How does obesity affect the endocrine system? A narrative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Poddar, M; Chetty, Y; Chetty, V T

2017-06-01

Obesity is a chronic, relapsing medical condition that results from an imbalance of energy expenditure and consumption. It is a leading cause of preventable illness, disability and premature death. The causes of obesity are multifactorial and include behavioural, socioeconomic, genetic, environmental and psychosocial factors. Rarely are endocrine diseases, e.g., hypothyroidism or Cushing's syndrome, the cause of obesity. What is less understood is how obesity affects the endocrine system. In this review, we will discuss the impact of obesity on multiple endocrine systems, including the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, changes in vitamin D homeostasis, gender steroids and thyroid hormones. We will also examine the renin angiotensin aldosterone system and insulin pathophysiology associated with obesity. We will provide a general overview of the biochemical changes that can be seen in patients with obesity, review possible aetiologies of these changes and briefly consider current guidelines on their management. This review will not discuss endocrine causes of obesity. © 2017 World Obesity Federation.

Neural correlates of reactive aggression in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and comorbid disruptive behaviour disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Bubenzer-Busch, S; Herpertz-Dahlmann, B; Kuzmanovic, B; Gaber, T J; Helmbold, K; Ullisch, M G; Baurmann, D; Eickhoff, S B; Fink, G R; Zepf, F D

2016-04-01

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often linked with impulsive and aggressive behaviour, indexed by high comorbidity rates between ADHD and disruptive behaviour disorders (DBD). The present study aimed to investigate underlying neural activity of reactive aggression in children with ADHD and comorbid DBD using functional neuroimaging techniques (fMRI). Eighteen boys with ADHD (age 9-14 years, 10 subjects with comorbid DBD) and 18 healthy controls were administered a modified fMRI-based version of the 'Point Subtraction Aggression Game' to elicit reactive aggressive behaviour. Trials consisted of an 'aggression phase' (punishment for a fictitious opponent) and an 'outcome phase' (presentation of the trial outcome). During the aggression phase, higher aggressive responses of control children were accompanied by higher activation of the ventral anterior cingulate cortex and the temporoparietal junction. Patients displayed inverted results. During the outcome phase, comparison between groups and conditions showed differential activation in the dorsal striatum and bilateral insular when subjects gained points. Losing points was accompanied by differential activation of regions belonging to the insula and the middle temporal sulcus. Data support the hypothesis that deficient inhibitory control mechanisms are related to increased impulsive aggressive behaviour in young people with ADHD and comorbid DBD. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Neural correlates of sexual cue reactivity in individuals with and without compulsive sexual behaviours.

Science.gov (United States)

Voon, Valerie; Mole, Thomas B; Banca, Paula; Porter, Laura; Morris, Laurel; Mitchell, Simon; Lapa, Tatyana R; Karr, Judy; Harrison, Neil A; Potenza, Marc N; Irvine, Michael

2014-01-01

Although compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB) has been conceptualized as a "behavioural" addiction and common or overlapping neural circuits may govern the processing of natural and drug rewards, little is known regarding the responses to sexually explicit materials in individuals with and without CSB. Here, the processing of cues of varying sexual content was assessed in individuals with and without CSB, focusing on neural regions identified in prior studies of drug-cue reactivity. 19 CSB subjects and 19 healthy volunteers were assessed using functional MRI comparing sexually explicit videos with non-sexual exciting videos. Ratings of sexual desire and liking were obtained. Relative to healthy volunteers, CSB subjects had greater desire but similar liking scores in response to the sexually explicit videos. Exposure to sexually explicit cues in CSB compared to non-CSB subjects was associated with activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate, ventral striatum and amygdala. Functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate-ventral striatum-amygdala network was associated with subjective sexual desire (but not liking) to a greater degree in CSB relative to non-CSB subjects. The dissociation between desire or wanting and liking is consistent with theories of incentive motivation underlying CSB as in drug addictions. Neural differences in the processing of sexual-cue reactivity were identified in CSB subjects in regions previously implicated in drug-cue reactivity studies. The greater engagement of corticostriatal limbic circuitry in CSB following exposure to sexual cues suggests neural mechanisms underlying CSB and potential biological targets for interventions.

Reproductive failure and endocrine disruption by organohalogens in fish-eating birds

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosveld, A.T.C.; Berg, van den M.

2002-01-01

Effects of organohalogens in fish-eating birds in the field have been monitored largely by studying reproductive outcome in contaminated populations or, at the individual level, by studying the sexual behaviour, egg production, or embryonal and postnatal development and survival. Endocrine

Surgical treatment of pancreatic endocrine tumors in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcel Cerqueira Cesar Machado

Full Text Available Surgical approaches to pancreatic endocrine tumors associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 may differ greatly from those applied to sporadic pancreatic endocrine tumors. Presurgical diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 is therefore crucial to plan a proper intervention. Of note, hyperparathyroidism/multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 should be surgically treated before pancreatic endocrine tumors/multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 resection, apart from insulinoma. Non-functioning pancreatic endocrine tumors/multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 >1 cm have a high risk of malignancy and should be treated by a pancreatic resection associated with lymphadenectomy. The vast majority of patients with gastrinoma/multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 present with tumor lesions at the duodenum, so the surgery of choice is subtotal or total pancreatoduodenectomy followed by regional lymphadenectomy. The usual surgical treatment for insulinoma/multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 is distal pancreatectomy up to the mesenteric vein with or without spleen preservation, associated with enucleation of tumor lesions in the pancreatic head. Surgical procedures for glucagonomas, somatostatinomas, and vipomas/ multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 are similar to those applied to sporadic pancreatic endocrine tumors. Some of these surgical strategies for pancreatic endocrine tumors/multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 still remain controversial as to their proper extension and timing. Furthermore, surgical resection of single hepatic metastasis secondary to pancreatic endocrine tumors/multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 may be curative and even in multiple liver metastases surgical resection is possible. Hepatic trans-arterial chemo-embolization is usually associated with surgical resection. Liver transplantation may be needed for select cases. Finally, pre-surgical clinical and genetic diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 syndrome and

Neural correlates of sexual cue reactivity in individuals with and without compulsive sexual behaviours.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valerie Voon

Full Text Available Although compulsive sexual behaviour (CSB has been conceptualized as a "behavioural" addiction and common or overlapping neural circuits may govern the processing of natural and drug rewards, little is known regarding the responses to sexually explicit materials in individuals with and without CSB. Here, the processing of cues of varying sexual content was assessed in individuals with and without CSB, focusing on neural regions identified in prior studies of drug-cue reactivity. 19 CSB subjects and 19 healthy volunteers were assessed using functional MRI comparing sexually explicit videos with non-sexual exciting videos. Ratings of sexual desire and liking were obtained. Relative to healthy volunteers, CSB subjects had greater desire but similar liking scores in response to the sexually explicit videos. Exposure to sexually explicit cues in CSB compared to non-CSB subjects was associated with activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate, ventral striatum and amygdala. Functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate-ventral striatum-amygdala network was associated with subjective sexual desire (but not liking to a greater degree in CSB relative to non-CSB subjects. The dissociation between desire or wanting and liking is consistent with theories of incentive motivation underlying CSB as in drug addictions. Neural differences in the processing of sexual-cue reactivity were identified in CSB subjects in regions previously implicated in drug-cue reactivity studies. The greater engagement of corticostriatal limbic circuitry in CSB following exposure to sexual cues suggests neural mechanisms underlying CSB and potential biological targets for interventions.

Role of etology in detecting environmental pollutants that affect changes in animal behaviour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vučinić Marijana M.

2005-01-01

Full Text Available A large number of chemical pollutants originating from industrial agricultural and urban through the direct or indirect disruption of endocrine gland and hormone function. That is why these pollutants are known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC. By disrupting endocrine function, the EDC change certain forms of animal behaviour. This is why a direct link can be established between etology, as a scientific discipline that studied the role, function, ontogenetic and evolutionary development of behaviour from the aspect of the animal's adaption to living conditions, and ecotoxicology. In this mutual connection, the role of etology is to identify changes in animal behaviour which will serve as the first bioindicator of the presence of EDC in a certain environment, and before the occurrence of organic changes that could have lethal consequences.

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)

Science.gov (United States)

... Center Pacientes y Cuidadores Hormones and Health The Endocrine System Hormones Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) Steroid and Hormone ... Hormones and Health › Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) The Endocrine System Hormones Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) EDCs Myth vs. ...

Subjective, Autonomic, and Endocrine Reactivity during Social Stress in Children with Social Phobia

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, Martina; Seefeldt, Wiebke Lina; Heinrichs, Nina; Tuschen-Caffier, Brunna; Schmitz, Julian; Wolf, Oliver Tobias; Blechert, Jens

2012-01-01

Reports of exaggerated anxiety and physiological hyperreactivity to social-evaluative situations are characteristic of childhood social phobia (SP). However, laboratory research on subjective, autonomic and endocrine functioning in childhood SP is scarce, inconsistent and limited by small sample sizes, limited breadth of measurements, and the use…

Characterization of Insulin-Immunoreactive Cells and Endocrine Cells Within the Duct System of the Adult Human Pancreas.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Rong; Zhang, Xiaoxi; Yu, Lan; Zou, Xia; Zhao, Hailu

2016-01-01

The adult pancreatic duct system accommodates endocrine cells that have the potential to produce insulin. Here we report the characterization and distribution of insulin-immunoreactive cells and endocrine cells within the ductal units of adult human pancreas. Sequential pancreas sections from 12 nondiabetic adults were stained with biomarkers of ductal epithelial cells (cytokeratin 19), acinar cells (amylase), endocrine cells (chromogranin A; neuron-specific enolase), islet hormones (insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide), cell proliferation (Ki-67), and neogenesis (CD29). The number of islet hormone-immunoreactive cells increased from large ducts to the terminal branches. The insulin-producing cells outnumbered endocrine cells reactive for glucagon, somatostatin, or pancreatic polypeptide. The proportions of insulin-immunoreactive count compared with local islets (100% as a baseline) were 1.5% for the main ducts, 7.2% for interlobular ducts, 24.8% for intralobular ducts, 67.9% for intercalated ducts, and 348.9% for centroacinar cells. Both Ki-67- and CD29-labeled cells were predominantly localized in the terminal branches around the islets. The terminal branches also showed cells coexpressing islet hormones and cytokeratin 19. The adult human pancreatic ducts showed islet hormone-producing cells. The insulin-reactive cells predominantly localized in terminal branches where they may retain potential capability for β-cell neogenesis.

SECONDARY (ENDOCRINE HYPERTENSION: LECTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Yu. Yukina

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Hypertension is a  very common disease with high morbidity and reduction in quality of life. Endocrine disorders are the most common cause of secondary hypertension affecting ~3% of the population. Primary aldosteronism can be the cause of endocrine hypertension more often than other endocrine disorders. Other less common causes of endocrine hypertension include Cushing syndrome, pheochromocytoma, thyroid disorders, and hyperparathyroidism. Endocrine hypertension is potentially curable if the underlying cause is identified and treated accordingly. Younger age at manifestation of resistance to multiple antihypertensive drugs, together with other clinical signs of an endocrine disorder, should raise the suspicion and prompt the appropriate evaluation.

Reactivity on the Web

OpenAIRE

Bailey, James; Bry, François; Eckert, Michael; Patrânjan, Paula Lavinia

2005-01-01

Reactivity, the ability to detect simple and composite events and respond in a timely manner, is an essential requirement in many present-day information systems. With the emergence of new, dynamic Web applications, reactivity on the Web is receiving increasing attention. Reactive Web-based systems need to detect and react not only to simple events but also to complex, real-life situations. This paper introduces XChange, a language for programming reactive behaviour on the Web,...

Surgical strategies in endocrine tumors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schreinemakers, J.M.J.

2010-01-01

Endocrine surgery has become more custom-made throughout the years. Endocrine tumors can be sporadic or develop as part of familial syndromes. Several familial syndromes are known to cause endocrine tumors. The most common are multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) syndromes type 1, 2A and 2B. This

Endocrine myopathy: Case-based review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Babul Reddy Hanmayyagari

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Endocrine myopathy means muscle weakness in the presence of an abnormal endocrine state. Most of the endocrine disorders are associated with myopathy and it is usually reversible with correction of the underlying disturbance, though, there is an increasing knowledge of the metabolic effects of hormones, endocrine myopathy is a less recognized and often overlooked entity in clinical practice. Here, we describe this association in three of our patients, then, we discuss systematically about endocrine myopathy.

Reactive Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aceto, Luca; Ingolfsdottir, Anna; Larsen, Kim Guldstrand

A reactive system comprises networks of computing components, achieving their goals through interaction among themselves and their environment. Thus even relatively small systems may exhibit unexpectedly complex behaviours. As moreover reactive systems are often used in safety critical systems......, the need for mathematically based formal methodology is increasingly important. There are many books that look at particular methodologies for such systems. This book offers a more balanced introduction for graduate students and describes the various approaches, their strengths and weaknesses, and when...... they are best used. Milner's CCS and its operational semantics are introduced, together with the notions of behavioural equivalences based on bisimulation techniques and with recursive extensions of Hennessy-Milner logic. In the second part of the book, the presented theories are extended to take timing issues...

Executable Behaviour and the π-Calculus (extended abstract

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bas Luttik

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Reactive Turing machines extend classical Turing machines with a facility to model observable interactive behaviour. We call a behaviour executable if, and only if, it is behaviourally equivalent to the behaviour of a reactive Turing machine. In this paper, we study the relationship between executable behaviour and behaviour that can be specified in the pi-calculus. We establish that all executable behaviour can be specified in the pi-calculus up to divergence-preserving branching bisimilarity. The converse, however, is not true due to (intended limitations of the model of reactive Turing machines. That is, the pi-calculus allows the specification of behaviour that is not executable up to divergence-preserving branching bisimilarity. Motivated by an intuitive understanding of executability, we then consider a restriction on the operational semantics of the pi-calculus that does associate with every pi-term executable behaviour, at least up to the version of branching bisimilarity that does not require the preservation of divergence.

Contribution of the Endocrine Perspective in the Evaluation of Endocrine Disrupting Chemical Effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bourguignon, Jean-Pierre; Juul, Anders; Franssen, Delphine

2016-01-01

Debate makes science progress. In the field of endocrine disruption, endocrinology has brought up findings that substantiate a specific perspective on the definition of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), the role of the endocrine system and the endpoints of hormone and EDC actions among other...... issues. This paper aims at discussing the relevance of the endocrine perspective with regard to EDC effects on pubertal timing. Puberty involves particular sensitivity to environmental conditions. Reports about the advancing onset of puberty in several countries have led to the hypothesis...

An exploratory study into the effect of exhausting bicycle exercise on endocrine and immune responses in post-menopausal women : Relationships between vigour and plasma cortisol concentrations and lymphocyte proliferation following exercise

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Pompe, G; Bernards, N; Kavelaars, A; Heijnen, C

It is well-established that bicycle exercise alters the endocrine and immune responses in men, but little information is available for women, especially middle-aged, post-menopausal women. The purpose of our study was to document the endocrine and immune reactivity to exhausting bicycle exercise in

Endocrine system: part 1.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnstone, Carolyn; Hendry, Charles; Farley, Alistair; McLafferty, Ella

2014-05-27

This article, which forms part of the life sciences series and is the first of two articles on the endocrine system, examines the structure and function of the organs of the endocrine system. It is important that nurses understand how the endocrine system works and its role in maintaining health. The role of the endocrine system and the types, actions and control of hormones are explored. The gross structure of the pituitary and thyroid glands are described along with relevant physiology. Several disorders of the thyroid gland are outlined. The second article examines growth hormone, the pancreas and adrenal glands.

Mitochondrial disease and endocrine dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Jasmine; Rahman, Joyeeta; Achermann, John C; Dattani, Mehul T; Rahman, Shamima

2017-02-01

Mitochondria are critical organelles for endocrine health; steroid hormone biosynthesis occurs in these organelles and they provide energy in the form of ATP for hormone production and trafficking. Mitochondrial diseases are multisystem disorders that feature defective oxidative phosphorylation, and are characterized by enormous clinical, biochemical and genetic heterogeneity. To date, mitochondrial diseases have been found to result from >250 monogenic defects encoded across two genomes: the nuclear genome and the ancient circular mitochondrial genome located within mitochondria themselves. Endocrine dysfunction is often observed in genetic mitochondrial diseases and reflects decreased intracellular production or extracellular secretion of hormones. Diabetes mellitus is the most frequently described endocrine disturbance in patients with inherited mitochondrial diseases, but other endocrine manifestations in these patients can include growth hormone deficiency, hypogonadism, adrenal dysfunction, hypoparathyroidism and thyroid disease. Although mitochondrial endocrine dysfunction frequently occurs in the context of multisystem disease, some mitochondrial disorders are characterized by isolated endocrine involvement. Furthermore, additional monogenic mitochondrial endocrine diseases are anticipated to be revealed by the application of genome-wide next-generation sequencing approaches in the future. Understanding the mitochondrial basis of endocrine disturbance is key to developing innovative therapies for patients with mitochondrial diseases.

Update in endocrine autoimmunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Mark S

2008-10-01

The endocrine system is a common target in pathogenic autoimmune responses, and there has been recent progress in our understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of autoimmune endocrine diseases. Rapid progress has recently been made in our understanding of the genetic factors involved in endocrine autoimmune diseases. Studies on monogenic autoimmune diseases that include endocrine phenotypes like autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 1 and immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked have helped reveal the role of key regulators in the maintenance of immune tolerance. Highly powered genetic studies have found and confirmed many new genes outside of the established role of the human leukocyte antigen locus with these diseases, and indicate an essential role of immune response pathways in these diseases. Progress has also been made in identifying new autoantigens and the development of new animal models for the study of endocrine autoimmunity. Finally, although hormone replacement therapy is still likely to be a mainstay of treatment in these disorders, there are new agents being tested for potentially treating and reversing the underlying autoimmune process. Although autoimmune endocrine disorders are complex in etiology, these recent advances should help contribute to improved outcomes for patients with, or at risk for, these disorders.

Agent-based simulation of animal behaviour

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C.M. Jonker (Catholijn); J. Treur

1998-01-01

textabstract In this paper it is shown how animal behaviour can be simulated in an agent-based manner. Different models are shown for different types of behaviour, varying from purely reactive behaviour to pro-active, social and adaptive behaviour. The compositional development method for

Update in Endocrine Autoimmunity

OpenAIRE

Anderson, Mark S.

2008-01-01

Context: The endocrine system is a common target in pathogenic autoimmune responses, and there has been recent progress in our understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of autoimmune endocrine diseases.

Sleep and the endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Dionne; Tsai, Sheila C

2015-07-01

In this article, the effect of sleep and sleep disorders on endocrine function and the influence of endocrine abnormalities on sleep are discussed. Sleep disruption and its associated endocrine consequences in the critically ill patient are also reviewed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Reactive-transport model for the prediction of the uniform corrosion behaviour of copper used fuel containers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

King, F.; Kolar, M.; Maak, P.

2008-01-01

Used fuel containers in a deep geological repository will be subject to various forms of corrosion. For containers made from oxygen-free, phosphorus-doped copper, the most likely corrosion processes are uniform corrosion, underdeposit corrosion, stress corrosion cracking, and microbiologically influenced corrosion. The environmental conditions within the repository are expected to evolve with time, changing from warm and oxidizing initially to cool and anoxic in the long-term. In response, the corrosion behaviour of the containers will also change with time as the repository environment evolve. A reactive-transport model has been developed to predict the time-dependent uniform corrosion behaviour of the container. The model is based on an experimentally-based reaction scheme that accounts for the various chemical, microbiological, electrochemical, precipitation/dissolution, adsorption/desorption, redox, and mass-transport processes at the container surface and in the compacted bentonite-based sealing materials within the repository. Coupling of the electrochemical interfacial reactions with processes in the bentonite buffer material allows the effect of the evolution of the repository environment on the corrosion behaviour of the container to be taken into account. The Copper Corrosion Model for Uniform Corrosion predicts the time-dependent corrosion rate and corrosion potential of the container, as well as the evolution of the near-field environment

Behaviour of rock-like oxide fuels under reactivity-initiated accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kazuyuki, Kusagaya; Takehiko, Nakamura; Makio, Yoshinaga; Hiroshi, Akie; Toshiyuki, Yamashita; Hiroshi, Uetsuka

2002-01-01

Pulse irradiation tests of three types of un-irradiated rock-like oxide (ROX) fuel - yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) single phase, YSZ and spinel (MgAl 2 O 4 ) homogeneous mixture and particle-dispersed YSZ/spinel - were conducted in the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor to investigate the fuel behaviour under reactivity-initiated accident conditions. The ROX fuels failed at fuel volumetric enthalpies above 10 GJ/m 3 , which was comparable to that of un-irradiated UO 2 fuel. The failure mode of the ROX fuels, however, was quite different from that of the UO 2 fuel. The ROX fuels failed with fuel pellet melting and a part of the molten fuel was released out to the surrounding coolant water. In spite of the release, no significant mechanical energy generation due to fuel/coolant thermal interaction was observed in the tested enthalpy range below∼12 GJ/m 3 . The YSZ type and homogenous YSZ/spinel type ROX fuels failed by cladding burst when their temperatures peaked, while the particle-dispersed YSZ/spinel type ROX fuel seemed to have failed by cladding local melting. (author)

[The immuno-endocrine system. A new endocrine theory: the problem of the packed transport].

