. Patients notes were used to obtain information regarding, date of diagnosis, presenting features/...

Introduction: haemangiopericytoma is a rare soft tissue tumour originating from pericytes. These are often large and slow growing tumours and manifest rarely as hypoglycaemia. We report a case of haemangiopericytoma-induced hypoglycaemia.Case report: A 72-year-old lady presented with an episode of confusion. She had had similar episodes usually in the early morning hours. She was also known to have hypertension and a large bladder haemangio...

Background: IGF-1 is a ubiquitous growth factor that has been shown to play an important role in breast tissue development and tumorigenesis. Previously we have shown that IGF-1 expression is lost in approximately 1/3 of breast carcinomas. It is unsure whether this indicates the existence of a subset of breast cancers that may behave differently clinically and on a molecular level. Aims: To assess and quantify the mRNA expression of (i) Cox-2 and c-myc, genes imp...

Background: We have recently demonstrated universal and high levels of expression of growth hormone in the human colon, despite the absence of GHRH or its receptor. Although ghrelin, recently shown to be an additional endogenous GH secretagogue, is expressed in the human colon, little is known about its distribution within the colon or function and whether any effects are GH-dependent.Aims: To investigate the mRNA expression of ghrelin and ...