Endocrine Abstracts

Many marine sponges have been shown to produce metabolites with cell growth and endocrine altering activities. We tested crude extracts (1.0 mg/ml) from two species (AV and SB) for effects on levels of an important cell cycle regulatory protein, cyclin B1; cell cycle growth-phase (sub-G1/Apoptosis, G1, S, and G2/M), as well as on cell survival in SW-13 human adrenal carcinoma cultures. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis studies of cyclin B1 levels indicate a 60-90 % reduction ...

Combination chemotherapy for breast cancer offers the potential for improving drug efficacy through enhancement of cancer cell killing. Theoretically, the mechanistic basis underlying this approach may depend on multiple targets and/or amplification/interaction of putative proapoptotic signals. The synthetic retinoid N-(4-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide (4HPR) has proved effective as a chemopreventative and therapeutic agent in breast cancer, however, the mechanisms mediating this a...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between APD, treated Cushing's disease and severe hypopituitarism.METHODS: Fifty-seven patients (42 female), in remission after treatment for Cushing's disease, were studied. The cohort comprised 13 patients with, and 44 without APD. APD was defined as a serum prolactin persistently below the detection limit of the assay. Age and gender did not significantly differ between sub-groups.RESULT...

Case: A GP with autoimmune hypothyroidism presented with a phaeochromocytoma during labour at the age of 36 y. A left adrenalectomy confirmed the diagnosis and a basal cell carcinoma was also removed. She had a history of Dupuytren's lesions of both soles and palms starting in her teenage years and multiple keratosis. There was no family history of any endocrine or skin disorder. At 41y, a benign breast lump was removed and also a gastrointestinal spindle cell stromal tumour (...

Primary Hyperparathyroidism is a common endocrine disorder. It is due to a single parathyroid adenoma in 80%, most of the remainder due to hyperplasia of all four parathyroid glands. The only curative procedure is a parathyroidectomy, but pre-operative localisation can be difficult. Isotope scanning with sestaMIBI is considered to be useful in localising any parathyroid adenoma to help guide surgery.All patients having isotope parathyroid scans over a th...

THE SENSITIVITY OF 123I-MIBG IN THE DETECTION OF HISTOLOGICALLY CONFIRMED CATECHOLAMINE-PRODUCING TUMOURS.M Ismail, R Foley, WM Drake, AB Grossman, PJ Jenkins, SL Chew, GMBesser, R Reznek, K Britton, JP MonsonDepartments of Endocrinology, Nuclear Medicine and Radiology, StBartholomew's Hospital (QMUL), London EC1A 7BERadionuclide imaging is widely used for the loc...

Gender-specific differences in tumor size at clinical presentation and possible differences in tumor biology make it important to determine treatment outcomes of male patients with bromocriptine [BRC]. We retrospectively analysed treatment response to bromocriptine in 29 male patients with macroprolactinoma (15) and giant macroprolactinoma (14). The duration of treatment was 6-96 months (mean 22.7). Clinical features at presentation included headache (21, 72.4%), visual field ...

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in acromegaly is caused, in part, by median nerve (MN) swelling. Pegvisomant (Peg), a growth hormone receptor (GHR) antagonist, lowers serum insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) concentrations in patients with acromegaly, but serum GH levels rise and Peg is detected by most GH assays. Demonstrating that normalisation of serum IGF-I by Peg is associated with improvement/reversal of the consequences of GH excess is desirable. We documented changes in...

Ghrelin, a newly discovered and unique peptide hormone activates the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R) to potently induce growth hormone release. Ghrelin treatment rapidly increases serum growth hormone concentrations, as well as stimulating food intake in vivo. Our laboratory was the first to demonstrate that ghrelin increases the proliferation of the prostate cancer cell lines PC3 and LNCaP in vitro and that these cells express the GHS-R at the mRNA and protein le...

The continuous glucose monitoring system (CGMS) have recently been developed for use in diabetes to provide comprehensive blood glucose data around the clock during normal activities. We have demonstrated for the first time that CGMS can assist in the management of 2 patients with confirmed insulinomas. We present 2 female patients (aged 41 and 35 years) with symptoms suggestive of hypoglycaemia. Both had biochemical evidence of insulinoma with hypoglycaemia, hyperinsulinaemia...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is involved in the activation of the matrix metalloproteinase system (MMP) which in turn degrades the extracellular matrix involved in development, morphogenesis and tissue remodelling. Increased activity of MMPs has been implicated in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. This study assessed plasma MMP and VEGF levels in patients with active acromegaly (IGF-I >130%ULN), and on treatment with pegvisomant.<p class="abstext"...

The outcome of parathyroid surgery is often not clear for at least 24 hours after an operation. Frozen section is not always helpful in distinguishing between adenoma and hyperplasia. Minimally invasive surgical techniques are being refined so the need for perioperative assurance about the effects of surgery has increased. PTH assays have been adapted to give results in less than 20 minutes. We have tested the value of intraoperative PTH measurements in 10 surgical cases under...

Case 1This 26 year woman presented with a pituitary macroadenoma because of headaches, visual field loss and secondary amenorrhoea. Features of acromegaly and galactorrhoea were absent, serum prolactin and basal investigation were normal. Post operative testing revealed normal ACTH reserve but basal growth hormone was 4.2 mu/l rising to 67.6 mu/l in an ITT. Pituitary histology revealed positive immunostaining for growth hormone and prolactin. IGF-1 was n...