Science.gov (United States)

Csaba, György

2011-05-15

Since the eighties of the last century hormone content was justified in immune cells (lymphocytes, granulocytes, monocytes, macrophages and mast cells), which produce, store and secrete these hormones. Although the amount of these materials in immune cells is relatively small, the mass of the producers (immune cells) is so large, that the phenomenon must be considered from endocrinological point of view, underlying the important differences between the "classical" and immuno-endocrine systems. Cells of the classic (built-in) endocrine system are mono-producers, while immune cells can synthesize many types of hormones (polyproducers). In addition, these cells can transport the whole hormone-producing machinery to the site of need, producing a local effect. This can be observed, for example, in the case of endorphin producing immune cells during inflammation and during early pregnancy around the chorionic villi. Hormone producing immune cells also have receptors for many hormones, so that they are poly-receivers. Via hormone producing and receiving capacity there is a bidirectional connection between the neuro-endocrine and immuno-endocrine systems. In addition, there is a network inside the immuno-endocrine system. The packed transport theory attempts to explain the mechanism and importance of the immuno-endocrine system.

Behavioural memory reconsolidation of food and fear memories.

Science.gov (United States)

Flavell, Charlotte R; Barber, David J; Lee, Jonathan L C

2011-10-18

The reactivation of a memory through retrieval can render it subject to disruption or modification through the process of memory reconsolidation. In both humans and rodents, briefly reactivating a fear memory results in effective erasure by subsequent extinction training. Here we show that a similar strategy is equally effective in the disruption of appetitive pavlovian cue-food memories. However, systemic administration of the NMDA receptor partial agonist D-cycloserine, under the same behavioural conditions, did not potentiate appetitive memory extinction, suggesting that reactivation does not enhance subsequent extinction learning. To confirm that reactivation followed by extinction reflects a behavioural analogue of memory reconsolidation, we show that prevention of contextual fear memory reactivation by the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel blocker nimodipine interferes with the amnestic outcome. Therefore, the reconsolidation process can be manipulated behaviourally to disrupt both aversive and appetitive memories. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Endocrine emergencies in dogs and cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Koenig, Amie

2013-07-01

Success in treatment of endocrine emergencies is contingent on early recognition and treatment. Many endocrine diseases presenting emergently have nonspecific signs and symptoms. In addition, these endocrine crises are often precipitated by concurrent disease, further making early identification difficult. This article concentrates on recognition and emergency management of the most common endocrine crises in dogs and cats. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The BDNF Val66Met polymorphism affects HPA-axis reactivity to acute stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Nina; Osinsky, Roman; Schmitz, Anja; Mueller, Eva; Kuepper, Yvonne; Hennig, Juergen

2010-07-01

Growing evidence suggests that individual differences in HPA-axis reactivity to psychosocial stress are partly due to heritable influences. However, knowledge about the role of specific genetic variants remains very limited to date. Since brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) not only exhibits neurotrophic actions but is also involved in the regulation of hypothalamic neuropeptides, we investigated the role of a common functional polymorphism within the BDNF gene (BDNF Val66Met) in the context of endocrine and cardiovascular stress reactivity. Healthy male adults (N=100) were genotyped and exposed to a standardized laboratory stress task (Public Speaking). Saliva cortisol and self-reported mood levels were obtained at 6 time points prior to the stressor and during an extended recovery period. Furthermore, heart rate reactivity as an indicator of sympathetic activation was monitored continuously during the experimental procedure. We report a small, but significant effect of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism on stress reactivity. More precisely, carriers of the met-allele showed a significantly attenuated HPA-axis and cardiovascular reactivity to the psychosocial stressor compared to subjects with the val/val genotype. Furthermore, the diminished physiological response in met-allele carriers was also attended by significantly lower self-reported ratings of perceived stress and nervousness. Our findings of a diminished endocrine and cardiovascular stress response in healthy male adults is consistent with a previously published study and adds further evidence for a crucial role of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism in the modulation of stress reactivity. Copyright 2010. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The acute effects of intranasal oxytocin administration on endocrine and sexual function in males.

Science.gov (United States)

Burri, Andrea; Heinrichs, Markus; Schedlowski, Manfred; Kruger, Tillmann H C

2008-06-01

The role of the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) ranges from the modulation of neuroendocrine physiological effects to the establishment of complex social and bonding behaviours. Experimental studies in animals, as well as case reports in humans, suggest that OT affects different aspects of sexual behaviour and has predominantly facilitating properties for sexual appetence and performance. Using a previously established experimental paradigm of sexual arousal and masturbation-induced orgasm, this study investigated the acute effects of intranasal OT application (24I.U.) on endocrine parameters and measures of sexual appetence and function in healthy men (n=10). In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, balanced cross-over design, sexual arousal, and orgasm were induced by an erotic film and masturbation. In addition to the continuous recording of endocrine (OT, cortisol, prolactin, epinephrine, norepinephrine) and cardiovascular data (heart rate), parameters of appetitive, consummatory, and refractory sexual behaviour were assessed using the acute sexual experience scale (ASES). OT plasma levels were significantly elevated after intranasal OT throughout the whole experiment (>60 min). In addition, OT treatment induced significantly higher increases in epinephrine plasma levels during sexual activity without affecting cortisol levels, prolactin levels or heart rate. OT treatment did not alter appetitive, consummatory, and refractory sexual behaviour according to the ASES. However, when subjects were asked about their subjective perception of whether OT or placebo had been applied, eight out of 10 subjects in the OT group answered correctly, thus pointing to an altered perception of arousal. In conclusion, intranasally administered OT leads to a marked increase in OT plasma levels together with increased secretion of catecholamines when subjects are engaged in sexual activity in a laboratory setting. As the effects of OT on sexual behaviour were equivocal, future studies

[Arterial hypertension secondary to endocrine disorders].

Science.gov (United States)

Minder, Anna; Zulewski, Henryk

2015-06-01

Endocrine hypertension offers a potentially curative therapy if the underlying cause is identified and treated accordingly. In contrast to the high prevalence of arterial hypertension especially in the elderly, the classical endocrine causes remain a rare entity. Among patients with arterial hypertension the prevalence of Cushing's syndrome or pheochromocytoma is less than 1%. Primary hyperaldosteronism is more frequent with a reported prevalence of up to 9%. In order to avoid unnecessary, costly and potentially harmful evaluations and therapies due to the limited sensitivity and specificity of the critical endocrine tests it is mandatory to limit the exploration for endocrine causes to preselected patients with high pretest probability for an endocrine disorder. Younger age at manifestation of arterial hypertension or drug resistant hypertension together with other clinical signs of an endocrine disorder should raise the suspicion and prompt the appropriate evaluation.

[Dementia due to Endocrine Diseases].

Science.gov (United States)

Matsunaga, Akiko; Yoneda, Makoto

2016-04-01

Endocrine diseases affecting various organs, such as the pituitary gland, the thyroid, the parathyroid, the adrenal glands and the pancreas, occasionally cause dementia. While Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the main cause of dementia in the elderly and is untreatable, dementia caused by endocrine diseases is treatable in most cases. However, patients with dementia associated with endocrine diseases show memory impairments similar to those found in AD, often leading to misdiagnoses. Patients with endocrine diseases often present with other characteristic systemic and neuropsychiatric symptoms caused by altered hormone levels. Such neuropsychiatric symptoms include involuntary movements, depression, seizures, and muscle weakness. In these cases, abnormalities in imaging and blood or urine tests are helpful in making a differential diagnosis. As delays in the diagnosis and treatment of these patients may cause irreversible brain damage, it is imperative for clinicians to carefully exclude the possibility of latent endocrine diseases when treating patients with dementia.

Endocrine disorders in mitochondrial disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaefer, Andrew M; Walker, Mark; Turnbull, Douglass M; Taylor, Robert W

2013-10-15

Endocrine dysfunction in mitochondrial disease is commonplace, but predominantly restricted to disease of the endocrine pancreas resulting in diabetes mellitus. Other endocrine manifestations occur, but are relatively rare by comparison. In mitochondrial disease, neuromuscular symptoms often dominate the clinical phenotype, but it is of paramount importance to appreciate the multi-system nature of the disease, of which endocrine dysfunction may be a part. The numerous phenotypes attributable to pathogenic mutations in both the mitochondrial (mtDNA) and nuclear DNA creates a complex and heterogeneous catalogue of disease which can be difficult to navigate for novices and experts alike. In this article we provide an overview of the endocrine disorders associated with mitochondrial disease, the way in which the underlying mitochondrial disorder influences the clinical presentation, and how these factors influence subsequent management. Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Intestinal endocrine cells in radiation enteritis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pietroletti, R.; Blaauwgeers, J. L.; Taat, C. W.; Simi, M.; Brummelkamp, W. H.; Becker, A. E.

1989-01-01

In this study, the intestinal endocrine cells were investigated in 13 surgical specimens affected by radiation enteritis. Endocrine cells were studied by means of Grimelius' silver staining and immunostaining for chromogranin, a general marker of endocrine cells. Positively stained cells were

Endocrine system and obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashburn, Doyle D; Reed, Mary Jane

2010-10-01

Obesity is associated with significant alterations in endocrine function. An association with type 2 diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia has been well documented. This article highlights the complexities of treating endocrine system disorders in obese patients. Copyright © 2010. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Endocrine disruption of courtship behaviour and reproduction in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Broch-Lips, Mia Gina Gruwier

2011-01-01

of the reversibility of hormonally induced shifts in sex ratio of zebrafish. In the first part of this study zebrafish were exposed to three different environmentally relevant concentrations of the synthetic oestrogen17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) from egg stage to sexual maturity. Secondary sexual characteristics...... as fertilizing the spawned eggs. It was further demonstrated that the exposure to TB led to irreversible masculinisation of zebrafish which is in contrast with the partial reversibility of oestrogen induced sex change. During my investigations leading to this thesis it became apparent that sexual behaviour...... courtship behaviour have only been scarcely investigated. The aim of this project was to learn more about the effects of EDCS on the courtship behaviour and reproduction in zebrafish as well as investigating the reversibility of observed effects. I furthermore observed some interesting aspects...

Endocrine active chemicals and endocrine disruption in Minnesota streams and lakes: implications for aquatic resources, 1994-2008

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kathy E.; Schoenfuss, Heiko L.; Barber, Larry B.; Writer, Jeff H.; Blazer, Vicki; Keisling, Richard L.; Ferrey, Mark L.

2010-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with St. Cloud State University, Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, and the University of Minnesota, has conducted field monitoring studies and laboratory research to determine the presence of endocrine active chemicals and the incidence of endocrine disruption in Minnesota streams and lakes during 1994–2008. Endocrine active chemicals are chemicals that interfere with the natural regulation of endocrine systems, and may mimic or block the function of natural hormones in fish or other organisms. This interference commonly is referred to as endocrine disruption. Indicators of endocrine disruption in fish include vitellogenin (female egg yolk protein normally expressed in female fish) in male fish, oocytes present in male fish testes, reduced reproductive success, and changes in reproductive behavior.

Is your dog empathic? Developing a Dog Emotional Reactivity Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Szánthó, Flóra; Miklósi, Ádám; Kubinyi, Enikő

2017-01-01

Dogs' seemingly empathic behaviour attracts general and scientific attention alike. Behaviour tests are usually not sufficiently realistic to evoke empathic-like behaviour; therefore we decided to ask owners about their experiences with their dogs in emotionally loaded situations. Owners from Hungary (N = 591) and from Germany (N = 2283) were asked to rate their level of agreement on a 1-5 Likert scale with statements about the reactivity of their dogs to their emotions and to other dogs' behaviour. We created two scales with satisfactory internal reliability: reactivity to the owner's emotion and reactivity to other dogs' behaviour. Based on an owner-dog personality matching theory, we hypothesised that the owner's empathy, as measured by the subscale on the cooperativeness character factor of the human personality, will correlate with their dog's emotional reactivity in emotionally loaded situations. In addition we also examined how anthropomorphism, contagious yawning, attitude toward the dog are related to emotional reactivity in dogs as perceived by the owner. In addition we examined how owners rate dog pictures. We found that the scale scores were largely independent from demographic and environmental variables like breed, sex, age, age at acquiring, keeping practices, training experiences and owner's age. However, anthropomorphic and emotional attitude of the owners probably biased the responses. In the German sample more empathic owners reported to have more emotionally reactive dog, as expected by the personality matching theory. More empathic owners reported to have fewer problems with their dogs and they rated a puppy picture as more cute in both countries. 62% of owners from Hungary and 36% of owner from Germany agreed with the statement "My dog is more important for me than any human being". In Germany, more empathic owners agreed less with this statement and indicated that their dogs have a tendency for contagious yawning. Owners whose attitudes

Radiological imaging in endocrine hypertension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chandan J Das

2011-01-01

Full Text Available While different generations of assays have played important role in elucidating causes of different endocrine disorders, radiological techniques are instrumental in localizing the pathology. This statement cannot be truer in any disease entity other than endocrine hypertension. This review makes an effort to highlight the role of different radiological modalities, especially ultrasonography, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, in the evaluation of different causes of endocrine hypertension.

Spectrum of Endocrine Disorders in Central Ghana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Osei Sarfo-Kantanka

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Although an increasing burden of endocrine disorders is recorded worldwide, the greatest increase is occurring in developing countries. However, the spectrum of these disorders is not well described in most developing countries. Objective. The objective of this study was to profile the frequency of endocrine disorders and their basic demographic characteristics in an endocrine outpatient clinic in Kumasi, central Ghana. Methods. A retrospective review was conducted on endocrine disorders seen over a five-year period between January 2011 and December 2015 at the outpatient endocrine clinic of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. All medical records of patients seen at the endocrine clinic were reviewed by endocrinologists and all endocrinological diagnoses were classified according to ICD-10. Results. 3070 adults enrolled for care in the endocrine outpatient service between 2011 and 2015. This comprised 2056 females and 1014 males (female : male ratio of 2.0 : 1.0 with an overall median age of 54 (IQR, 41–64 years. The commonest primary endocrine disorders seen were diabetes, thyroid, and adrenal disorders at frequencies of 79.1%, 13.1%, and 2.2%, respectively. Conclusions. Type 2 diabetes and thyroid disorders represent by far the two commonest disorders seen at the endocrine clinic. The increased frequency and wide spectrum of endocrine disorders suggest the need for well-trained endocrinologists to improve the health of the population.

Non-invasive monitoring of endocrine status in laboratory primates: methods, guidelines and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Heistermann, M.

2010-11-01

During the past three decades, non-invasive methods for assessing physiological, in particular endocrine, status have revolutionized almost all areas of primatology, including behavioural ecology, reproductive biology, stress research, conservation and last but not least management of primates in captivity where the technology plays an integral role in assisting the husbandry, breeding and welfare of many species. Non-invasive endocrine methods make use of the fact that hormones circulating in blood are secreted into saliva or deposited in hair and are eliminated from the body via urinary and faecal excretion. The choice of which matrix to use for hormonal assessment depends on a range of factors, including the type of information required, the measurement techniques involved, species differences in hormone metabolism and route of excretion and the practicality of sample collection. However, although sample collection is usually relatively easy, analysing hormones from these non-invasively collected samples is not as easy as many people think, particularly not when dealing with a new species. In this respect, the importance of a careful validation of each technique is essential in order to generate meaningful and accurate results. This paper aims to provide an overview of the available non-invasive endocrine-based methodologies, their relative merits and their potential areas of application for assessing endocrine status in primates, with special reference to captive environments. In addition, general information is given about the most important aspects and caveats researchers have to be aware of when using these methodologies.

Mechanistic evaluation of endocrine disrupting chemicals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taxvig, Camilla

BACKGROUND: This PhD project is part of the research area concerning effects of endocrine disrupters at the National Food Institute at DTU in Denmark. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have proved to be important for improper development of the male reproductive organs and subsequent for the ...... metabolising system using liver S9 mixtures or hepatic rat microsomes could be a convenient method for the incorporation of metabolic aspects into in vitro testing for endocrine disrupting effects.......BACKGROUND: This PhD project is part of the research area concerning effects of endocrine disrupters at the National Food Institute at DTU in Denmark. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have proved to be important for improper development of the male reproductive organs and subsequent......, to be able to detect effects and predict mixture effects. In addition, a new hypothesis have emerge concerning a potential role of exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, and the development of obesity and obesity related diseases. AIM: This PhD project aimed to gain more information regarding...

What Is Men's Endocrine Health?

Science.gov (United States)

... Search form Search What is Men's Endocrine Health? Men's endocrine health incorporates physical activity and sound nutrition to maintain a strong body; however, a major emphasis includes male sexuality ...

Effects of food form on food intake and postprandial appetite sensations, glucose and endocrine responses, and energy expenditure in resistance trained v. sedentary older adults

Science.gov (United States)

Apolzan, John W.; Leidy, Heather J.; Mattes, Richard D.; Campbell, Wayne W.

2013-01-01

Limited research has suggested that the food form of nutritional supplements (FFNS) and resistance training (RT) influence ingestive behaviour and energy balance in older adults. The effects of the FFNS and RT on acute appetitive, endocrine and metabolic responses are not adequately documented. The present study assessed the effects of the FFNS and RT on postprandial appetite sensations (hunger and fullness), endocrine responses (plasma insulin, cholecystokinin, ghrelin and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)), metabolism (glucose, energy expenditure and RER) and food intake (satiation) in older adults. On separate days, eighteen sedentary (Sed) and sixteen RT healthy adults (age 62–84 years) consumed 12·5% of their energy need as an isoenergetic- and macronutrient-matched solid or beverage. Postprandial responses were assessed over 4 h. No RT × FFNS interactions were observed for any parameter. Fasting cholecystokinin was higher in the RT v. Sed group (Pingestive behaviour. The appetitive and endocrine responses suggested the solid-promoted satiety; however, the FFNS did not alter subsequent food intake. PMID:21492495

Intestinal endocrine cells in radiation enteritis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pietroletti, R.; Blaauwgeers, J.L.; Taat, C.W.; Simi, M.; Brummelkamp, W.H.; Becker, A.E.

1989-01-01

In this study, the intestinal endocrine cells were investigated in 13 surgical specimens affected by radiation enteritis. Endocrine cells were studied by means of Grimelius' silver staining and immunostaining for chromogranin, a general marker of endocrine cells. Positively stained cells were quantified by counting their number per unit length of muscularis mucosa. Results in radiation enteritis were compared with matched control specimens by using Student's t test. Chromogranin immunostaining showed a statistically significant increase of endocrine cells in radiation enteritis specimens compared with controls both in small and large intestine (ileum, 67.5 +/- 23.5 cells per unit length of muscularis mucosa in radiation enteritis versus 17.0 +/- 6.1 in controls; colon, 40.9 +/- 13.7 cells per unit length of muscularis mucosa in radiation enteritis versus 9.5 +/- 4.1 in controls--p less than 0.005 in both instances). Increase of endocrine cells was demonstrated also by Grimelius' staining; however, without reaching statistical significance. It is not clear whether or not the increase of endocrine cells in radiation enteritis reported in this study is caused by a hyperplastic response or by a sparing phenomenon. We should consider that increased endocrine cells, when abnormally secreting their products, may be involved in some of the clinical features of radiation enteropathy. In addition, as intestinal endocrine cells produce trophic substances to the intestine, their increase could be responsible for the raised risk of developing carcinoma of the intestine in long standing radiation enteritis

Endocrine pathology: past, present and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Asa, Sylvia L; Mete, Ozgur

2018-01-01

Endocrine pathology is the subspecialty of diagnostic pathology which deals with the diagnosis and characterisation of neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases of the endocrine system. This relatively young subspecialty was initially focused mainly on thyroid and parathyroid pathology, with some participants also involved in studies of the pituitary, the endocrine pancreas, and the adrenal glands. However, the endocrine system involves much more than these traditional endocrine organs and the discipline has grown to encompass lesions of the dispersed neuroendocrine cells, including neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) of the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, thymus, breast and prostate, as well as paraganglia throughout the body, not just in the adrenals. Indeed, the production of hormones is the hallmark of the endocrine system, and some aspects of gynecological/testicular, bone and liver pathology also fall into the realm of this specialty. Many of the lesions that are the focus of this discipline are increasing in incidence and their pathology is becoming more complex with increased understanding of molecular pathology and a high incidence of familial disease. The future of endocrine pathology will demand a depth of understanding of structure, function, prognosis and prediction as pathologists play a key role in the multidisciplinary care team of patients with endocrine diseases. It is anticipated that new technologies will allow increased subspecialisation in pathology and growth of this important area of expertise. Copyright © 2017 Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The endocrine stress response is linked to one specific locus on chromosome 3 in a mouse model based on extremes in trait anxiety

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gonik Mariya

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA axis is essential to control physiological stress responses in mammals. Its dysfunction is related to several mental disorders, including anxiety and depression. The aim of this study was to identify genetic loci underlying the endocrine regulation of the HPA axis. Method High (HAB and low (LAB anxiety-related behaviour mice were established by selective inbreeding of outbred CD-1 mice to model extremes in trait anxiety. Additionally, HAB vs. LAB mice exhibit comorbid characteristics including a differential corticosterone response upon stress exposure. We crossbred HAB and LAB lines to create F1 and F2 offspring. To identify the contribution of the endocrine phenotypes to the total phenotypic variance, we examined multiple behavioural paradigms together with corticosterone secretion-based phenotypes in F2 mice by principal component analysis. Further, to pinpoint the genomic loci of the quantitative trait of the HPA axis stress response, we conducted genome-wide multipoint oligogenic linkage analyses based on Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo approach as well as parametric linkage in three-generation pedigrees, followed by a two-dimensional scan for epistasis and association analysis in freely segregating F2 mice using 267 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs, which were identified to consistently differ between HAB and LAB mice as genetic markers. Results HPA axis reactivity measurements and behavioural phenotypes were represented by independent principal components and demonstrated no correlation. Based on this finding, we identified one single quantitative trait locus (QTL on chromosome 3 showing a very strong evidence for linkage (2ln (L-score > 10, LOD > 23 and significant association (lowest Bonferroni adjusted p -28 to the neuroendocrine stress response. The location of the linkage peak was estimated at 42.3 cM (95% confidence interval: 41.3 - 43.3 cM and was shown to be in

Skin Manifestations of Endocrine Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Demirkesen, Cuyan

2015-01-01

Endocrine diseases may result in changes in cutaneous function and morphology, which cause various skin manifestations, including nonspecific or pathognomonic signs. Some of these manifestations are already known dermatologic diseases with only increased frequency in this patient group. As a result the skin may the play role of a screen displaying endocrine disorders, either due to hormone excess or deficiency. Awareness of the skin manifestations may permit prompt and adequate approach to the patients, and therefore facilitate the early diagnosis of the endocrine disease and even be life saving. Some of these manifestations may be recognized clinically, but sometimes they need to be confirmed histopathologically. In this article, many endocrine diseases and their associated skin lesions will be reviewed briefly.

Analyzing endocrine system conservation and evolution.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonett, Ronald M

2016-08-01

Analyzing variation in rates of evolution can provide important insights into the factors that constrain trait evolution, as well as those that promote diversification. Metazoan endocrine systems exhibit apparent variation in evolutionary rates of their constituent components at multiple levels, yet relatively few studies have quantified these patterns and analyzed them in a phylogenetic context. This may be in part due to historical and current data limitations for many endocrine components and taxonomic groups. However, recent technological advancements such as high-throughput sequencing provide the opportunity to collect large-scale comparative data sets for even non-model species. Such ventures will produce a fertile data landscape for evolutionary analyses of nucleic acid and amino acid based endocrine components. Here I summarize evolutionary rate analyses that can be applied to categorical and continuous endocrine traits, and also those for nucleic acid and protein-based components. I emphasize analyses that could be used to test whether other variables (e.g., ecology, ontogenetic timing of expression, etc.) are related to patterns of rate variation and endocrine component diversification. The application of phylogenetic-based rate analyses to comparative endocrine data will greatly enhance our understanding of the factors that have shaped endocrine system evolution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Celiac disease and endocrine autoimmunity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kahaly, George J; Schuppan, Detlef

2015-01-01

Celiac disease (CD) is a small-intestinal inflammatory disease that is triggered by the ingestion of the storage proteins (gluten) of wheat, barley and rye. Endocrine autoimmunity is prevalent in patients with CD and their relatives. The genes that predispose to endocrine autoimmune diseases, e.g. type 1 diabetes, autoimmune thyroid diseases, and Addison's disease, i.e. DR3-DQ2 and DR4-DQ8, are also the major genetic determinants of CD, which is the best understood HLA-linked disease. Thus, up to 30% of first-degree relatives both of patients with CD and/or endocrine autoimmunity are affected by the other disease. In CD, certain gluten proteins bind with high affinity to HLA-DQ2 or -DQ8 in the small-intestinal mucosa, to activate gluten-specific T cells which are instrumental in the destruction of the resorptive villi. Here, the autoantigen tissue transglutaminase increases the T cell response by generating deamidated gluten peptides that bind more strongly to DQ2 or DQ8. Classical symptoms such as diarrhea and consequences of malabsorption like anemia and osteoporosis are often absent in patients with (screening-detected) CD, but this absence does not significantly affect these patients' incidence of endocrine autoimmunity. Moreover, once autoimmunity is established, a gluten-free diet is not able to induce remission. However, ongoing studies attempt to address how far a gluten-free diet may prevent or retard the development of CD and endocrine autoimmunity in children at risk. The close relationship between CD and endocrine autoimmunity warrants a broader immune genetic and endocrine screening of CD patients and their relatives. © 2015 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Electrochemical nano biosensor alarm devices for the determination of endocrine disruptor agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iwuoha, E.; Hendricks, N.; Baker, P.

2009-01-01

The role of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme systems in the detoxification of bioactive and hydrophobic xenobiotics, such as drugs, environmental pollutants, food supplements, steroids and endocrine disruptors, cannot be over-emphasized. In this study we present the development and amperometric transduction of cytochromal biosensor alarm device for the determination of endocrine disruptors. As a class II microsomal b-type heme enzyme, CYP3A4 requires the obligatory presence of electron transfer donor redox protein, NAD(P)H, and cytochrome b5 for its physiological reactivity. Optimal reconstitution assays preferably involves vesicle forming phospholipids, detergents and specialized reducing agents. Biosensor offers the possibility of observing direct electron transfer reaction of cytochrome P450-3A4 (CYP3A4) without the requirement of the enzyme's physiological redox partners (1,2). In this study, a nanobiosensor alarm device for the determination of 2,4-dichlorophenol (an endocrine disruptor and hepatocarcinogen) was developed with genetically engineered CYP3A4 imprinted on carbon electrode chips that was modified with polypyrrole-gold nanoparticles. The sensor amperometric signals resulted from the two-electron monooxygenation reaction between the ferri-heme CYP3A4 enzyme and the endocrine disruptor compound. The biosensor was interrogated electrochemically for its ability to detect and report the presence of the endocrine disruptor compound in real time. Accordingly, the response time, sensitivity, storage stability, dynamic linear range and detection limits of the device were evaluated. The biosensor alarm device had a detection limit of 43 ng/L for 2,4-dichlorophenol which is lower than the European Union limit of 300 ng/L for pesticide compounds in ground water; as well as the USA Environmental Protection Agency's drinking water equivalent level (DWEL) of 2000 ng/L (3,4). Chromatographic studies despite their tedious sample preparation and time-consuming pre

Your Endocrine System (For Kids)

Science.gov (United States)

... Kids / Your Endocrine System Print en español Tu sistema endocrino You might say endocrine (say: EN-doh- ... of Use Notice of Nondiscrimination Visit the Nemours Web site. Note: All information on KidsHealth® is for ...

Endocrine Disrupting Contaminants—Beyond the Dogma

Science.gov (United States)

Guillette, Louis J.

2006-01-01

Descriptions of endocrine disruption have largely been associated with wildlife and driven by observations documenting estrogenic, androgenic, antiandrogenic, and antithyroid actions. These actions, in response to exposure to ecologically relevant concentrations of various environmental contaminants, have now been established in numerous vertebrate species. However, many potential mechanisms and endocrine actions have not been studied. For example, the DDT [1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane] metabolite, p,p′-DDE [1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene] is known to disrupt prostaglandin synthesis in the uterus of birds, providing part of the explanation for DDT-induced egg shell thinning. Few studies have examined prostaglandin synthesis as a target for endocrine disruption, yet these hormones are active in reproduction, immune responses, and cardiovascular physiology. Future studies must broaden the basic science approach to endocrine disruption, thereby expanding the mechanisms and endocrine end points examined. This goal should be accomplished even if the primary influence and funding continue to emphasize a narrower approach based on regulatory needs. Without this broader approach, research into endocrine disruption will become dominated by a narrow dogma, focusing on a few end points and mechanisms. PMID:16818240

Altered pairing behaviour and reproductive success in white ibises exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of methylmercury.

Science.gov (United States)

Frederick, Peter; Jayasena, Nilmini

2011-06-22

Methylmercury (MeHg) is the most biologically available and toxic form of mercury, and can act as a powerful teratogen, neurotoxin and endocrine disruptor in vertebrates. However, mechanisms of endocrine impairment and net effects on demography of biota are poorly understood. Here, we report that experimental exposure of an aquatic bird over 3 years to environmentally relevant dietary MeHg concentrations (0.05-0.3 ppm wet weight) resulted in dose-related increases in male-male pairing behaviour (to 55% of males), and decreases in egg productivity (to 30%). Dosed males showed decreased rates of key courtship behaviours, and were approached less by courting females in comparison to control males. Within dosed groups, homosexual males showed a similar reduction when compared with dosed heterosexual males. We found an average 35 per cent decrease in fledgling production in high-dose birds over the study duration. These results are of interest because (i) MeHg exposure is experimentally tied to demographically important reproductive deficits, (ii) these effects were found at low, chronic exposure levels commonly experienced by wildlife, and (iii) effects on reproductive behaviour and sexual preference mediated by endocrine disruption represent a novel and probably under-reported mechanism by which contaminants may influence wild populations of birds.

[Disperse endocrine system and APUD concept].

Science.gov (United States)

Mil'to, I V; Sukhodolo, I V; Gereng, E A; Shamardina, L A

2011-01-01

This review describes the problems of disperse endocrine system and APUD-system morphology, summarizes some debatable issues of single endocrine cell biology. The data presented refer to the history of both systems discovery, morphological methods of their study, developmental sources, their structural organization and physiological roles of their cells. The significance of single endocrine cells in the regulation of the organism functions is discussed.

Periodic activations of behaviours and emotional adaptation in behaviour-based robotics

Science.gov (United States)

Burattini, Ernesto; Rossi, Silvia

2010-09-01

The possible modulatory influence of motivations and emotions is of great interest in designing robotic adaptive systems. In this paper, an attempt is made to connect the concept of periodic behaviour activations to emotional modulation, in order to link the variability of behaviours to the circumstances in which they are activated. The impact of emotion is studied, described as timed controlled structures, on simple but conflicting reactive behaviours. Through this approach it is shown that the introduction of such asynchronies in the robot control system may lead to an adaptation in the emergent behaviour without having an explicit action selection mechanism. The emergent behaviours of a simple robot designed with both a parallel and a hierarchical architecture are evaluated and compared.

Characterization of the interactions between endocrine disruptors and aquatic humic substances from tropical rivers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Botero, Wander G.; Oliveira, Luciana C. de; Cunha, Bruno B.; Oliveira, Lilian K. de; Goveia, Danielle; Fraceto, Leonardo F.; Rosa, Andre Henrique; Rocha, Julio Cesar

2011-01-01

Interactions between two endocrine disruptors (ED) and aquatic humic substances (AHS) from tropical rivers were studied using an ultrafiltration system equipped with a 1 kDa cut-off cellulose membrane to separate free ED from the fraction bound in the AHS. Quantification of 17α-ethynylestradiol and bisphenol A was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The times required for establishment of equilibrium between the AHS and the ED were ca. 30 min, and complexation capacities for 17α-ethynylestradiol and bisphenol A were 18.53 and 2.07 mg g -1 TOC, respectively. The greater interaction of AHS with 17α-ethynylestradiol, compared to bisphenol A, was due to the presence of hydrogen in the structure of 17α-ethynylestradiol, which could interact with ionized oxygenated groups of the AHS. The results indicate that AHS can strongly influence the transport and reactivity of endocrine disruptors in aquatic systems. (author)

Characterization of the interactions between endocrine disruptors and aquatic humic substances from tropical rivers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Botero, Wander G. [Universidade Federal de Alagoas (UFAL), Arapiraca, AL (Brazil); Oliveira, Luciana C. de [Universidade Federal de Sao Carlos (UFSCar), Sorocaba, SP (Brazil); Cunha, Bruno B.; Oliveira, Lilian K. de; Goveia, Danielle; Fraceto, Leonardo F.; Rosa, Andre Henrique, E-mail: ahrosa@sorocaba.unesp.b [UNESP, Sorocaba, SP (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia do Meio Ambiente; Rocha, Julio Cesar [UNESP, Araraquara, SP (Brazil). Inst. de Quimica. Dept. de Quimica Analitica

2011-07-01

Interactions between two endocrine disruptors (ED) and aquatic humic substances (AHS) from tropical rivers were studied using an ultrafiltration system equipped with a 1 kDa cut-off cellulose membrane to separate free ED from the fraction bound in the AHS. Quantification of 17{alpha}-ethynylestradiol and bisphenol A was performed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The times required for establishment of equilibrium between the AHS and the ED were ca. 30 min, and complexation capacities for 17{alpha}-ethynylestradiol and bisphenol A were 18.53 and 2.07 mg g{sup -1} TOC, respectively. The greater interaction of AHS with 17{alpha}-ethynylestradiol, compared to bisphenol A, was due to the presence of hydrogen in the structure of 17{alpha}-ethynylestradiol, which could interact with ionized oxygenated groups of the AHS. The results indicate that AHS can strongly influence the transport and reactivity of endocrine disruptors in aquatic systems. (author)

Animal personality as a cause and consequence of contest behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Briffa, Mark; Sneddon, Lynne U; Wilson, Alastair J

2015-03-01

We review the evidence for a link between consistent among-individual variation in behaviour (animal personality) and the ability to win contests over limited resources. Explorative and bold behaviours often covary with contest behaviour and outcome, although there is evidence that the structure of these 'behavioural syndromes' can change across situations. Aggression itself is typically repeatable, but also subject to high within-individual variation as a consequence of plastic responses to previous fight outcomes and opponent traits. Common proximate mechanisms (gene expression, endocrine control and metabolic rates) may underpin variation in both contest behaviour and general personality traits. Given the theoretical links between the evolution of fighting and of personality, we suggest that longitudinal studies of contest behaviour, combining behavioural and physiological data, would be a useful context for the study of animal personalities. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Endocrine aspects of cancer gene therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Barzon, Luisa; Boscaro, Marco; Palù, Giorgio

2004-02-01

The field of cancer gene therapy is in continuous expansion, and technology is quickly moving ahead as far as gene targeting and regulation of gene expression are concerned. This review focuses on the endocrine aspects of gene therapy, including the possibility to exploit hormone and hormone receptor functions for regulating therapeutic gene expression, the use of endocrine-specific genes as new therapeutic tools, the effects of viral vector delivery and transgene expression on the endocrine system, and the endocrine response to viral vector delivery. Present ethical concerns of gene therapy and the risk of germ cell transduction are also discussed, along with potential lines of innovation to improve cell and gene targeting.

Endocrine Dysregulation in Anorexia Nervosa Update

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Context: Anorexia nervosa is a primary psychiatric disorder with serious endocrine consequences, including dysregulation of the gonadal, adrenal, and GH axes, and severe bone loss. This Update reviews recent advances in the understanding of the endocrine dysregulation observed in this state of chronic starvation, as well as the mechanisms underlying the disease itself. Evidence Acquisition: Findings of this update are based on a PubMed search and the author's knowledge of this field. Evidence Synthesis: Recent studies have provided insights into the mechanisms underlying endocrine dysregulation in states of chronic starvation as well as the etiology of anorexia nervosa itself. This includes a more complex understanding of the pathophysiologic bases of hypogonadism, hypercortisolemia, GH resistance, appetite regulation, and bone loss. Nevertheless, the etiology of the disease remains largely unknown, and effective therapies for the endocrine complications and for the disease itself are lacking. Conclusions: Despite significant progress in the field, further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the development of anorexia nervosa and its endocrine complications. Such investigations promise to yield important advances in the therapeutic approach to this disease as well as to the understanding of the regulation of endocrine function, skeletal biology, and appetite regulation. PMID:21976742

Current Knowledge on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs from Animal Biology to Humans, from Pregnancy to Adulthood: Highlights from a National Italian Meeting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Elisabeth Street

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Wildlife has often presented and suggested the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs. Animal studies have given us an important opportunity to understand the mechanisms of action of many chemicals on the endocrine system and on neurodevelopment and behaviour, and to evaluate the effects of doses, time and duration of exposure. Although results are sometimes conflicting because of confounding factors, epidemiological studies in humans suggest effects of EDCs on prenatal growth, thyroid function, glucose metabolism and obesity, puberty, fertility, and on carcinogenesis mainly through epigenetic mechanisms. This manuscript reviews the reports of a multidisciplinary national meeting on this topic.

Executive Summary to EDC-2: The Endocrine Society's Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Gore, A C; Chappell, V A; Fenton, S E; Flaws, J A; Nadal, A; Prins, G S; Toppari, J; Zoeller, R T

2015-12-01

This Executive Summary to the Endocrine Society's second Scientific Statement on environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) provides a synthesis of the key points of the complete statement. The full Scientific Statement represents a comprehensive review of the literature on seven topics for which there is strong mechanistic, experimental, animal, and epidemiological evidence for endocrine disruption, namely: obesity and diabetes, female reproduction, male reproduction, hormone-sensitive cancers in females, prostate cancer, thyroid, and neurodevelopment and neuroendocrine systems. EDCs such as bisphenol A, phthalates, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diethyl ethers, and dioxins were emphasized because these chemicals had the greatest depth and breadth of available information. The Statement also included thorough coverage of studies of developmental exposures to EDCs, especially in the fetus and infant, because these are critical life stages during which perturbations of hormones can increase the probability of a disease or dysfunction later in life. A conclusion of the Statement is that publications over the past 5 years have led to a much fuller understanding of the endocrine principles by which EDCs act, including nonmonotonic dose-responses, low-dose effects, and developmental vulnerability. These findings will prove useful to researchers, physicians, and other healthcare providers in translating the science of endocrine disruption to improved public health.

Gasification reactivity and ash sintering behaviour of biomass feedstocks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moilanen, A.; Nasrullah, M.

2011-12-15

Char gasification reactivity and ash sintering properties of forestry biomass feedstocks selected for large-scale gasification process was characterised. The study was divided into two parts: (1) Internal variation of the reactivity and the ash sintering of feedstocks. (2) Measurement of kinetic parameters of char gasification reactions to be used in the modelling of a gasifier. The tests were carried out in gases relevant to pressurized oxygen gasification, i.e. steam and carbon dioxide, as well as their mixtures with the product gases H{sub 2} and CO. The work was based on experimental measurements using pressurized thermobalance. In the tests, the temperatures were below 1000 deg C, and the pressure range was between 1 and 20 bar. In the first part, it was tested the effect of growing location, storage, plant parts and debarking method. The following biomass types were tested: spruce bark, pine bark, aspen bark, birch bark, forestry residue, bark feedstock mixture, stump chips and hemp. Thick pine bark had the lowest reactivity (instantaneous reaction rate 14%/min) and hemp the highest (250%/min); all other biomasses laid between these values. There was practically no difference in the reactivities among the spruce barks collected from the different locations. For pine bark, the differences were greater, but they were probably due to the thickness of the bark rather than to the growth location. For the spruce barks, the instantaneous reaction rate measured at 90% fuel conversion was 100%/min, for pine barks it varied between 14 and 75%/min. During storage, quite large local differences in reactivity seem to develop. Stump had significantly lower reactivity compared with the others. No clear difference in the reactivity was observed between barks obtained with the wet and dry debarking, but, the sintering of the ash was more enhanced for the bark from dry debarking. Char gasification rate could not be modelled in the gas mixture of H{sub 2}O + CO{sub 2} + H{sub 2

Study of reactivity of fluidized bed nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rammsy, J.E.M.

1985-01-01

The reactor physics calculations of a 19 module Fluidized Bed Nuclear Reactor using Leopard and Odog codes are performed. The behaviour of the reactor was studied by calculating the reactivity of the reactor as a function of the parameters governing the operational and accidental conditions of the reactor. The effects of temperature, pressure, and vapor generation in the core on the reactivity are calculated. Also the start up behaviour of the reactor is analyzed. For the purpose of the study of a prototype research reactor, the calculations on a one module reactor have been performed. (Author) [pt

Period meter output in response to terminated ramps of reactivity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cummins, J D [Dynamics Group, Control and Instrumentation Division, Atomic Energy Establishment, Winfrith, Dorchester, Dorset (United Kingdom)

1962-07-15

The time behaviour of the period meter output has been determined for a range of total reactivity injections and reactivity rates. Some results which are directly applicable to graphite gas cooled reactors are given. (author)

Radiotherapy for unresectable endocrine pancreatic carcinomas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tennvall, J.; Ljungberg, O.; Ahren, B.; Gustavsson, A.; Nillson, L.O.

1992-01-01

Surgery, when possible, is the treatment of choice for the uncommon endocrine tumours of pancreas. Unresectable cases are usually treated with cytostatic drugs or α-interferon. We describe a patient with unresectable, locally advanced endocrine pancreatic carcinoma (measuring 5 x 5 x 6 cm) that was totally cured by external radiation therapy only (40 Gy). This case together with four cases in the literature indicate that external radiation therapy should be considered in locally unresectable endocrine pancreatic carcinomas. (author)

Pesticides Provoke Endocrine Disruption A Review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aly, M.A.S.

2006-01-01

Increasing numbers of environmental chemicals,including pesticides, have the ability to produce endocrine disruption by various mechanisms. such substances may affect hormone secretion from an endocrine gland and may alter the rate of hormone elimination from the body. environmental chemicals may also disrupt regulatory feedback mechanisms that exist between two endocrine organs; or may interact with a hormone receptor either by mimicking or antagonizing the actions of the natural hormone. these chemicals are referred to endocrine disruptive chemicals (EDC's). EDC's act to alter the blood hormone levels or the subsequent action of hormones . the use of radioimmunoassay(RIA) constitutes a superior and unrivalled tool for the determination and quantification of hormones.the endocrine system participates in virtually all important functions of an organism, such as sexual differentiation before birth, sexual maturation during puberty, reproduction in adulthood, growth, metabolism, digestion, cardiovascular function and excretion. hormones are also implicated in the etiology of certain cancers of hormone- dependent tissues, such as those of the breast, uterus, and prostate gland. therefore, endocrine disruption can potentially produce widespread effects. scientists should not stick to the past belief which presumes that pesticides have limited effect on some hormones. A paradigm shift in which a wider vision of understanding of the wholesome complex effects of pesticides on the whole body rather than a narrow limited understanding should take place

Phosphodiesterases in endocrine physiology and disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Vezzosi, Delphine; Bertherat, Jérôme

2011-08-01

The cAMP-protein kinase A pathway plays a central role in the development and physiology of endocrine tissues. cAMP mediates the intracellular effects of numerous peptide hormones. Various cellular and molecular alterations of the cAMP-signaling pathway have been observed in endocrine diseases. Phosphodiesterases (PDEs) are key regulatory enzymes of intracellular cAMP levels. Indeed, PDEs are the only known mechanism for inactivation of cAMP by catalysis to 5'-AMP. It has been suggested that disruption of PDEs could also have a role in the pathogenesis of many endocrine diseases. This review summarizes the most recent advances concerning the role of the PDEs in the physiopathology of endocrine diseases. The potential significance of this knowledge can be easily envisaged by the development of drugs targeting specific PDEs.

A critical review of histopathological findings associated with endocrine and non-endocrine hepatic toxicity in fish models.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Jeffrey C; Wheeler, James R

2018-04-01

Although frequently examined as a target organ for non-endocrine toxicity, histopathological evaluation of the liver is becoming a routine component of endocrine disruption studies that utilize various fish species as test subjects. However, the interpretation of microscopic liver findings can be challenging, especially when attempting to distinguish adverse changes associated with endocrine disrupting substances from those caused by systemic or direct hepatic toxicity. The purpose of this project was to conduct a critical assessment of the available peer-reviewed and grey literature concerning the histopathologic effects of reproductive endocrine active substances (EAS) and non-endocrine acting substances in the livers of fish models, and to determine if liver histopathology can be used to reliably distinguish endocrine from non-endocrine etiologies. The results of this review suggest that few compound-specific histopathologic liver effects have been identified, among which are estrogen agonist-induced increases in hepatocyte basophilia and proteinaceous intravascular fluid in adult male teleosts, and potentially, decreased hepatocyte basophilia in female fish exposed to substances that possess androgenic, anti-estrogenic, or aromatase inhibitory activity. This review also used published standardized methodology to assess the credibility of the histopathology data in each of the 117 articles that reported liver effects of treatment, and consequently it was determined that in only 37% of those papers were the data considered either highly credible or credible. The outcome of this work highlights the value of histopathologic liver evaluation as an investigative tool for EAS studies, and provides information that may have implications for EAS hazard assessment. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Calculation of research reactor RA power at uncontrolled reactivity changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cupac, S.

1978-01-01

The safety analysis of research reactor RA involves also the calculation of reactor power at uncontrolled reactivity changes. The corresponding computer code, based on Point Kinetics Model has been made. The short review of method applied for solving kinetic equations is given and several examples illustrating the reactor behaviour at various reactivity changes are presented. The results already obtained are giving rather rough picture of reactor behaviour in considered situations. This is the consequence of using simplified feed back and reactor cooling models, as well as temperature reactivity coefficients, which do not correspond to the actual reactor RA structure (which is now only partly fulfilled with 80% enriched uranium fuel). (author) [sr

Endocrine Diseases

Science.gov (United States)

... Syndrome (PCOS) Pregnancy and Thyroid Disease Primary Hyperparathyroidism Prolactinoma Thyroid Tests Turner Syndrome Contact Us The National ... Management Liver Disease Urologic Diseases Endocrine Diseases Diet & Nutrition Blood Diseases Diagnostic Tests La información de la ...

Endocrine Disruptors (Chapter 14) in Mammalian Toxicology Book

Science.gov (United States)

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are exogenous substances that alter endocrine system function(s) and consequently cause adverse health effects in intact organisms or its progeny. The endocrine system is important for a wide range of biological processes, from normal cell si...

The molecular classification of hereditary endocrine diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Lei; Ning, Guang

2015-12-01

Hereditary endocrine diseases are an important group of diseases with great heterogeneity. The current classification for hereditary endocrine disease is mostly based upon anatomy, which is helpful for pathophysiological interpretation, but does not address the pathogenic variability associated with different underlying genetic causes. Identification of an endocrinopathy-associated genetic alteration provides evidence for differential diagnosis, discovery of non-classical disease, and the potential for earlier diagnosis and targeted therapy. Molecular diagnosis should be routinely applied when managing patients with suspicion of hereditary disease. To enhance the accurate diagnosis and treatment of patients with hereditary endocrine diseases, we propose categorization of endocrine diseases into three groups based upon the function of the mutant gene: cell differentiation, hormone synthesis and action, and tumorigenesis. Each category was further grouped according to the specific gene function. We believe that this format would facilitate practice of precision medicine in the field of hereditary endocrine diseases.

Effect of Endocrine Disruptor Pesticides: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benoit Roig

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC are compounds that alter the normal functioning of the endocrine system of both wildlife and humans. A huge number of chemicals have been identified as endocrine disruptors, among them several pesticides. Pesticides are used to kill unwanted organisms in crops, public areas, homes and gardens, and parasites in medicine. Human are exposed to pesticides due to their occupations or through dietary and environmental exposure (water, soil, air. For several years, there have been enquiries about the impact of environmental factors on the occurrence of human pathologies. This paper reviews the current knowledge of the potential impacts of endocrine disruptor pesticides on human health.

Endocrine system: part 2.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendry, Charles; Farley, Alistair; McLafferty, Ella; Johnstone, Carolyn

2014-06-03

This article, the last in the life sciences series, is the second of two articles on the endocrine system. It discusses human growth hormone, the pancreas and adrenal glands. The relationships between hormones and their unique functions are also explored. It is important that nurses understand how the endocrine system works and its role in maintaining health to provide effective care to patients. Several disorders caused by human growth hormone or that affect the pancreas and adrenal glands are examined.

Intrinsic imperfections of endocrine replacement therapy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Romijn, J. A.; Smit, J. W. A.; Lamberts, S. W. J.

2003-01-01

Hormonal substitution therapy has been extremely successful, with respect to morbidity and mortality, in the treatment of the major syndromes of endocrine insufficiency. However, many patients treated for endocrine insufficiencies still suffer from more or less vague complaints and a decreased

ENDOCRINE OPHTHALMOPATHY: ETIOLOGY, PATHOGENESIS, CLINICAL PICTURE, DIAGNOSIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikonova L. V.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The relevance of the study of endocrine ophthalmopathy is due to the high prevalence of this disease and a high risk of developing impaired vision that leads to disability of patients. This lecture presents the main genetic, immunological, clinical manifestations of endocrine ophthalmopathy in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment of this pathology. The clinical picture of endocrine ophthalmopathy is various, unique for every patient and depends on the activity and severity of the process, which requires combined etiopathogenetic therapy. The importance of timely diagnosis for endocrine ophthalmopathy with an assessment of the activity of the process for choosing the right tactics for managing patients is very high.

Research priorities for child and adolescent physical activity and sedentary behaviours

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gillis, Lauren; Tomkinson, Grant; Olds, Timothy

2013-01-01

The quantity and quality of studies in child and adolescent physical activity and sedentary behaviour have rapidly increased, but research directions are often pursued in a reactive and uncoordinated manner.......The quantity and quality of studies in child and adolescent physical activity and sedentary behaviour have rapidly increased, but research directions are often pursued in a reactive and uncoordinated manner....

The eunuchs of India: An endocrine eye opener

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjay Kalra

2012-01-01

Full Text Available There are established guidelines for the endocrine and overall treatment of transsexual persons. These guidelines provide information about the optimal endocrine management of male-to-female and female-to-male transsexual persons. India has a large community of eunuchs, also known as hijras, who are men with gender identity disorders. While this community has been studied from a social and medical point of new, no endocrine work has been done in them. This exploratory article tries to discuss the endocrine status, health, and management of the eunuchs.

Respiratory manifestations in endocrine diseases

OpenAIRE

LENCU, CODRU?A; ALEXESCU, TEODORA; PETRULEA, MIRELA; LENCU, MONICA

2016-01-01

The control mechanisms of respiration as a vital function are complex: voluntary ? cortical, and involuntary ? metabolic, neural, emotional and endocrine. Hormones and hypothalamic neuropeptides (that act as neurotrasmitters and neuromodulators in the central nervous system) play a role in the regulation of respiration and in bronchopulmonary morphology. This article presents respiratory manifestations in adult endocrine diseases that evolve with hormone deficit or hypersecretion. In hyperthy...

Psychosocial approach to endocrine disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Sonino, Nicoletta; Tomba, Elena; Fava, Giovanni A

2007-01-01

In recent years, there has been growing interest in the psychosocial aspects of endocrine disease, such as the role of life stress in the pathogenesis of some conditions, their association with affective disorders, and the presence of residual symptoms after adequate treatment. In clinical endocrinology, exploration of psychosocial antecedents may elucidate the temporal relationships between life events and symptom onset, as it has been shown to be relevant for pituitary (Cushing's disease, hyperprolactinemia) or thyroid (Graves' disease) conditions, as well as the role of allostatic load, linked to chronic stress, in uncovering a person's vulnerability. After endocrine abnormalities are established, they are frequently associated with a wide range of psychological symptoms: at times, such symptoms reach the level of psychiatric illness (mainly mood and anxiety disorders); at other times, however, they can only be identified by the subclinical forms of assessment provided by the Diagnostic Criteria for Psychosomatic Research (DCPR). Indeed, in a population study, the majority of patients suffered from at least one of the three DCPR syndromes considered: irritable mood, demoralization, persistent somatization. In particular, irritable mood was found to occur in 46% of 146 patients successfully treated for endocrine conditions, a rate similar to that found in cardiology and higher than in oncology and gastroenterology. Long-standing endocrine disorders may imply a degree of irreversibility of the pathological process and induce highly individualized affective responses. In patients who showed persistence or even worsening of psychological distress upon proper endocrine treatment, the value of appropriate psychiatric interventions was underscored. As it happened in other fields of clinical medicine, a conceptual shift from a merely biomedical care to a psychosomatic consideration of the person and his/her quality of life appears to be necessary for improving

Neurotransmitters and putative neuromodulators in the gut of Anguilla anguilla (L.. Localizations in the enteric nervous and endocrine systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A Veggetti

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The gut of silver eels (Anguilla anguilla L. was investigated in order to describe both the cholinergic and adrenergic intramural innervations, and the localization of possible accessory neuromediators. Histochemical reactions for the demonstration of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, reduced form-(NADPH-diaphorase and acetylcholinesterese (AChEase were performed, as well as the immunohistochemical testing of tyrosine hydroxylase, met-enkephalin, substance P, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP, bombesin, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP, neuropeptide Y (NPY, somatostatin, cholecystokinin-octapeptide (CCK-8, serotonin, cholineacetyltransferase. The results evidenced a different pattern in comparison with other vertebrates, namely mammals, and with other fish. Both NADPH-diaphorase and AChEase activities were histochemically detected all along the gut in the myenteric plexus, the inner musculature and the propria-submucosa. Tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity was observed in the intestinal tract only, both in the myenteric plexus and in the inner musculature. Several neuropeptides (metenkephalin, CGRP, bombesin, substance P, VIP, NPY, somatostatin were, in addition, detected in the intramural innervation; some of them also in epithelial cells of the diffuse endocrine system (met-enkephalin, substance P, NPY, somatostatin. Serotonin was only present in endocrine cells. Tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity was present in localizations to those of similar NADPHdiaphorase- reactivity, and in the same nerve bundles in which substance P- and CGRP-likeimmunoreactivities were detectable in the intestinal tract. In addition, NADPH-diaphorase-reactive neurons showed an anatomical relationship with AChEase-reactive nerve terminals, and a similar relationship existed between the latter and substance P-like immunoreactivity.

Cloning of the relative genes of endocrine exophthalmos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng, JG

2004-01-01

Aim: In order to clarify the pathogenesis of endocrine exophthalmos, and lay foundations for finding the new functions of its relative genes, the cloning of its relative genes was carried out. Methods: The thyroid tissues of 10 hyperthyroidism patients, 5 of them with endocrine exophthalmos and 5 without that, were obtained. Their mRNA were collected respectively by using Quick Prep Micro mRNA purification kit. Then the same amount of the mRNA from 5 patients with endocrine exophthalmos was added into an eppendorf tube to form a mRNA pool. And that of the 5 patients without endocrine exophthalmos was also prepared as the other pool. As a model, the pool was used to synthesize the single and double chains of cDNA through SMART Tm PCR cDNA Synthesis Kit. The double chains cDNA from the endocrine exophthalmos patients, being used as tester, and that from the patients without endocrine exophthalmos, being used as driver, were digested by restriction endonucleases Hae III to get the fragments which was less than 500 bases. The tester cDNA was ligated with adapt or 1 or 2 respectively. Then the subtractive suppressive hybridization was performed between tester and driver cDNA. And the efficacies of subtraction were measured. The differential genes between the thyroid tissues of endocrine exophthalmos and the thyroid tissues without endocrine exophthalmos were obtained through two cycles of subtractive hybridization and two cycles PCR. The differential genes were cloned into the vector of pT-Adv, and then transformed into E.coliDH5a. 48 white clonies were selected to build the subtractive suppressive library of the relative genes of endocrine exophthalmos. The primer 2 was applied for the colony PCR of the relative genes. The amplified genes were obtained and purified by using Quaqwich Spine PCR Purification Kit. According to the principle of random primer, the double chains cDNA from the thyroid tissues with or without endocrine exophthalmos were digested by Hae III

Scintigraphic imaging of endocrine organs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gross, M.D.; Shapiro, B.; Thrall, J.H.; Freitas, J.E.; Beierwaltes, W.H.

1984-01-01

The nuclear medicine approach to the portrayal of endocrine organs is unique; the scintigraphic images provide not only anatomic and localization information, but in many instances allow a quantitative assessment of organ function. The ability to image endocrine glands is based upon the design of radionuclides and radiopharmaceuticals with characteristics to take advantage of many unique and specific biochemical and advantage of many unique and specific biochemical and metabolic functions of these tissues. The recent introduction of new radiopharmaceutical and tracers has provided the consulting endocrinologist with imaging procedures that allow localization and functional characterization not available by other single, noninvasive diagnostic modalities. This review will serve as an update of the available techniques to image and quantitate the function of the endocrine glands using the nuclear medicine approach

PET and endocrine tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rigo, P.; Belhocine, T.; Hustinx, R.; Foidart-Willems, J.

2000-01-01

The authors review the main indications of PET examination, and specifically of 18 FDG, in the assessment of endocrine tumors: of the thyroid, of the parathyroid, of the adrenal and of the pituitary glands. Neuroendocrine tumors, gastro-entero-pancreatic or carcinoid tumors are also under the scope. Usually, the most differentiated tumors show only poor uptake of the FDG as they have a weak metabolic and proliferative activity. In the assessment of endocrine tumors, FDG-PET should be used only after most specific nuclear examinations been performed. (author)

Management of endocrine orbitopathy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kahaly, G.J.

2001-01-01

Endocrine orbitopathy is the most common extrathyroidal manifestation of Basedow's disease and is characterized by a lymphocyte infiltration of the peribulbar space. Infiltrating and activated T cells react with orbital target cells and secrete cytokines, leading to accumulation of glycosaminoglycans, interstitial edema, and enlargement of the extra ocular muscels. Interdisciplinary management is recommended for rapid diagnosis and effective therapy of patients with endocrine orbitopathy. Immunosuppressive treatment is often used initially, and by suppressing inflammatory changes, it can result in subjective and objective improvement of thyroid eye disease. (orig.) [de

Update on endocrine disturbances in anorexia nervosa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Støving, R K; Hangaard, J; Hagen, C

2001-01-01

The marked endocrine changes that occur in anorexia nervosa have aroused a great deal of interest, and over the last decade much research has been conducted in this field. The endocrine disturbances are not specific to this disorder, as they also occur in starvation states secondary to other causes...... of the large body of literature concerning endocrine aspects of anorexia nervosa with the main focus on the latest results, which provide leads for potential etiological theories....

Temperature and Stresses Estimation in Reactivity Control Rods for CAREM-25 Reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markiewicz, Mario; Estevez, Esteban

2000-01-01

The reactivity control rods are a critical component regarding safety.Its correct operation when required must be ensured.For this purpose, this component must maintain its operating capacity during all its residence time and under any foreseen operation condition.To evaluate the behaviour of reactivity control rods, it is necessary to analyse the demands they are exposed to, determining from the mechanical point of view, the residence time in the reactor core.In this report, using analytical calculations, the parameters affecting the performance of the reactivity control rods are analysed, with the objective of determine from the mechanical point of view, its behaviour and residence time

Diagnosis and pathology of endocrine diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shriver, B.D.

1988-01-01

This book contains 22 papers under the headings of Diagnosis and Pathology of endocrine diseases. Topics covered include: Laboratory tests in the diagnosis and management of thyroid disorders, Pathology of thyroid diseases, Diagnosis of adrenourtical disease, Radiologic techniques in evaluating endocrine disorders; and the Pituitary and adrenal glands

Diagnosis and pathology of endocrine diseases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shriver, B.D.

1988-01-01

This book contains 22 papers under the headings of Diagnosis and Pathology of endocrine diseases. Topics covered include: Laboratory tests in the diagnosis and management of thyroid disorders, Pathology of thyroid diseases, Diagnosis of adrenourtical disease, Radiologic techniques in evaluating endocrine disorders; and the Pituitary and adrenal glands.

Oxidative stress and the ageing endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Vitale, Giovanni; Salvioli, Stefano; Franceschi, Claudio

2013-04-01

Ageing is a process characterized by a progressive decline in cellular function, organismal fitness and increased risk of age-related diseases and death. Several hundred theories have attempted to explain this phenomenon. One of the most popular is the 'oxidative stress theory', originally termed the 'free radical theory'. The endocrine system seems to have a role in the modulation of oxidative stress; however, much less is known about the role that oxidative stress might have in the ageing of the endocrine system and the induction of age-related endocrine diseases. This Review outlines the interactions between hormones and oxidative metabolism and the potential effects of oxidative stress on ageing of endocrine organs. Many different mechanisms that link oxidative stress and ageing are discussed, all of which converge on the induction or regulation of inflammation. All these mechanisms, including cell senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction and microRNA dysregulation, as well as inflammation itself, could be targets of future studies aimed at clarifying the effects of oxidative stress on ageing of endocrine glands.

Endocrine pancreatic function changes after acute pancreatitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Deqing; Xu, Yaping; Zeng, Yue; Wang, Xingpeng

2011-10-01

This study aimed to investigate the impairment of pancreatic endocrine function and the associated risk factors after acute pancreatitis (AP). Fifty-nine patients were subjected to tests of pancreatic function after an attack of pancreatitis. The mean time after the event was 3.5 years. Pancreatic endocrine function was evaluated by fasting blood glucose (FBG), glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting blood insulin, and C-peptide. Homeostasis model assessment was used to evaluate insulin resistance and islet β-cell function. Pancreatic exocrine function was evaluated by fecal elastase 1. Factors that could influence endocrine function were also investigated. Nineteen patients (32%) were found to have elevated FBG, whereas 5 (8%) had abnormal glycosylated hemoglobin levels. The levels of FBG, fasting blood insulin, and C-peptide were higher in patients than in controls (P endocrine insufficiency. Pancreatic exocrine functional impairment was found at the same time. Endocrine functional impairment with insulin resistance was found in patients after AP. Obesity, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes-related symptoms increased the likelihood of developing functional impairment after AP.

Endocrine Dysfunctions in Patients with Inherited Metabolic Diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Erdöl, Şahin; Sağlam, Halil

2016-09-01

Inherited metabolic diseases (IMDs) can affect many organ systems, including the endocrine system. There are limited data regarding endocrine dysfunctions related to IMDs in adults, however, no data exist in pediatric patients with IMDs. The aim of this study was to investigate endocrine dysfunctions in patients with IMDs by assessing their demographic, clinical, and laboratory data. Data were obtained retrospectively from the medical reports of patients with IMDs who were followed by the division of pediatric metabolism and nutrition between June 2011 and November 2013. In total, 260 patients [139 males (53%) and 121 females (47%)] with an IMD diagnosis were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 5.94 (range; 0.08 to 49) years and 95.8% (249 of 260 patients) were in the pediatric age group. Growth status was evaluated in 258 patients and of them, 27 (10.5%) had growth failure, all cases of which were attributed to non-endocrine reasons. There was a significant correlation between growth failure and serum albumin levels below 3.5 g/dL (p=0.002). Only three of 260 (1.1%) patients had endocrine dysfunction. Of these, one with lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency and another with Kearns-Sayre syndrome had diabetes, and one with glycerol kinase deficiency had glucocorticoid deficiency. Endocrine dysfunction in patients with IMDs is relatively rare. For this reason, there is no need to conduct routine endocrine evaluations in most patients with IMDs unless a careful and detailed history and a physical examination point to an endocrine dysfunction.

Endocrine potency of wastewater: Contents of endocrine disrupting chemicals and effects measured by in vivo and in vitro assays

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kusk, Kresten Ole; Krüger, Tanja; Long, Manhai

2011-01-01

chemical analysis and a battery of bioassays. Influent samples, collected at the first STP grate, and effluent samples, collected after the sewage treatment, were extracted using solid phase extraction. Extracts were analyzed for the content of a range of industrial chemicals with endocrine disrupting...... properties: phthalate metabolites, parabens, industrial phenols, ultraviolet screens, and natural and synthetic steroid estrogens. The endocrine disrupting bioactivity and toxicity of the extracts were analyzed in cell culture assay for the potency to affect the function of the estrogen, androgen, aryl......Industrial and municipal effluents are important sources of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) discharged into the aquatic environment. This study investigated the endocrine potency of wastewater and the cleaning efficiency of two typical urban Danish sewage treatment plants (STPs), using...

Borylnitrenes: electrophilic reactive intermediates with high reactivity towards C-H bonds.

Science.gov (United States)

Bettinger, Holger F; Filthaus, Matthias

2010-12-21

Borylnitrenes (catBN 3a and pinBN 3b; cat = catecholato, pin = pinacolato) are reactive intermediates that show high tendency towards insertion into the C-H bonds of unactivated hydrocarbons. The present article summarizes the matrix isolation investigations that were aimed at identifying, characterizing and investigating the chemical behaviour of 3a by spectroscopic means, and of the experiments in solution and in the gas phase that were performed with 3b. Comparison with the reactivity reported for difluorovinylidene 1a in solid argon indicates that 3a shows by and large similar reactivity, but only after photochemical excitation. The derivative 3b inserts into the C-H bonds of hydrocarbon solvents in high yields and thus allows the formation of primary amines, secondary amines, or amides from "unreactive" hydrocarbons. It can also be used for generation of methylamine or methylamide from methane in the gas phase at room temperature. Remaining challenges in the chemistry of borylnitrenes are briefly summarized.

Purinergic signaling pathways in endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Bjelobaba, Ivana; Janjic, Marija M; Stojilkovic, Stanko S

2015-09-01

Adenosine-5'-triphosphate is released by neuroendocrine, endocrine, and other cell types and acts as an extracellular agonist for ligand-gated P2X cationic channels and G protein-coupled P2Y receptors in numerous organs and tissues, including the endocrine system. The breakdown of ATP by ectonucleotidases not only terminates its extracellular messenger functions, but also provides a pathway for the generation of two additional agonists: adenosine 5'-diphosphate, acting via some P2Y receptors, and adenosine, a native agonist for G protein-coupled adenosine receptors, also expressed in the endocrine system. This article provides a review of purinergic signaling pathways in the hypothalamic magnocellular neurosecretory cells and neurohypophysis, hypothalamic parvocellular neuroendocrine system, adenohypophysis, and effector glands organized in five axes: hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal, hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, hypothalamic-pituitary-growth hormone, and hypothalamic-pituitary-prolactin. We attempted to summarize current knowledge of purinergic receptor subtypes expressed in the endocrine system, including their roles in intracellular signaling, hormone secretion, and other cell functions. We also briefly review the release mechanism for adenosine-5'-triphosphate by neuroendocrine, endocrine and surrounding cells, the enzymes involved in adenosine-5'-triphosphate hydrolysis to adenosine-5'-diphosphate and adenosine, and the relevance of this pathway for sequential activation of receptors and termination of signaling. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Purinergic Signaling Pathways in Endocrine System

Science.gov (United States)

Bjelobaba, Ivana; Janjic, Marija M.; Stojilkovic, Stanko S.

2015-01-01

Adenosine-5′-triphosphate is released by neuroendocrine, endocrine, and other cell types and acts as an extracellular agonist for ligand-gated P2X cationic channels and G protein-coupled P2Y receptors in numerous organs and tissues, including the endocrine system. The breakdown of ATP by ectonucleotidases not only terminates its extracellular messenger functions, but also provides a pathway for the generation of two additional agonists: adenosine 5′-diphosphate, acting via some P2Y receptors, and adenosine, a native agonist for G protein-coupled adenosine receptors, also expressed in the endocrine system. This article provides a review of purinergic signaling pathways in the hypothalamic magnocellular neurosecretory cells and neurohypophysis, hypothalamic parvocellular neuroendocrine system, adenohypophysis, and effector glands organized in five axes: hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal, hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, hypothalamic-pituitary-growth hormone, and hypothalamic-pituitary-prolactin. We attempted to summarize current knowledge of purinergic receptor subtypes expressed in the endocrine system, including their roles in intracellular signaling, hormone secretion, and other cell functions. We also briefly review the release mechanism for adenosine-5′-triphosphate by neuroendocrine, endocrine and surrounding cells, the enzymes involved in adenosine-5′-triphosphate hydrolysis to adenosine-5′-diphosphate and adenosine, and the relevance of this pathway for sequential activation of receptors and termination of signaling. PMID:25960051

Vocal correlates of emotional reactivity within and across contexts in domestic pigs (Sus scrofa).

Science.gov (United States)

Leliveld, Lisette M C; Düpjan, Sandra; Tuchscherer, Armin; Puppe, Birger

2017-11-01

Vocalizations have long been recognized to encode information about an individual's emotional state and, as such, have contributed to the study of emotions in animals. However, the potential of vocalizations to also encode information about an individual's emotional reactivity has received much less attention. In this study, we aimed to test whether the vocalizations of domestic pigs contain correlates of emotional reactivity that are consistent between different contexts. We recorded vocalizations of 120 young female pigs in an experimental arena in two consecutive recording contexts, social isolation and an encounter with a familiar human. Simultaneously, we measured their heart rate and behaviour to determine their emotional reactivity in the same context (within-context). In addition, we aimed to determine the subjects' emotional reactivity in other contexts (across-context) by measuring their behaviour in four common tests of emotional reactivity, the human approach test, the open door test, the open field test and the novel object test. Using a cluster analysis, we identified four different call types. Significant inter-context correlations were found for all call types, suggesting that pig vocalizations are consistent within an individual across contexts. The call rate and the proportions of the individual call types were found to correlate significantly with indices of emotional reactivity both within and across contexts. Thereby, we found more significant correlations to indices of emotional reactivity within context (behavioural and physiological response during recording) compared to across context (behavioural response in the four emotional reactivity tests). The consistency of the vocal correlates to emotional reactivity between the different contexts depended on the call type. While we found moderate evidence that the high grunt is indicative of more active, more explorative and less fearful individuals both within as well as across contexts, the

Glucose-induced effects and joker function of glucose: endocrine or genotoxic prevalence?

Science.gov (United States)

Berstein, L M; Vasilyev, D A; Poroshina, T E; Kovalenko, I G

2006-10-01

The steady increase in chronic "glycemic load" is characteristic for modern times. Among myriad of glucose functions, two principals can be emphasized: first, endocrine (in particular, ability to induce insulin secretion) and second, DNA-damaging related to formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). It was suggested by us earlier that a shift in the ratio of mentioned functions reflects a possible "joker" role of glucose as an important modifier of human pathology. Therefore, we embarked on a study to investigate an individual effect of peroral glucose challenge on serum insulin level and ROS generation by mononuclears (luminol-dependent/latex-induced chemiluminescence) in 20 healthy people aged between 28-75. Concentrations of glucose, blood lipids, carbonylated proteins, malondialdehyde, leptin and TNF-alpha were determined as well. On the basis of received data two separate groups could be distinguished: one (n=8), in which glucose stimulation of ROS generation by mononuclears was increased and relatively prevailed over induction of insulin secretion (state of the so called glucose-induced genotoxicity, GIGT), and another (n=12), in which signs of GIGT were not revealed. People who belonged to the first group were characterized with a tendency to lower body mass index, blood leptin and cholesterol and to higher TNF-alpha concentration. Thus, if joker function of glucose is realized in "genotoxic mode", the phenotype (and probably genotype) of subjects may be rather distinctive to the one discovered in glucose-induced "endocrine prevalence". Whether such changes may serve as a pro-mutagenic or pro-endocrine basis for the rise of different chronic diseases or, rather, different features/aggressiveness of the same disease warrants further study.

An androgenic agricultural contaminant impairs female reproductive behaviour in a freshwater fish.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minna Saaristo

Full Text Available Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs are a large group of environmental pollutants that can interfere with the endocrine system function of organisms at very low levels. One compound of great concern is trenbolone, which is widely used as a growth promoter in the cattle industry in many parts of the world. The aim of this study was to test how short-term (21-day exposure to an environmentally relevant concentration of 17β-trenbolone (measured concentration 6 ng/L affects reproductive behaviour and fin morphology in the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki. The mosquitofish is a sexually dimorphic livebearer with males inseminating females using their modified anal fin, the gonopodium, as an intromittent organ. Although the species has a coercive mating system, females are able to exert some control over the success of male mating attempts by selectively associating with, or avoiding, certain males over others. We found that females exposed to trenbolone approached males less and spent more time swimming away from males than non-exposed (control females. By contrast, we found no difference in the behaviour of exposed and non-exposed males. Furthermore, exposure did not affect the anal fin morphology of males or females. This is the first study to demonstrate that exposure to an androgenic EDC can impair female (but not male behaviour. Our study illustrates how anthropogenic contaminants can have sex-specific effects, and highlights the need to examine the behavioural responses of environmental contaminants in both sexes.

Pediatric endocrine surgery development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan I. Dedov

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Department of pediatric surgery at the Endocrinology Research Centre has been around for nearly two years. During operation, surgical treatment has received more than 500 patients with various endocrine disorders. The article discusses modern diagnostic approaches and surgical options for diseases included in the new direction of pediatric surgery – endocrine surgery in children. There are discussions about options for radical treatment of Graves disease in children, positive and negative aspects of surgical and radioactive iodine treatment. Is own stats of postoperative hyperparathyroidism. Is proposed to optimize the algorithm of actions in identifying thyroid nodules in children. In primary hyperparathyroidism, the emphasis is on the complexity of the postoperative management of patients related to the feature of children’s age in determining the severity of the reactions on the water-electrolyte disorders. Separately reviewed the literature of the adrenal glands diseases in children, demonstrating their own clinical cases which required surgical intervention. The authors describe the possibilities of modern neurosurgical equipment in the Endocrinology Research Centre in operations on the pituitary gland in children. Patients of different age groups performed transnasal transsphenoidal removal of tumors of the chiasm-sellar region using endoscopic assistance. The article also cited research data of pancreas diseases and their surgical treatment. Much attention is paid to the gender section of endocrine surgery in children. Discusses the tactics in disorders of sex development, gonadal tumors in children, diseases of the breast. In conclusion outlines the prospects for the development of endocrine surgery in children.

Trauma and the endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Mesquita, Joana; Varela, Ana; Medina, José Luís

2010-12-01

The endocrine system may be the target of different types of trauma with varied consequences. The present article discusses trauma of the hypothalamic-pituitary axes, adrenal glands, gonads, and pancreas. In addition to changes in circulating hormone levels due to direct injury to these structures, there may be an endocrine response in the context of the stress caused by the trauma. Copyright © 2010 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Precommitment low-level Neurog3 expression defines a long-lived mitotic endocrine-biased progenitor pool that drives production of endocrine-committed cells

Science.gov (United States)

Bechard, Matthew E.; Bankaitis, Eric D.; Hipkens, Susan B.; Ustione, Alessandro; Piston, David W.; Yang, Yu-Ping; Magnuson, Mark A.; Wright, Christopher V.E.

2016-01-01

The current model for endocrine cell specification in the pancreas invokes high-level production of the transcription factor Neurogenin 3 (Neurog3) in Sox9+ bipotent epithelial cells as the trigger for endocrine commitment, cell cycle exit, and rapid delamination toward proto-islet clusters. This model posits a transient Neurog3 expression state and short epithelial residence period. We show, however, that a Neurog3TA.LO cell population, defined as Neurog3 transcriptionally active and Sox9+ and often containing nonimmunodetectable Neurog3 protein, has a relatively high mitotic index and prolonged epithelial residency. We propose that this endocrine-biased mitotic progenitor state is functionally separated from a pro-ductal pool and endows them with long-term capacity to make endocrine fate-directed progeny. A novel BAC transgenic Neurog3 reporter detected two types of mitotic behavior in Sox9+ Neurog3TA.LO progenitors, associated with progenitor pool maintenance or derivation of endocrine-committed Neurog3HI cells, respectively. Moreover, limiting Neurog3 expression dramatically increased the proportional representation of Sox9+ Neurog3TA.LO progenitors, with a doubling of its mitotic index relative to normal Neurog3 expression, suggesting that low Neurog3 expression is a defining feature of this cycling endocrine-biased state. We propose that Sox9+ Neurog3TA.LO endocrine-biased progenitors feed production of Neurog3HI endocrine-committed cells during pancreas organogenesis. PMID:27585590

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Disease Susceptibility

Science.gov (United States)

Schug, Thaddeus T.; Janesick, Amanda; Blumberg, Bruce; Heindel, Jerrold J.

2011-01-01

Environmental chemicals have significant impacts on biological systems. Chemical exposures during early stages of development can disrupt normal patterns of development and thus dramatically alter disease susceptibility later in life. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) interfere with the body's endocrine system and produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and immune effects in humans. A wide range of substances, both natural and man-made, are thought to cause endocrine disruption, including pharmaceuticals, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and other pesticides, and components of plastics such as bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. EDCs are found in many everyday products– including plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food additives, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides. EDCs interfere with the synthesis, secretion, transport, activity, or elimination of natural hormones. This interference can block or mimic hormone action, causing a wide range of effects. This review focuses on the mechanisms and modes of action by which EDCs alter hormone signaling. It also includes brief overviews of select disease endpoints associated with endocrine disruption. PMID:21899826

Arterial and venous thrombosis in endocrine diseases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Zaane, Bregje; Stuijver, Danka J. F.; Squizzato, Alessandro; Gerdes, Victor E. A.

2013-01-01

Endocrine diseases have been associated with cardiovascular events. Both altered coagulation and fibrinolysis markers and thrombotic disorders have been described in several endocrine diseases. This review summarizes the evidence on the influence of thyroid diseases, cortisol excess and deficiency,

Endocrine Abnormalities in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuczera, Piotr; Adamczak, Marcin; Wiecek, Andrzej

2015-01-01

In patients with chronic kidney disease the alterations of the endocrine system may arise from several causes. The kidney is the site of degradation as well as synthesis of many different hormones. Moreover, a number of concomitant pathological conditions such as inflammation, metabolic acidosis and malnutrition may participate in the pathogenesis of endocrine abnormalities in this group of patients. The most pronounced endocrine abnormalities in patients with chronic kidney disease are the deficiencies of: calcitriol, testosterone, insulin-like growth factor and, erythropoietin (EPO). Additionally accumulation of several hormones, such as: prolactin, growth hormone and insulin frequently also occur. The clinical consequences of the abovementioned endocrine abnormalities are among others: anemia, infertility and bone diseases.

Endocrine dysfunction among adult patients with tuberculosis: An African experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davis Kibirige

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A broad spectrum of endocrine conditions has been reported among adult patients with tuberculosis in Africa. This review aims to describe the magnitude and pathogenesis of the following endocrinopathies among patients with tuberculosis in Africa: adrenal insufficiency, diabetes mellitus, disorders of calcium and vitamin D metabolism, thyroid dysfunction and hypogonadism. PubMed database and Google scholar were used to search for the relevant published English language studies and case reports relating to endocrine abnormalities and tuberculosis in Africa up to July 2013. The search terms used were endocrine dysfunction, endocrine abnormalities, adrenal insufficiency, diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunction, hypogonadism, disorders of calcium and vitamin D metabolism, tuberculosis, Africa. Reference lists of the identified articles were further used to identify other studies. Adrenal insufficiency, diabetes mellitus and calcium-vitamin D abnormalities were the most prevalent and frequently reported endocrine disorders among adult patients with tuberculosis in Africa. A meticulous endocrine evaluation among tuberculosis patients with suspected endocrine abnormalities should be encouraged in Africa and other high TB endemic regions. Treatment of these endocrine disorders has generally been shown to improve quality of life and reduce mortality.

Multiple endocrine diseases in dogs: 35 cases (1996-2009).

Science.gov (United States)

Blois, Shauna L; Dickie, Erica; Kruth, Stephen A; Allen, Dana G

2011-06-15

To characterize a population of dogs from a tertiary care center with 2 or more endocrine disorders, including the specific disorders and time intervals between diagnosis of each disorder. Retrospective case series. 35 dogs with 2 or more endocrine disorders. Medical records were reviewed, and the following was recorded: clinical signs, physical examination findings, and the results of CBC, serum biochemical analysis, urinalysis, aerobic bacterial culture of urine samples, endocrine testing, diagnostic imaging, and necropsy. 35 dogs with more than 1 endocrine disorder were identified. Seventy-seven percent (27/35) of the dogs were male, and the mean age at the time of diagnosis of the first endocrinopathy was 7.9 years. Miniature Schnauzer was the most common breed. Twenty-eight of 35 (80%) dogs had 2 disorders; 7 (20%) had 3 disorders. The most common combinations of disorders included diabetes mellitus and hyperadrenocorticism in 57.1 % (20/35) of dogs; hypoadrenocorticism and hypothyroidism in 22.9% (8/35) of dogs; and diabetes mellitus and hypothyroidism in 28.6% (10/35) of dogs. A mean of 14.5 months elapsed between diagnosis of the first and second endocrine disorders, whereas there was a mean of 31.1 months between diagnosis of the first and third endocrine disorders. Results suggested that the occurrence of multiple endocrine disorders was uncommon in dogs. The most common combinations of endocrine disorders in this population of dogs were diabetes mellitus and hyperadrenocorticism, followed by hypoadrenocorticism and hypothyroidism.

The clandestine organs of the endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia-Reyero, Natàlia

2018-02-01

This review analyzes what could be regarded as the "clandestine organs" of the endocrine system: the gut microbiome, the immune system, and the stress system. The immune system is very closely related to the endocrine system, with many intertwined processes and signals. Many researchers now consider the microbiome as an 'organ' that affects the organism at many different levels. While stress is certainly not an organ, it affects so many processes, including endocrine-related processes, that the stress response system deserved a special section in this review. Understanding the connections, effects, and feedback mechanisms between the different "clandestine organs" and the endocrine system will provide us with a better understanding of how an organism functions, as well as reinforce the idea that there are no independent organs or systems, but a complex, interacting network of molecules, cells, tissues, signaling pathways, and mechanisms that constitute an individual. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals-Mechanisms of action on male reproductive system.

Science.gov (United States)

Sidorkiewicz, Iwona; Zaręba, Kamil; Wołczyński, Sławomir; Czerniecki, Jan

2017-07-01

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are exogenous compounds that can cause disturbances in the endocrine system and have multiple harmful effects on health by targeting different organs and systems in the human body. Mass industrial production and widespread use of EDCs have resulted in worldwide contamination. Accumulating evidence suggest that human exposure to EDCs is related to the impairment of male reproductive function and can interrupt other hormonally regulated metabolic processes, particularly if exposure occurs during early development. Investigation of studies absent in previous reviews and meta-analysis of adverse effects of EDCs on functioning of the male reproductive system is the core of this work. Four main modes of action of EDCs on male fertility have been summarized in this review. First, studies describing estrogen- pathway disturbing chemicals are investigated. Second, androgen-signaling pathway alterations and influence on androgen sensitive tissues are examined. Third, evaluation of steroidogenesis dysfunction is discussed by focusing on the steroid hormone biosynthesis pathway, which is targeted by EDCs. Last, the reportedly destructive role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) on sperm function is discussed. Spermatogenesis is a remarkably complex process, hence multiple studies point out various dysfunctions depending on the development state at which the exposure occurred. Collected data show the need to account for critical windows of exposure such as fetal, perinatal and pubertal periods as well as effects of mixtures of several compounds in future research.

SLEEP APNEA IN ENDOCRINE DISORDERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. V. Misnikova

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the recent years, an association between sleep apnea and a  number of endocrine diseases has been established. The secretion of many hormones after falling asleep is considerably changed, compared to the period of wakefulness. In patients with endocrine disorders, abnormal hormonal secretion and its pathological consequences may contribute to sleep apnea. Sleep fragmentation and intermittent hypoxia arising in sleep apnea result in a decrease in insulin sensitivity, which contributes to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The prevalence of sleep apnea increases in acromegaly, which may affect the risk of cardio-pulmonary complications. There is an association between sleep apnea and testosterone treatment in men, as well as in postmenopausal women. Sleep apnea in hypothyroidism is most frequently related to the development of hypothyroidism per se and can therefore be reversed with thyroid hormone replacement therapy. Timely detection and treatment of sleep apnea in patients with endocrine disorders can improve their survival prognosis and quality of life.

Endocrine manifestations in celiac disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Hugh James

2016-10-14

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune small intestinal mucosal disorder that often presents with diarrhea, malabsorption and weight loss. Often, one or more associated endocrine disorders may be associated with CD. For this review, methods involved an extensive review of published English-language materials. In children and adolescents, prospective studies have demonstrated a significant relationship to insulin-dependent or type 1 diabetes, whereas in adults, autoimmune forms of thyroid disease, particularly hypothyroidism, may commonly co-exist. In some with CD, multiple glandular endocrinopathies may also occur and complicate the initial presentation of the intestinal disease. In others presenting with an apparent isolated endocrine disorder, serological screening for underlying subclinical CD may prove to be positive, particularly if type 1 diabetes, autoimmune thyroid or other autoimmune endocrine diseases, such as Addison's disease are first detected. A number of reports have also recorded hypoparathyroidism or hypopituitarism or ovarian failure in CD and these may be improved with a strict gluten-free diet.

Neurocutaneous spectrum of multiple endocrine neoplasia-1

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shireen Furtado

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Multiple endocrine neoplasia type I or Wermer syndrome is characterized by primary hyperparathyroidism, enteropancreatic endocrine tumor, and a pituitary pathology. A 35-year-old male presented with visual field defects, hyperprolactinemia, and hypogonadism. He also had multiple infraumbilical skin-colored nodules. A syndromal association of Wermer syndrome was derived using the dermal, pituitary, parathyroid, and gastrointestinal hormonal manifestations of the tumor. The radiological and histological findings of lesion which underwent biopsy are discussed. The presence of collagenomas, lipomas, and hypopigmented macules in a patient with neuroendocrine symptoms should raise the suspicion of an underlying multiple endocrine neoplasia.

Endocrine and Metabolic Aspects of OSA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ravinder Goswami

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA is characterized by repeated spells of apnea.Collapsibility of hypopharynx due to multiple factors involving pharyngeal dilatormuscles and deposition of fat or fluid in the surrounding soft tissues are importantcontributing factors in its pathogenesis. OSA commonly affects obese individuals.Males are more commonly affected than the females probably due to the disturbingeffect of testosterone on sleep.The impact of OSA on human health include disturbances in endocrine and metabolicsystem affecting hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, adrenocorticotrophic-cortisolaxis, growth hormone, antidiuretic hormones and insulin resistance. There is atendency for predisposition of the metabolic syndrome or its components includingglycemic dysregulation, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and physical parameters relatedto adiposity. On the other hand, several endocrine disorders such as hypothyroidism,growth hormone excess, polycystic ovarian disease and testosterone replacement areassociated with increased prevalence of OSA.There is limited information on the effect of treatment of OSA by continuous positiveairway pressure (CPAP on the endocrine and metabolic disturbances. There is a needto conduct randomized controlled trials using CPAP therapy in patients with OSA andto study its cause and effect relationship with endocrine and metabolic disturbances.

Tailoring endocrine treatment for early breast cancer

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fontein, Duveken Berthe Yvonne

2014-01-01

This thesis describes several important aspects of adjuvant endocrine therapy for postmenopausal women with endocrine-sensitive, early-stage breast cancer. In our ongoing efforts to tailor treatment so as to provide the best possible care to each of our patients, we studied the influence of various

Antisocial behaviour in children with and without callous-unemotional traits.

Science.gov (United States)

Viding, Essi; Fontaine, Nathalie M G; McCrory, Eamon J

2012-05-01

More than 15 years of research have documented behavioural differences between callous-unemotional and non-callous subtypes of children with antisocial behaviour. Recent studies also suggest that children with callous-unemotional traits may be genetically vulnerable to antisocial behaviour, while those without callous-unemotional traits appear to have primarily environmental aetiology to their antisocial behaviour. Furthermore neurocognitive profiles differ between antisocial children with and without callous-unemotional traits. While the former group appears emotionally under-reactive, particularly to others' distress, the latter group may be emotionally over-reactive, particularly to perceived threat. In this review we provide an overview of the current evidence base with regard to callous-unemotional and non-callous subgroups of children with antisocial behaviour and discuss the implications of the current evidence base for prevention and intervention. This overview selectively focuses on recent advances in this area of research, as well as earlier studies where these help set the research context.

Cue reactivity towards shopping cues in female participants.

Science.gov (United States)

Starcke, Katrin; Schlereth, Berenike; Domass, Debora; Schöler, Tobias; Brand, Matthias

2013-03-01

Background and aims It is currently under debate whether pathological buying can be considered as a behavioural addiction. Addictions have often been investigated with cue-reactivity paradigms to assess subjective, physiological and neural craving reactions. The current study aims at testing whether cue reactivity towards shopping cues is related to pathological buying tendencies. Methods A sample of 66 non-clinical female participants rated shopping related pictures concerning valence, arousal, and subjective craving. In a subgroup of 26 participants, electrodermal reactions towards those pictures were additionally assessed. Furthermore, all participants were screened concerning pathological buying tendencies and baseline craving for shopping. Results Results indicate a relationship between the subjective ratings of the shopping cues and pathological buying tendencies, even if baseline craving for shopping was controlled for. Electrodermal reactions were partly related to the subjective ratings of the cues. Conclusions Cue reactivity may be a potential correlate of pathological buying tendencies. Thus, pathological buying may be accompanied by craving reactions towards shopping cues. Results support the assumption that pathological buying can be considered as a behavioural addiction. From a methodological point of view, results support the view that the cue-reactivity paradigm is suited for the investigation of craving reactions in pathological buying and future studies should implement this paradigm in clinical samples.

Behavioural and physiological consequences of acute social defeat in growing gilts : effects of the social environment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruis, Marko A W; de Groot, Johanna; Brake, JHAT; Ekkel, ED; van de Burgwal, JA; Erkens, JHF; Engel, B; Buist, WG; Blokhuis, HJ; Koolhaas, Jaap M

2001-01-01

Endocrine, behavioural and immunologic processes, together with body growth, were evaluated in gilts that were defeated at 10 weeks of age in resident-intruder tests. Immediately after defeat, gilts were either separated from or reunited with a familiar conspecific (litter-mate; always a barrow).

Schedule for Rating Disabilities; the Endocrine System. Final rule.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-02

This document amends the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Schedule for Rating Disabilities (VASRD) by revising the portion of the Schedule that addresses endocrine conditions and disorders of the endocrine system. The effect of this action is to ensure that the VASRD uses current medical terminology and to provide detailed and updated criteria for evaluation of endocrine disorders.

Endocrine causes of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Marino, Laura; Jornayvaz, François R

2015-10-21

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the industrialized world. The prevalence of NAFLD is increasing, becoming a substantial public health burden. NAFLD includes a broad spectrum of disorders, from simple conditions such as steatosis to severe manifestations such as fibrosis and cirrhosis. The relationship of NAFLD with metabolic alterations such as type 2 diabetes is well described and related to insulin resistance, with NAFLD being recognized as the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. However, NAFLD may also coincide with endocrine diseases such as polycystic ovary syndrome, hypothyroidism, growth hormone deficiency or hypercortisolism. It is therefore essential to remember, when discovering altered liver enzymes or hepatic steatosis on radiological exams, that endocrine diseases can cause NAFLD. Indeed, the overall prognosis of NAFLD may be modified by treatment of the underlying endocrine pathology. In this review, we will discuss endocrine diseases that can cause NALFD. Underlying pathophysiological mechanisms will be presented and specific treatments will be reviewed.

Syndromes that Link the Endocrine System and Genitourinary Tract.

Science.gov (United States)

Özlük, Yasemin; Kılıçaslan, Işın

2015-01-01

The endocrine system and genitourinary tract unite in various syndromes. Genitourinary malignancies may cause paraneoplastic endocrine syndromes by secreting hormonal substances. These entities include Cushing`s syndrome, hypercalcemia, hyperglycemia, polycythemia, hypertension, and inappropriate ADH or HCG production. The most important syndromic scenarios that links these two systems are hereditary renal cancer syndromes with specific genotype/phenotype correlation. There are also some very rare entities in which endocrine and genitourinary systems are involved such as Carney complex, congenital adrenal hyperplasia and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. We will review all the syndromes regarding manifestations present in endocrine and genitourinary organs.

The application of PET in endocrine tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Zhibin

2003-01-01

There are wide application of PET in endocrine tumors, including thyroid cancer, parathyroid adenoma, pheochromocytoma and neuroblastoma. Many papers concluded that in diagnosing endocrine tumors, PET does not show apparent advantages comparing with traditional radionuclide imaging methods. But as a useful complementary method, its clinical value has been recognized

Behavioural responses to human-induced environmental change.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuomainen, Ulla; Candolin, Ulrika

2011-08-01

The initial response of individuals to human-induced environmental change is often behavioural. This can improve the performance of individuals under sudden, large-scale perturbations and maintain viable populations. The response can also give additional time for genetic changes to arise and, hence, facilitate adaptation to new conditions. On the other hand, maladaptive responses, which reduce individual fitness, may occur when individuals encounter conditions that the population has not experienced during its evolutionary history, which can decrease population viability. A growing number of studies find human disturbances to induce behavioural responses, both directly and by altering factors that influence fitness. Common causes of behavioural responses are changes in the transmission of information, the concentration of endocrine disrupters, the availability of resources, the possibility of dispersal, and the abundance of interacting species. Frequent responses are alterations in habitat choice, movements, foraging, social behaviour and reproductive behaviour. Behavioural responses depend on the genetically determined reaction norm of the individuals, which evolves over generations. Populations first respond with individual behavioural plasticity, whereafter changes may arise through innovations and the social transmission of behavioural patterns within and across generations, and, finally, by evolution of the behavioural response over generations. Only a restricted number of species show behavioural adaptations that make them thrive in severely disturbed environments. Hence, rapid human-induced disturbances often decrease the diversity of native species, while facilitating the spread of invasive species with highly plastic behaviours. Consequently, behavioural responses to human-induced environmental change can have profound effects on the distribution, adaptation, speciation and extinction of populations and, hence, on biodiversity. A better understanding of

Long-term neuro-endocrine sequelae after treatment for childhood medulloblastoma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heikens, J.; Michiels, E. M.; Behrendt, H.; Endert, E.; Bakker, P. J.; Fliers, E.

1998-01-01

The occurrence of neuro-endocrine deficiencies following craniospinal irradiation for medulloblastoma is well known, but data concerning the spectrum and prevalence of endocrine abnormalities in adulthood are scarce. We studied endocrine function in 20 (median age 25 years) adult subjects, 8-25

Tributyltin: Advancing the Science on Assessing Endocrine Disruption with an Unconventional Endocrine-Disrupting Compound.

Science.gov (United States)

Lagadic, Laurent; Katsiadaki, Ioanna; Biever, Ron; Guiney, Patrick D; Karouna-Renier, Natalie; Schwarz, Tamar; Meador, James P

Tributyltin (TBT) has been recognized as an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) for several decades. However, only in the last decade, was its primary endocrine mechanism of action (MeOA) elucidated-interactions with the nuclear retinoid-X receptor (RXR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), and their heterodimers. This molecular initiating event (MIE) alters a range of reproductive, developmental, and metabolic pathways at the organism level. It is noteworthy that a variety of MeOAs have been proposed over the years for the observed endocrine-type effects of TBT; however, convincing data for the MIE was provided only recently and now several researchers have confirmed and refined the information on this MeOA. One of the most important lessons learned from years of research on TBT concerns apparent species sensitivity. Several aspects such as the rates of uptake and elimination, chemical potency, and metabolic capacity are all important for identifying the most sensitive species for a given chemical, including EDCs. For TBT, much of this was discovered by trial and error, hence important relationships and important sensitive taxa were not identified until several decades after its introduction to the environment. As recognized for many years, TBT-induced responses are known to occur at very low concentrations for molluscs, a fact that has more recently also been observed in fish species. This review explores the MeOA and effects of TBT in different species (aquatic molluscs and other invertebrates, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals) according to the OECD Conceptual Framework for Endocrine Disruptor Testing and Assessment (CFEDTA). The information gathered on biological effects that are relevant for populations of aquatic animals was used to construct Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSDs) based on No Observed Effect Concentrations (NOECs) and Lowest Observed Effect Concentrations (LOECs). Fish appear at the lower end of these distributions

Tributyltin: Advancing the science on assessing endocrine disruption with an unconventional endocrine-disrupting compound

Science.gov (United States)

Lagadic, Laurent; Katsiadaki, Ioanna; Biever, Ronald C.; Guiney, Patrick; Karouna-Renier, Natalie; Schwarz, Tamar; Meador, James P.

2018-01-01

Tributyltin (TBT) has been recognized as an endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) for several decades. However, only in the last decade, was its primary endocrine mechanism of action (MeOA) elucidated—interactions with the nuclear retinoid-X receptor (RXR), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), and their heterodimers. This molecular initiating event (MIE) alters a range of reproductive, developmental, and metabolic pathways at the organism level. It is noteworthy that a variety of MeOAs have been proposed over the years for the observed endocrine-type effects of TBT; however, convincing data for the MIE was provided only recently and now several researchers have confirmed and refined the information on this MeOA. One of the most important lessons learned from years of research on TBT concerns apparent species sensitivity. Several aspects such as the rates of uptake and elimination, chemical potency, and metabolic capacity are all important for identifying the most sensitive species for a given chemical, including EDCs. For TBT, much of this was discovered by trial and error, hence important relationships and important sensitive taxa were not identified until several decades after its introduction to the environment. As recognized for many years, TBT-induced responses are known to occur at very low concentrations for molluscs, a fact that has more recently also been observed in fish species. This review explores the MeOA and effects of TBT in different species (aquatic molluscs and other invertebrates, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals) according to the OECD Conceptual Framework for Endocrine Disruptor Testing and Assessment (CFEDTA). The information gathered on biological effects that are relevant for populations of aquatic animals was used to construct Species Sensitivity Distributions (SSDs) based on No Observed Effect Concentrations (NOECs) and Lowest Observed Effect Concentrations (LOECs). Fish appear at the lower end of these distributions

Endocrine disrupting chemicals: harmful substances and how to test them

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olea-Serrano Nicolás

2002-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an analysis of the opinions of different groups from: scientists, international regulatory bodies, non-governmental organizations and industry; with an interest in the problem of identifying chemical substances with endocrine disrupting activity. There is also discussion of the consequences that exposure to endocrine disruptors may have for human health, considering concrete issues related to: the estimation of risk; the tests that must be used to detect endocrine disruption; the difficulties to establish an association between dose, time of exposure, individual susceptibility, and effect; and the attempts to create a census of endocrine disruptors. Finally, it is proposed that not all hormonal mimics should be included under the single generic denomination of endocrine disruptors.

Endocrine neoplasms in familial syndromes of hyperparathyroidism.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yulong; Simonds, William F

2016-06-01

Familial syndromes of hyperparathyroidism, including multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1), multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A (MEN2A), and the hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor (HPT-JT), comprise 2-5% of primary hyperparathyroidism cases. Familial syndromes of hyperparathyroidism are also associated with a range of endocrine and nonendocrine tumors, including potential malignancies. Complications of the associated neoplasms are the major causes of morbidities and mortalities in these familial syndromes, e.g., parathyroid carcinoma in HPT-JT syndrome; thymic, bronchial, and enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in MEN1; and medullary thyroid cancer and pheochromocytoma in MEN2A. Because of the different underlying mechanisms of neoplasia, these familial tumors may have different characteristics compared with their sporadic counterparts. Large-scale clinical trials are frequently lacking due to the rarity of these diseases. With technological advances and the development of new medications, the natural history, diagnosis, and management of these syndromes are also evolving. In this article, we summarize the recent knowledge on endocrine neoplasms in three familial hyperparathyroidism syndromes, with an emphasis on disease characteristics, molecular pathogenesis, recent developments in biochemical and radiological evaluation, and expert opinions on surgical and medical therapies. Because these familial hyperparathyroidism syndromes are associated with a wide variety of tumors in different organs, this review is focused on those endocrine neoplasms with malignant potential. © 2016 Society for Endocrinology.

Highlighting Indication of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in endocrine emergencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Anne; Wang, Chih-Hsien; You, Hao-Chun; Chou, Nai-Kwoun; Yu, Hsi-Yu; Chi, Nai-Hsin; Huang, Shu-Chien; Wu, I-Hui; Tseng, Li-Jung; Lin, Ming-Hsien; Chen, Yih-Sharng

2015-08-24

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been repeatedly used to rescue patients with cardiopulmonary arrest. However, its clinical utility in endocrine emergencies remains unclear. Herein, we describe a case series of 12 patients presenting with refractory shock secondary to endocrine emergencies who were rescued by ECMO support. Patients were identified between 2005 and 2012 from our ECMO registry. The diagnostic distribution was as follows: pheochromocytoma crisis (n = 4), thyroid storm (n = 5), and diabetic ketoacidosis (n = 3). The initial presentation of pheochromocytoma crisis was indistinguishable from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and frequently accompanied by paroxysmal hypertension and limb ischemia. Thyroid storm was characterized by hyperbilirubinemia and severe gastrointestinal bleeding, whereas neurological symptoms were common in diabetic ketoacidosis. The clinical outcomes of patients with endocrine emergencies were compared with those of 80 cases with AMI who received ECMO because of cardiogenic shock. The cardiac function and the general conditions showed a significantly faster recovery in patients with endocrine emergencies than in those with AMI. We conclude that ECMO support can be clinically useful in endocrine emergencies. The screening of endocrine diseases should be considered during the resuscitation of patients with refractory circulatory shock.

Appetite-Controlling Endocrine Systems in Teleosts

Science.gov (United States)

Rønnestad, Ivar; Gomes, Ana S.; Murashita, Koji; Angotzi, Rita; Jönsson, Elisabeth; Volkoff, Hélène

2017-01-01

Mammalian studies have shaped our understanding of the endocrine control of appetite and body weight in vertebrates and provided the basic vertebrate model that involves central (brain) and peripheral signaling pathways as well as environmental cues. The hypothalamus has a crucial function in the control of food intake, but other parts of the brain are also involved. The description of a range of key neuropeptides and hormones as well as more details of their specific roles in appetite control continues to be in progress. Endocrine signals are based on hormones that can be divided into two groups: those that induce (orexigenic), and those that inhibit (anorexigenic) appetite and food consumption. Peripheral signals originate in the gastrointestinal tract, liver, adipose tissue, and other tissues and reach the hypothalamus through both endocrine and neuroendocrine actions. While many mammalian-like endocrine appetite-controlling networks and mechanisms have been described for some key model teleosts, mainly zebrafish and goldfish, very little knowledge exists on these systems in fishes as a group. Fishes represent over 30,000 species, and there is a large variability in their ecological niches and habitats as well as life history adaptations, transitions between life stages and feeding behaviors. In the context of food intake and appetite control, common adaptations to extended periods of starvation or periods of abundant food availability are of particular interest. This review summarizes the recent findings on endocrine appetite-controlling systems in fish, highlights their impact on growth and survival, and discusses the perspectives in this research field to shed light on the intriguing adaptations that exist in fish and their underlying mechanisms. PMID:28458653

Endocrine and emotional response to exclusion among women and men; cortisol, salivary alpha amylase, and mood.

Science.gov (United States)

Helpman, Liat; Penso, Julia; Zagoory-Sharon, Orna; Feldman, Ruth; Gilboa-Schechtman, Eva

2017-05-01

Social exclusion is ubiquitous and painful. Evolutionary models indicate sex differences in coping with social stress. Recent empirical data suggest different sex patterns in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) reactivity. The present study sought to test this hypothesis. We examined differences in endocrine and emotional response to exclusion by using a virtual ball tossing paradigm (Cyberball). Saliva samples and mood ratings were collected to reflect levels before, and repeatedly following, exclusion. The sample included 21 women and 23 men. Cortisol and salivary alpha amylase (sAA), biomarkers of the HPA and SAM systems, respectively, were used as indices of two arms of stress response. Following exclusion, all participants experienced mood worsening followed by mood improvement, with men reporting less distress than women. Women evinced decline in cortisol following the Cyberball task, whereas men's cortisol levels showed a non-significant rise, and then decline, following exclusion. Our results concur with previous findings showing SAM reactivity to be gender-neutral and HPA reactivity to be gender-divergent. Additional studies are needed to examine sex-specific response to social exclusion. Implications for individual differences in recovery from stress are discussed.

The Endocrine Machinery.

Science.gov (United States)

Fillman, David

1987-01-01

Promotes a reductionist approach to teaching about the endocrine system in high school biology and anatomy courses. Encourages the study of how hormones travel to the cells and affect them. Provides suggestions for activities and discussion questions, along with sample diagrams and flow charts. (TW)

Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals: Review of Toxicological Mechanisms Using Molecular Pathway Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Oneyeol; Kim, Hye Lim; Weon, Jong-Il; Seo, Young Rok

2015-01-01

Endocrine disruptors are known to cause harmful effects to human through various exposure routes. These chemicals mainly appear to interfere with the endocrine or hormone systems. As importantly, numerous studies have demonstrated that the accumulation of endocrine disruptors can induce fatal disorders including obesity and cancer. Using diverse biological tools, the potential molecular mechanisms related with these diseases by exposure of endocrine disruptors. Recently, pathway analysis, a bioinformatics tool, is being widely used to predict the potential mechanism or biological network of certain chemicals. In this review, we initially summarize the major molecular mechanisms involved in the induction of the above mentioned diseases by endocrine disruptors. Additionally, we provide the potential markers and signaling mechanisms discovered via pathway analysis under exposure to representative endocrine disruptors, bisphenol, diethylhexylphthalate, and nonylphenol. The review emphasizes the importance of pathway analysis using bioinformatics to finding the specific mechanisms of toxic chemicals, including endocrine disruptors. PMID:25853100

Endocrine manifestations of celiac disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R Philip

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Celiac disease can have extra gastrointestinal tract (GIT presentations, most of which are endocrine. The aim of this study was to present patients diagnosed to have celiac disease from an endocrine department and to study the prevalence of endocrinopathies in celiac disease. Materials and Methods: A total of 36 patients from the endocrinology department (LLRM Medical College, Meerut between January 2011 and July 2012 and who were diagnosed to have celiac disease were included in the study. Results: Short stature was the commonest presentation (25%, other presentations included short stature and delayed puberty (20%, delayed puberty (11%, screening for celiac disease in type-1 DM patients (17%, rickets (6%, anemia not responding to oral therapy (6%, type-1 DM with recurrent hypoglycaemia (6%, and osteomalacia (3%. The endocrine manifestations include (after complete evaluation short stature (58%, delayed puberty (31%, elevated alkaline phospahatase (67%, low calcium (22%, X-rays suggestive of osteomalacia or rickets (8%, capopedal spasm (6%, and night blindness (6%. Anti-TPO antibody positivity was found in 53%, hypothyroidism in 28%, subclinical hypothyroidism in 17%, and type-1 DM in 25% of the patients. A total of 14% patients had no GI symptoms. Conclusion: Celiac disease is an endocrine disrupter as well as the great masquerader having varied presentations including short stature, delayed puberty, and rickets. Some patients who have celiac disease may not have any GI symptoms, making the diagnosis all the more difficult. Also, there is significant incidence of celiac disease with hypothyroidism and type-1 DM, making screening for it important in these diseases.

Myopathies of endocrine disorders: A prospective clinical and biochemical study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vikas Sharma

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Major categories of endocrine myopathy include those associated with: Adrenal dysfunction (as in Cushing′s disease or steroid myopathy; thyroid dysfunction (as in myxedema coma or thyrotoxic myopathy; vitamin D deficiency; parathyroid dysfunction; and pituitary dysfunction. Steroid myopathy is the most common endocrine myopathy. Objective: To study the etiology, varied presentations, and outcome after therapy of patients with endocrine myopathies. Materials and Methods: Myopathy was evaluated by the standard clinical procedures: Detailed clinical history, manual muscle strength testing, and creatine phosphokinase (CPK. Endocrine disorders were diagnosed as per clinical features and biochemical parameters. The treatment was given to patients as per underlying endocrine disease. Myopathy was assessed before and after treatment. Results: Out of the 37 patients who were diagnosed with endocrine myopathies, thyroid dysfunction was the most common cause (17 cases, followed by vitamin D deficiency in nine, adrenal dysfunction in six, parathyroid dysfunction in three, and pituitary dysfunction in two. Some patients had atypical presentation (repeated falls in one, tongue fasciculations in one, neck weakness in five, one with ptosis and facial weakness, asymmetrical onset in one, and calf hypertrophy in one. The serum creatine kinase (CK concentration did not correlate with muscle weakness. Following the treatment regimen which was specific for a given myopathy, 26 patients recovered fully. Conclusion: We found varied clinical presentations of endocrine myopathies. All the patients with neuromuscular complaints should be investigated for endocrine causes because significant number of them recovers fully with specific treatment.

Nigerian Endocrine Practice

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The journal accepts original contributions related to the practice and science of clinical endocrinology, articles updating the clinical endocrinologist on current areas of interest in the diagnosis and treatment of endocrine disorders, articles discussing dilemma facing endocrinologists in the clinical, social, and ethical arena of ...

REST represses a subset of the pancreatic endocrine differentiation program

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martin, David; Kim, Yung-Hae; Sever, Dror

2015-01-01

in neurons and in endocrine cells, which is necessary for their normal function. During development, REST represses a subset of genes in the neuronal differentiation program and Rest is down-regulated as neurons differentiate. Here, we investigate the role of REST in the differentiation of pancreatic...... endocrine cells, which are molecularly close to neurons. We show that Rest is widely expressed in pancreas progenitors and that it is down-regulated in differentiated endocrine cells. Sustained expression of REST in Pdx1(+) progenitors impairs the differentiation of endocrine-committed Neurog3...

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: associated disorders and mechanisms of action.

Science.gov (United States)

De Coster, Sam; van Larebeke, Nicolas

2012-01-01

The incidence and/or prevalence of health problems associated with endocrine-disruption have increased. Many chemicals have endocrine-disrupting properties, including bisphenol A, some organochlorines, polybrominated flame retardants, perfluorinated substances, alkylphenols, phthalates, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alkylphenols, solvents, and some household products including some cleaning products, air fresheners, hair dyes, cosmetics, and sunscreens. Even some metals were shown to have endocrine-disrupting properties. Many observations suggesting that endocrine disruptors do contribute to cancer, diabetes, obesity, the metabolic syndrome, and infertility are listed in this paper. An overview is presented of mechanisms contributing to endocrine disruption. Endocrine disruptors can act through classical nuclear receptors, but also through estrogen-related receptors, membrane-bound estrogen-receptors, and interaction with targets in the cytosol resulting in activation of the Src/Ras/Erk pathway or modulation of nitric oxide. In addition, changes in metabolism of endogenous hormones, cross-talk between genomic and nongenomic pathways, cross talk with estrogen receptors after binding on other receptors, interference with feedback regulation and neuroendocrine cells, changes in DNA methylation or histone modifications, and genomic instability by interference with the spindle figure can play a role. Also it was found that effects of receptor activation can differ in function of the ligand.

Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Associated Disorders and Mechanisms of Action

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sam De Coster

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The incidence and/or prevalence of health problems associated with endocrine-disruption have increased. Many chemicals have endocrine-disrupting properties, including bisphenol A, some organochlorines, polybrominated flame retardants, perfluorinated substances, alkylphenols, phthalates, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alkylphenols, solvents, and some household products including some cleaning products, air fresheners, hair dyes, cosmetics, and sunscreens. Even some metals were shown to have endocrine-disrupting properties. Many observations suggesting that endocrine disruptors do contribute to cancer, diabetes, obesity, the metabolic syndrome, and infertility are listed in this paper. An overview is presented of mechanisms contributing to endocrine disruption. Endocrine disruptors can act through classical nuclear receptors, but also through estrogen-related receptors, membrane-bound estrogen-receptors, and interaction with targets in the cytosol resulting in activation of the Src/Ras/Erk pathway or modulation of nitric oxide. In addition, changes in metabolism of endogenous hormones, cross-talk between genomic and nongenomic pathways, cross talk with estrogen receptors after binding on other receptors, interference with feedback regulation and neuroendocrine cells, changes in DNA methylation or histone modifications, and genomic instability by interference with the spindle figure can play a role. Also it was found that effects of receptor activation can differ in function of the ligand.

Reduced heart rate variability in pet dogs affected by anxiety-related behaviour problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Wormald, Dennis; Lawrence, Andrew J; Carter, Gabrielle; Fisher, Andrew D

2017-01-01

We present here the first evidence of correlation between canine anxiety-related behavioural problems and heart rate variability (HRV). HRV is known to be related to a range of mental disorders in humans; however this has not been explored in dogs. Behavioural problems in dogs can result in suffering, property destruction and human injury. Dog behaviour problems were assessed by owner questionnaire and the extreme high and low scoring dogs were recruited into either affected (n=10) or unaffected (n=20) groups. HRV was assessed in dogs at their homes, while being held in lateral recumbency for 5min using manual restraint. Salivary cortisol samples were taken before and after HRV testing. Dogs were assessed as either being reactive to the procedure (barking, growling, struggling or shaking) or unreactive. There was no effect of reactivity or behaviour problems on salivary cortisol levels at baseline or in response to the treatment. There was a significant effect of reactivity on HR (F 1,26 =5.54; P=0.026), and no effect of behaviour problems (F 1,26 =1.07; P=0.311). There was no effect of reactivity on any of the HRV measures. The presence of behaviour problems had a significant effect on a range of measures of HRV, with unaffected dogs having higher standard deviation of RR intervals (F 1,26 =6.39; P=0.018), higher high frequency spectrum (F 1,26 =5.23; P=0.031) and higher low frequency spectrum (F 1,26 =9.25; P=0.005) power. There was no effect of behaviour problems on very low frequency spectrum power (F 1,26 =1.40; P=0.248). Together these results provide evidence for a fundamental physiological difference between dogs affected or unaffected with behaviour problems. This study provides evidence for further investigation into the role of HRV in the pathophysiology of canine anxiety-related behaviour problems. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Endocrine function over time in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahlqvist, Julia Rebecka; Ørngreen, M C; Witting, N

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) have an increased incidence of endocrine dysfunction. In this study, the temporal evolution of endocrine dysfunction in patients with DM1 was investigated. METHODS: Endocrine function was assessed in 68 patients with DM1, in whom...... endocrine function had been followed, on average, for 8 years. The endocrine function was assessed by measuring the concentration of hormones and metabolites in blood and by validating libido with questionnaires. RESULTS: At baseline, 30 of the 68 patients presented with at least one hormonal dysfunction....... When re-evaluated after 8 years, 57 of 68 patients had endocrine dysfunction. Diabetic patients had increased from one to four. At follow-up, hyperparathyroidism occurred in 25% and abnormal thyroid-stimulating hormone in 21%, compared with 14% and 9% at baseline. Sixteen of 33 men had increased...

Paediatric Endocrine Disorders at the University College Hospital ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Until recently, most published research focus more on infectious diseases and malnutrition giving the impression that endocrine disorders are uncommon. Reports on endocrine disorders in children in developing countries are few compared to developed countries reflecting the different level of prevalence in ...

Ductuloinsular tumors of the pancreas - Endocrine tumors with entrapped nonneoplastic ductules

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Eeden, Susanne; de Leng, Wendy W. J.; Offerhaus, G. Johan A.; Morsink, Folkert H.; Weterman, Marian A. J.; de Krijger, Ronald R.; Klöppel, Günter; Klimstra, David S.

2004-01-01

Rare pancreatic neoplasms have been reported that show both endocrine and exocrine differentiation in the neoplastic components. In addition, pancreatic endocrine tumors may contain small, cytologically bland ductules intimately admixed with the endocrine component. It was recently suggested that

Tumors of the endocrine/neuroendocrine system: an overview.

Science.gov (United States)

Erlandson, R A; Nesland, J M

1994-01-01

For the sake of discussion, the markedly diversified tumors of the endocrine/neuroendocrine system are classified as those originating in classic epithelial endocrine organs (eg, adrenal cortical adenomas), from the diffuse endocrine cells (eg, jejunal carcinoid tumors), or from clusters of these cells (eg, islet cell tumors); and those arising from neurosecretory neurons (eg, neuroblastoma) or paraganglia (eg, carotid body tumor). Although traditional transmission electron microscopy is useful for identifying neurosecretory or endosecretory granules as such, with few exceptions (eg, insulin-containing granules with a complex paracrystalline core) it is not possible to ascribe a granule type (size, shape, or ultrastructure) to a distinct nosologic entity or secretory product because of their overlapping fine structures in different cell types. Immunoelectron microscopy methods utilizing colloidal gold-labeled secondary antibodies can be used to localize virtually any antigen (peptide or neuroamine) to a specific neurosecretory or endosecretory granule or other cell structure. General endocrine/neuroendocrine cell markers such as neuron-specific enolase, the chromogranins, and synaptophysin are useful in identifying neuroendocrine differentiation in a neoplasm using routine immunohistochemical procedures. The current relevance of the APUD concept of Pearse as well as the biologic importance of endocrine/neuroendocrine secretory products such as bombesin and insulinlike growth factors also are discussed.

Strain Differences of Mice for Open Field Behaviour, Circadian Rhythms,and Morphine Reactivity

OpenAIRE

Sekiguchi, Shigehisa

1982-01-01

This paper deals with some of the work in the field of Behaviour Genetics at the Psychological Laboratory in Shiga University. The first part concerns open field behaviour, the second part discusses circadian rhythms of general activity and of sleepwakefulness cycle, and the third part relates to morphine effects on avoidance behaviour.

A meta-analysis of the effects of measuring theory of planned behaviour constructs on behaviour within prospective studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Mankarious, Evon; Kothe, Emily

2015-01-01

Measurement reactivity effects, such as the mere measurement effect, have been proposed as a reason for behavioural changes in a number of theory of planned behaviour intervention studies. However, it is unclear whether such changes are the result of the mere measurement effect or of other artefacts of intervention study design. The aim of this study is to determine the size and direction of changes in health behaviours from baseline to follow-up in prospective studies using the theory of planned behaviour. Electronic databases were searched for the theory of planned behaviour studies which measured health behaviours at two or more time points. Change in behaviour was calculated for all studies. Sixty-six studies were included. Mean effect sizes across all studies were small and negative (d = -.03). Effect size was moderated by behaviour, behaviour type and follow-up length. Subgroup analyses showed significant decreases in socially undesirable behaviour (d = -.28), binge drinking (d = -.17), risk driving (d = -.20), sugar snack consumption (d = -.43) and sun-protective behaviour (d = -.18). Measurement of intention at baseline resulted in significant decreases in undesirable behaviour. Changes in undesirable behaviours reported in other studies may be the result of the mere measurement effect.

Parabens and their effects on the endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Nowak, Karolina; Ratajczak-Wrona, Wioletta; Górska, Maria; Jabłońska, Ewa

2018-03-27

Preservatives (ingredients which inhibit growth of microorganisms) are used to prolong shelf life of various foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. Parabens are one of the most popular preservatives used in the aforementioned products and is currently being used worldwide. Parabens are easily absorbed by the human body. Thus, it is important to discuss about their safety with respect to human physiology. In view of the current literature, which classifies parabens as a group of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), it seems that the precise assessment of their influence on the human endocrine system is particularly important. Disruption of the endocrine homoeostasis might lead to multidirectional implications causing disruption of fitness and functions of the body. Therefore, in this review article, we aimed to summarize the current literature on properties, occurrence, and metabolism of parabens as well as to present recent progress in knowledge about their influence on the human endocrine system. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Endocrine autoimmune diseases and female infertility.

Science.gov (United States)

Sen, Aritro; Kushnir, Vitaly A; Barad, David H; Gleicher, Norbert

2014-01-01

An increasing body of evidence suggests that immune-mediated processes affect female reproductive success at multiple levels. Crosstalk between endocrine and immune systems regulates a large number of biological processes that affect target tissues, and this crosstalk involves gene expression, cytokine and/or lymphokine release and hormone action. In addition, endocrine-immune interactions have a major role in the implantation process of the fetal (paternally derived) semi-allograft, which requires a reprogramming process of the maternal immune system from rejection to temporary tolerance for the length of gestation. Usually, the female immune system is supportive of all of these processes and, therefore, facilitates reproductive success. Abnormalities of the female immune system, including autoimmunity, potentially interfere at multiple levels. The relevance of the immune system to female infertility is increasingly recognized by investigators, but clinically is often not adequately considered and is, therefore, underestimated. This Review summarizes the effect of individual autoimmune endocrine diseases on female fertility, and points towards selected developments expected in the near future.

Endocrine Disorders in Cystic Fibrosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Blackman, Scott M; Tangpricha, Vin

2016-08-01

Cystic fibrosis is frequently complicated by endocrine disorders. Diabetes can be expected to affect most with CF and pancreatic insufficiency and varies widely in age of onset, but early identification and treatment improve morbidity and mortality. Short stature can be exacerbated by relative delay of puberty and by use of inhaled corticosteroids. Bone disease in CF causes fragility fractures and should be assessed by monitoring bone mineral density and optimizing vitamin D status. Detecting and managing endocrine complications in CF can reduce morbidity and mortality in CF. These complications can be expected to become more common as the CF population ages. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The influence of postnatal handling on adult neuroendocrine and behavioural stress reactivity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meerlo, P; Horvath, KM; Nagy, GM; Bohus, B; Koolhaas, JM

1999-01-01

Environmental stimuli during early stages of life can influence the development of an organism and may result in permanent changes in adult behaviour and physiology. In the present study we investigated the influence of early postnatal handling on adult neuroendocrine and behavioural stress

Endocrine therapy and urogenital outcomes among women with a breast cancer diagnosis

Science.gov (United States)

Doll, Kemi M.; Bensen, Jeannette T.; Hendrix, Laura; Anders, Carey K.; Wu, Jennifer M.; Nichols, Hazel B.

2018-01-01

Purpose Endocrine therapy for breast cancer can exacerbate menopausal symptoms. The association between endocrine therapy and common pelvic floor disorders including urinary incontinence has rarely been evaluated. We examined urogenital and sexual side effects among women with a breast cancer diagnosis, comparing endocrine therapy users to nonusers. Methods Urogenital and sexual symptoms were self-reported during the enrollment interview within the University of North Carolina Cancer Survivorship Cohort. Tumor characteristics and endocrine therapy use were collected from medical and prescription records. We calculated multivariable prevalence ratios (PR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for the association of endocrine therapy (versus no endocrine therapy) and urinary incontinence, overall and by therapy type (tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors). PROMIS Sexual Function and Satisfaction domain scores were compared across endocrine therapy groups. Results Among the 548 women with a breast cancer diagnosis, 49 % received endocrine therapy. Overall, 18 % of women reported urinary incontinence symptoms. We observed no association between urinary incontinence and endocrine therapy use overall (PR = 0.97; 95 % CI 0.67, 1.43), tamoxifen (PR = 1.20; 95 % CI 0.74, 1.96), or aromatase inhibitors (PR = 0.89; 95 % CI 0.55, 1.42), compared to no use. Approximately 55 % of women were sexually active. Sexual function scores did not vary according to endocrine therapy use, although urinary incontinence was associated with lower satisfaction scores (p = 0.05). Conclusions Our findings demonstrate a high prevalence of urinary incontinence after breast cancer diagnosis similar to the overall prevalence in older U.S. women, and this did not vary strongly according to use of endocrine therapy. PMID:27680018

EDC-2: The Endocrine Society's Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

Science.gov (United States)

Chappell, V. A.; Fenton, S. E.; Flaws, J. A.; Nadal, A.; Prins, G. S.; Toppari, J.; Zoeller, R. T.

2015-01-01

The Endocrine Society's first Scientific Statement in 2009 provided a wake-up call to the scientific community about how environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) affect health and disease. Five years later, a substantially larger body of literature has solidified our understanding of plausible mechanisms underlying EDC actions and how exposures in animals and humans—especially during development—may lay the foundations for disease later in life. At this point in history, we have much stronger knowledge about how EDCs alter gene-environment interactions via physiological, cellular, molecular, and epigenetic changes, thereby producing effects in exposed individuals as well as their descendants. Causal links between exposure and manifestation of disease are substantiated by experimental animal models and are consistent with correlative epidemiological data in humans. There are several caveats because differences in how experimental animal work is conducted can lead to difficulties in drawing broad conclusions, and we must continue to be cautious about inferring causality in humans. In this second Scientific Statement, we reviewed the literature on a subset of topics for which the translational evidence is strongest: 1) obesity and diabetes; 2) female reproduction; 3) male reproduction; 4) hormone-sensitive cancers in females; 5) prostate; 6) thyroid; and 7) neurodevelopment and neuroendocrine systems. Our inclusion criteria for studies were those conducted predominantly in the past 5 years deemed to be of high quality based on appropriate negative and positive control groups or populations, adequate sample size and experimental design, and mammalian animal studies with exposure levels in a range that was relevant to humans. We also focused on studies using the developmental origins of health and disease model. No report was excluded based on a positive or negative effect of the EDC exposure. The bulk of the results across the board strengthen the

Putative effects of endocrine disrupters on pubertal development in the human

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teilmann, Grete; Juul, Anders; Skakkebaek, Niels E

2002-01-01

-called endocrine disrupters. Precocious puberty has been described in several case reports of accidental exposure to oestrogenic compounds in cosmetic products, food and pharmaceuticals. Local epidemics of premature thelarche have also been suggested to be linked to endocrine disrupters. Children adopted from...... developing countries to industrialized countries often develop precocious puberty. Not only precocious puberty, but also delayed puberty can, theoretically, be associated with exposure to endocrine disrupters. While it is very plausible that endocrine disrupters may disturb pubertal development...

[Endocrine function in obesity].

Science.gov (United States)

Álvarez-Castro, Paula; Sangiao-Alvarellos, Susana; Brandón-Sandá, Iria; Cordido, Fernando

2011-10-01

Obesity is associated to significant disturbances in endocrine function. Hyper insulinemia and insulin resistance are the best known changes in obesity, but their mechanisms and clinical significance are not clearly established. Adipose tissue is considered to be a hormone-secreting endocrine organ; and increased leptin secretion from the adipocyte, a satiety signal, is a well-established endocrine change in obesity. In obesity there is a decreased GH secretion. Impairment of somatotropic function in obesity is functional and may be reversed in certain circumstances. The pathophysiological mechanism responsible for low GH secretion in obesity is probably multifactorial. There are many data suggesting that a chronic state of somatostatin hypersecretion results in inhibition of GH release. Increased FFA levels, as well as a deficient ghrelin secretion, probably contribute to the impaired GH secretion. In women, abdominal obesity is associated to hyperandrogenism and low sex hormone-binding globulin levels. Obese men, particularly those with morbid obesity, have decreased testosterone and gonadotropin levels. Obesity is associated to an increased cortisol production rate, which is compensated for by a higher cortisol clearance, resulting in plasma free cortisol levels that do not change when body weight increases. Ghrelin is the only known circulating orexigenic factor, and has been found to be decreased in obese people. In obesity there is also a trend to increased TSH and free T3 levels. Copyright © 2011 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Immunologic Endocrine Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Michels, Aaron W.; Eisenbarth, George S.

2010-01-01

Autoimmunity affects multiple glands in the endocrine system. Animal models and human studies highlight the importance of alleles in HLA (human leukocyte antigen)-like molecules determining tissue specific targeting that with the loss of tolerance leads to organ specific autoimmunity. Disorders such as type 1A diabetes, Grave's disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, Addison's disease, and many others result from autoimmune mediated tissue destruction. Each of these disorders can be divided into stages beginning with genetic susceptibility, environmental triggers, active autoimmunity, and finally metabolic derangements with overt symptoms of disease. With an increased understanding of the immunogenetics and immunopathogenesis of endocrine autoimmune disorders, immunotherapies are becoming prevalent, especially in type 1A diabetes. Immunotherapies are being used more in multiple subspecialty fields to halt disease progression. While therapies for autoimmune disorders stop the progress of an immune response, immunomodulatory therapies for cancer and chronic infections can also provoke an unwanted immune response. As a result, there are now iatrogenic autoimmune disorders arising from the treatment of chronic viral infections and malignancies. PMID:20176260

Radiologic techniques in evaluation endocrine disorders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martino, C.R.; Schultz, C.L.; Butler, H.E.; Haaga, J.R.

1988-01-01

This paper discusses evaluation of normal and diseased endocrine organs that has been facilitated by the development of new radiologic-imaging techniques including nuclear medicine, ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. With improvement in resolution and tissue contrast, abnormalities as small as 5 mm can now be imaged with these modalities. Endocrinologists and clinicians involved in the evaluation and diagnosis of patients with endocrine diseases can be substantially aided by a proper radiologic workup. The authors describe and illustrate various radiologic techniques that are useful for evaluating thyroid and parathyroid derangements

Manufacturing doubt about endocrine disrupter science

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bergman, Åke; Becher, Georg; Blumberg, Bruce

2015-01-01

We present a detailed response to the critique of "State of the Science of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals 2012" (UNEP/WHO, 2013) by financial stakeholders, authored by Lamb et al. (2014). Lamb et al.'s claim that UNEP/WHO (2013) does not provide a balanced perspective on endocrine disruption......) report is not particularly erudite and that their critique is not intended to be convincing to the scientific community, but to confuse the scientific data. Consequently, it promotes misinterpretation of the UNEP/WHO (2013) report by non-specialists, bureaucrats, politicians and other decision makers...

Immunohistochemical study on gastrointestinal endocrine cells of four reptiles

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xu-Gen; Wu, Xiao-Bing

2005-01-01

AIM: To clarify the types, regional distributions and distribution densities as well as morphological features of gastrointestinal (GI) endocrine cells in various parts of the gastrointestinal track (GIT) of four reptiles, Gekko japonicus, Eumeces chinensis, Sphenomorphus indicus and Eumeces elegans. METHODS: Paraffin-embedded sections (5 μm) of seven parts (cardia, fundus, pylorus, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, rectum) of GIT dissected from the four reptiles were prepared. GI endocrine cells were revealed by using immunohistochemical techniques of streptavidin-peroxidase (S-P) method. Seven types of antisera against 5-hydroxy-tryptamine (5-HT), somatostatin (SS), gastrin (GAS), glucagon (GLU), substance P (SP), insulin and pancreatic polypeptide were identified and then GI endocrine cells were photomicrographed and counted. RESULTS: The GI endocrine system of four reptiles was a complex structure containing many endocrine cell types similar in morphology to those found in higher vertebrates. Five types of GI endocrine cells, namely 5-HT, SS, GAS, SP and GLU immunoreactive (IR) cells were identified in the GIT of G. japonicus, E. chinensis and S. indicus; while in the GIT of E. elegans only the former three types of endocrine cells were observed. No PP- and INS- IR cells were found in all four reptiles. 5-HT-IR cells, which were most commonly found in the pylorus or duodenum, distributed throughout the whole GIT of four reptiles. However, their distribution patterns varied from each other. SS-IR cells, which were mainly found in the stomach especially in the pylorus and/or fundus, were demonstrated in the whole GIT of E. chinensis, only showed restricted distribution in the other three species. GAS-IR cells, with a much restricted distribution, were mainly demonstrated in the pylorus and/or the proximal small intestine of four reptiles. GLU-IR cells exhibited a limited and species-dependent variant distribution in the GIT of four reptiles. SP-IR cells were found

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and male reproductive health: a review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damjan Balabanič

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Balanced functioning of the endocrine system is essential for preservation of human species by providing normal growth and development, reproduction, and normal functioning of all other organ systems. In the last decades, emerging area of interest is the impact of environmental exposures to human health. Important environmental pollutants are endocrine-disrupting che- micals (EDCs, which can have adverse e ects on the living organism due to their interference with the endocrine system. The group of known EDCs embraces ubiquitous synthetic substan- ces used as industrial lubricants and solvents, with their by-products, incomplete combustion remains, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, pesticides and plasticizers. Natural com- pounds such as genistein, a phytoestrogen, and heavy metals can also have endocrine e ects. Endocrine disruption is a serious public health problem. EDCs among other health problems ge- nerate reproductive disorders in males, such as decreases in sperm count and quality, increases in testicular germ cell numbers, prostate and breast cancers, cryptorchidism and hypospadias, impaired fertility, and infertility. This paper critically reviews the current knowledge of the impa- ct of EDCs on reproductive disorders in human males.

Long non-coding RNAs as regulators of the endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Knoll, Marko; Lodish, Harvey F; Sun, Lei

2015-03-01

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a large and diverse group of RNAs that are often lineage-specific and that regulate multiple biological functions. Many are nuclear and are essential parts of ribonucleoprotein complexes that modify chromatin segments and establish active or repressive chromatin states; others are cytosolic and regulate the stability of mRNA or act as microRNA sponges. This Review summarizes the current knowledge of lncRNAs as regulators of the endocrine system, with a focus on the identification and mode of action of several endocrine-important lncRNAs. We highlight lncRNAs that have a role in the development and function of pancreatic β cells, white and brown adipose tissue, and other endocrine organs, and discuss the involvement of these molecules in endocrine dysfunction (for example, diabetes mellitus). We also address the associations of lncRNAs with nuclear receptors involved in major hormonal signalling pathways, such as estrogen and androgen receptors, and the relevance of these associations in certain endocrine cancers.

Radiological imaging of endocrine diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruneton, J.N.

1999-01-01

Imaging studies are playing an increasingly role in the evaluation of endocrine diseases; accordingly, familiarity with the specific indications for the various modalities, and with the characteristic findings, is essential. This multi-author work, which is intended for both radiologists and endocrinologists, considers the role of all the recent imaging techniques, including ultrasound (particular color Doppler), computed tomography, MRI, and scintigraphy. Following an extensive introduction on the pituitary, subsequent chapters discuss in detail the normal anatomy and pathology of the female and male reproductive systems. Remaining chapters provide state-of-the-art data on the thyroid, parathyroids, pancreatic endocrine tumors, adrenal glands, hormonal tumors (carcinoids and MEN), and imaging of the complications of hormone therapy. (orig.)

Endocrine ophthalmopathy and radioiodine therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karlsson, F. Anders

2006-01-01

Endocrine ophthalmopathy is to some degree present in most patients with Graves' disease. In few cases, a severe form of the condition develops and in the majority of these cases, the course of the eye problems has been influenced by the treatment for thyrotoxicosis. In this regard, radioiodine therapy has been increasingly recognized as carrying a special risk. Here, the current understanding of endocrine ophthalmopathy and the risks associated with the development of severe eye disease are discussed. The results of a retrospective investigation of patients with severe eye disease in our hospital, and the experience with corticosteroid administration following radioiodine in order to reduce the risk of ophthalmopathy, are also presented

Behavioural measures of child's eating temperament and their link with BMI.

Science.gov (United States)

Godefroy, Valérie; Trinchera, Laura; Darcel, Nicolas; Rigal, Natalie

2017-03-01

Rothbart's model of temperament, defined as individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation, has a strong heuristic value with applications in a wide variety of children's outcomes. Our objective was to test Rothbart's model applied to children's food behaviours and BMI outcome through behavioural measures. Our hypotheses, according to Rothbart's model, were as follows: (i) self-regulation in eating modulates appetite reactivity; (ii) appetite reactivity increases the risk of excess BMI, whereas self-regulation in eating limits this risk. One hundred and four children aged between 7 and 12 years completed four behavioural tasks to assess scores for two components of appetite reactivity (i.e. appetite arousal and appetite persistence) and two components of self-regulation in eating (i.e. self-regulation in eating without hunger and self-regulation in eating speed). Their heights and weights were measured in order to calculate their BMI-for-age. T-tests and regression analysis were used to verify our hypotheses. None of the scores of self-regulation in eating was directly associated with BMI but we observed a significant impact of self-regulation in eating without hunger on appetite arousal (p-value = 0.04), together with a modest but significant association between appetite persistence and BMI (p-value = 0.02). We can thus conclude that our behavioural measures could be used for the determination of the child's eating temperament. Further studies are needed to investigate how to use these measures to improve the treatment of overweight in children. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Theory and applications of artificial endocrine system-an overview

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

CUI Wei; QIANG Sheng; GAO X Z

2006-01-01

Inspired by the biological endocrine system, the Artificial Endocrine System (AES) has been proposed and investigated during the past decade. As a novel branch of computational intelligence methods, it has its unique and distinguishing features. This paper intends to give an overview of the current research work in the AES. The preliminary theory of the AES, which is based on the simplified mathematic models of natural endocrine system, is first introduced here. Some typical AES algorithms and their applications are also briefly discussed. Finally, a few remarks and conclusions are made.

Endocrine System (For Parents)

Science.gov (United States)

... Problems With the Endocrine System Print en español Sistema endócrino Although we rarely think about them, the ... of Use Notice of Nondiscrimination Visit the Nemours Web site. Note: All information on KidsHealth® is for ...

Influence of metabolism on endocrine activities of bisphenol S.

Science.gov (United States)

Skledar, Darja Gramec; Schmidt, Jan; Fic, Anja; Klopčič, Ivana; Trontelj, Jurij; Dolenc, Marija Sollner; Finel, Moshe; Mašič, Lucija Peterlin

2016-08-01

Bisphenol S (BPS; bis[4-hydroxyphenyl]sulfone) is commonly used as a replacement for bisphenol A in numerous consumer products. The main goal of this study was to examine the influence of different metabolic reactions that BPS undergoes on the endocrine activity. We demonstrate that hydroxylation of the aromatic ring of BPS, catalyzed mainly by the cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP3A4 and CYP2C9, is its major in-vitro phase I biotransformation. Nevertheless, coupled oxidative-conjugative reactions analyses revealed that glucuronidation and formation of BPS glucuronide is the predominant BPS metabolic pathway. BPS reactive metabolites that can be tracked as glutathione conjugates were not detected in the present study. Two in-vitro systems were used to evaluate the endocrine activity of BPS and its two main metabolites, BPS glucuronide and hydroxylated BPS 4-(4-hydroxy-benzenesulfonyl)-benzene-1,2-diol (BPSM1). In addition, we have tested two structural analogs of BPS, bis[4-(2-hydroxyetoxy)phenyl]sulfone (BHEPS) and 4,4-sulfonylbis(2-methylphenol) (dBPS). The test systems were yeast cells, for evaluating estrogenic and androgenic activities, and the GH3.TRE-Luc reporter cell line for measuring thyroid hormone activity. BPS and BPSM1 were weak agonists of the estrogen receptor, EC50 values of 8.4 × 10(-5) M and 6.7 × 10(-4) M, respectively. Additionally, BPSM1 exhibited weak antagonistic activity toward the thyroid hormone receptor, with an IC50 of 4.3 × 10(-5) M. In contrast to BPSM1, BPS glucuronide was inactive in these assays, inhibiting neither the estrogen nor the thyroid hormone receptors. Hence, glucuronidation appears to be the most important pathway for both BPS metabolism and detoxification. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of G protein-coupled receptor heteromers in endocrine systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Jonas, K C; Hanyaloglu, A C

2017-07-05

The fine-tuning of endocrine homeostasis is regulated by dynamic receptor mediated processes. The superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) have diverse roles in the modulation of all endocrine axes, thus understanding the mechanisms underpinning their functionality is paramount for treatment of endocrinopathies. Evidence over the last 20 years has highlighted homo and heteromerization as a key mode of mediating GPCR functional diversity. This review will discuss the concept of GPCR heteromerization and its relevance to endocrine function, detailing in vitro and in vivo evidence, and exploring current and potential pharmacological strategies for specific targeting of GPCR heteromers in endocrine heath and disease. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An endocrine disrupting chemical changes courtship and parental care in the sand goby

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saaristo, Minna; Craft, John A.; Lehtonen, Kari K.; Lindstroem, Kai

2010-01-01

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a diverse group of compounds that can mimic, block or modulate the synthesis of natural hormones. They are known to cause impairment of reproduction of aquatic organisms at very low concentrations. The aim of this study was to examine how exposure from 10 to 31 days to 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2, 41 ng L -1 ) affects the courtship and parental care behaviour of male sand gobies (Pomatoschistus minutus). The sand goby exhibits a polygynous mating system, where males compete for females and provide paternal care. First, male courtship performance towards a stimulus female was recorded with video camera. Secondly, after the male had received eggs his parental care behaviour was video recorded. In addition to behavioural endpoints, we measured the expression of hepatic vitellogenin (Vtg) and zona radiata protein (Zrp) mRNA, as well as common somatic indices. Our study shows that exposure to EE2 affected male fanning behaviour during both courtship and parental care. Interestingly, small exposed males increased their courtship fanning to similar levels as larger control males. However, during parental care egg fanning was not related to male size, and all exposed males fanned more than control males. The EE2-exposure induced Vtg and Zrp mRNA expression in males and decreased hepatosomatic index (HSI), and increased gonadosomatic index (GSI). Females prefer males that fan more, which will favour the small EDC exposed males. This may lead to mating that favours males that are not strong enough to tend the eggs until they hatch, thus decreasing the reproductive success of individuals.

Consistent boldness behaviour in early emerging fry of domesticated Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar): Decoupling of behavioural and physiological traits of the proactive stress coping style

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vaz-Serrano, J.; Ruiz-Gomez, M. L.; Gjøen, H. M.

2011-01-01

style seem to be coupled to the time to emerge of fry from spawning redds in natural populations of salmonid fishes. In the present study, behavioural and physiological traits of stress coping styles were compared two and five months after emergence in farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), using......Individual variation in the way animals cope with stressors has been documented in a number of animal groups. In general, two distinct sets of behavioural and physiological responses to stress have been described: the proactive and the reactive coping styles. Some characteristics of stress coping...... hunger, in the present study. This observation was repeated five months after emergence, demonstrating behavioural consistency over time in this trait. However, in other traits of proactive and reactive stress coping styles, such as social status, resting metabolism or post stress cortisol concentrations...

Child behaviour problems, parenting behaviours and parental adjustment in mothers and fathers in Sweden.

Science.gov (United States)

Salari, Raziye; Wells, Michael B; Sarkadi, Anna

2014-11-01

We aim to examine the relationship between child behavioural problems and several parental factors, particularly parental behaviours as reported by both mothers and fathers in a sample of preschool children in Sweden. Participants were mothers and fathers of 504 3- to 5-year-olds that were recruited through preschools. They completed a set of questionnaires including the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory, Parenting Sense of Competence Scale, Parenting Scale, Parent Problem Checklist, Dyadic Adjustment Scale and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale. Correlational analyses showed that parent-reported child behaviour problems were positively associated with ineffective parenting practices and interparental conflicts and negatively related to parental competence. Regression analyses showed that, for both mothers and fathers, higher levels of parental over-reactivity and interparental conflict over child-rearing issues and lower levels of parental satisfaction were the most salient factors in predicting their reports of disruptive child behaviour. This study revealed that swedish parents' perceptions of their parenting is related to their ratings of child behaviour problems which therefore implies that parent training programs can be useful in addressing behavioural problems in Swedish children. © 2014 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

Next-generation sequencing for endocrine cancers: Recent advances and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Suresh, Padmanaban S; Venkatesh, Thejaswini; Tsutsumi, Rie; Shetty, Abhishek

2017-05-01

Contemporary molecular biology research tools have enriched numerous areas of biomedical research that address challenging diseases, including endocrine cancers (pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, testicular, ovarian, and neuroendocrine cancers). These tools have placed several intriguing clues before the scientific community. Endocrine cancers pose a major challenge in health care and research despite considerable attempts by researchers to understand their etiology. Microarray analyses have provided gene signatures from many cells, tissues, and organs that can differentiate healthy states from diseased ones, and even show patterns that correlate with stages of a disease. Microarray data can also elucidate the responses of endocrine tumors to therapeutic treatments. The rapid progress in next-generation sequencing methods has overcome many of the initial challenges of these technologies, and their advantages over microarray techniques have enabled them to emerge as valuable aids for clinical research applications (prognosis, identification of drug targets, etc.). A comprehensive review describing the recent advances in next-generation sequencing methods and their application in the evaluation of endocrine and endocrine-related cancers is lacking. The main purpose of this review is to illustrate the concepts that collectively constitute our current view of the possibilities offered by next-generation sequencing technological platforms, challenges to relevant applications, and perspectives on the future of clinical genetic testing of patients with endocrine tumors. We focus on recent discoveries in the use of next-generation sequencing methods for clinical diagnosis of endocrine tumors in patients and conclude with a discussion on persisting challenges and future objectives.

Endocrine disorders in pregnancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feldt-Rasmussen, Ulla; Mathiesen, Elisabeth R

2011-01-01

The endocrinology of pregnancy involves endocrine and metabolic changes as a consequence of physiological alterations at the foetoplacental boundary between mother and foetus. The vast changes in maternal hormones and their binding proteins complicate assessment of the normal level of most hormones...

The coagulation system in endocrine disorders: a narrative review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Squizzato, A.; Gerdes, V. E. A.; Ageno, W.; Büller, H. R.

2007-01-01

Endocrine disorders can influence the haemostatic balance. Abnormal coagulation test results have been observed in patients with abnormal hormone levels. Also unprovoked bleeding or thrombotic events have been associated with endocrine disease. The aim of the present review is to summarise the

38 CFR 4.119 - Schedule of ratings-endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... minute), eye involvement, muscular weakness, loss of weight, and sympathetic nervous system...-endocrine system. 4.119 Section 4.119 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS SCHEDULE FOR RATING DISABILITIES Disability Ratings The Endocrine System § 4.119 Schedule of ratings...

Multiple endocrine diseases in cats: 15 cases (1997-2008).

Science.gov (United States)

Blois, Shauna L; Dickie, Erica L; Kruth, Stephen A; Allen, Dana G

2010-08-01

The objective of this retrospective study was to characterize a population of cats from a tertiary care center diagnosed with multiple endocrine disorders, including the specific disorders and time intervals between diagnosis of each disorder. Medical records of 15 cats diagnosed with more than one endocrine disorder were reviewed. The majority of cats were domestic shorthairs, and the mean age at the time of diagnosis of the first disorder was 10.3 years. The most common combination of disorders was diabetes mellitus and hyperthyroidism. Two cats had concurrent diabetes mellitus and hyperadrenocorticism, one cat had concurrent central diabetes insipidus and diabetes mellitus. A mean of 25.7 months elapsed between diagnoses of the first and second endocrine disorder, but this was variable. This study suggests the occurrence of multiple endocrine disorders is uncommon in cats. Copyright 2010 ISFM and AAFP. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Affective disorders and endocrine disease. New insights from psychosomatic studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Fava, G A

1994-01-01

This is a review of psychosomatic interactions between affective disorders (depressive and anxiety disturbances, irritable mood) and endocrine disease. Particular reference is made to stressful life events in the pathogenesis of endocrine disease, psychopathology of hormonal disturbances, and pathophysiology of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function in depression and Cushing's disease. These psychosomatic interactions may lead to appraisal of common etiological mechanisms in endocrine and psychiatric disorders, of the value of retaining the category of organic affective syndromes in psychiatric classification, and of the need for research on quality-of-life measures in endocrine disease. The establishment of "psychoendocrine units," where both endocrinologists and psychiatrists should work, is advocated. Such psychoendocrine units may serve and benefit clinical populations who currently defy traditional medical subdivisions.

Designing Endocrine Disruption Out of the Next Generation of Chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Schug, T T; Abagyan, R; Blumberg, B; Collins, T J; Crews, D; DeFur, P L; Dickerson, S M; Edwards, T M; Gore, A C; Guillette, L J; Hayes, T; Heindel, J J; Moores, A; Patisaul, H B; Tal, T L; Thayer, K A; Vandenberg, L N; Warner, J; Watson, C S; Saal, F S Vom; Zoeller, R T; O'Brien, K P; Myers, J P

2013-01-01

A central goal of green chemistry is to avoid hazard in the design of new chemicals. This objective is best achieved when information about a chemical's potential hazardous effects is obtained as early in the design process as feasible. Endocrine disruption is a type of hazard that to date has been inadequately addressed by both industrial and regulatory science. To aid chemists in avoiding this hazard, we propose an endocrine disruption testing protocol for use by chemists in the design of new chemicals. The Tiered Protocol for Endocrine Disruption (TiPED) has been created under the oversight of a scientific advisory committee composed of leading representatives from both green chemistry and the environmental health sciences. TiPED is conceived as a tool for new chemical design, thus it starts with a chemist theoretically at "the drawing board." It consists of five testing tiers ranging from broad in silico evaluation up through specific cell- and whole organism-based assays. To be effective at detecting endocrine disruption, a testing protocol must be able to measure potential hormone-like or hormone-inhibiting effects of chemicals, as well as the many possible interactions and signaling sequellae such chemicals may have with cell-based receptors. Accordingly, we have designed this protocol to broadly interrogate the endocrine system. The proposed protocol will not detect all possible mechanisms of endocrine disruption, because scientific understanding of these phenomena is advancing rapidly. To ensure that the protocol remains current, we have established a plan for incorporating new assays into the protocol as the science advances. In this paper we present the principles that should guide the science of testing new chemicals for endocrine disruption, as well as principles by which to evaluate individual assays for applicability, and laboratories for reliability. In a 'proof-of-principle' test, we ran 6 endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that act via

Geochemical reactivity of rocks of the Czech Republic

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Chuman, T.; Gürtlerová, P.; Hruška, Jakub; Adamová, M.

2014-01-01

Roč. 10, č. 2 (2014), s. 341-349 ISSN 1744-5647 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0073 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : geochemical reactivity * Czech Republic * susceptibility to weathering Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 1.193, year: 2014

[Novel concepts in biology of diffuse endocrine system: results and future investigations].

Science.gov (United States)

Iaglov, V V; Iaglova, N V

2012-01-01

Diffuse endocrine system is a largest part of endocrine system of vertebrates. Recend findings showed that DES-cells are not neuroectodermal but have ectodermal, mesodermal, and entodermal ontogeny. The article reviews novel concept of diffuse endocrine system anatomy and physiology, functional role of DES hormones and poorly investigated aspects like DES-cell morphology, hormones secretion in normal and pathologic conditions. Further research of diffuse endocrine system has a great significance for biochemistry, morphology, and clinical medicine.

ENDOCRINE PANCREATIC FUNCTION IN ACUTE PANCREATITIS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. V. Novokhatny

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction Among the organs of internal secretion pancreas has a special place thanks to active exocrine function and a wide range of physiological actions of produced hormones. Violations of endocrine pancreas arises in 6.5-38 % of patients with acute pancreatitis. However, there is still no clear understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms of hormonal dysfunction of the pancreas in acute pancreatitis, there is no uniform algorithms for its correction. Aim of the research was to study the endocrine function of pancreas in acute pancreatitis. To define the role of endocrine pancreatic function in the etiology and pathogenesis of the acute pancreatitis. To assess the prospects of the use of pancreatic hormones in the treatment and predicting the outcomes of acute pancreatitis. Materials and methods of the research Survey of publications in specialized periodical medical journals, PubMed sources developed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Search in PubMed was carried out in the following databases: MEDLINE, Pre MEDLINE. Results of the research. In a significant proportion of patients who recovered from acute pancreatitis, exocrine and endocrine functional impairments were found. This finding was not detected only in patients after severe acute pancreatitis. Routine evaluation of pancreatic function after acute pancreatitis should be considered. The comparative analysis of the synthetic analogues (somatostatin, calcitonin, leu-enkefalin-dalargin influence on the glucose metabolism of rats in acute pancreatitis of was made. Physiological reaction of beta-cells is preserved in infusion of somatostatin. However, infusion of calcitonin results in the distortion of counterregulatory action of insulin and glucagon. It was detected that pancreatic renin-angiotensin system is markedly activated in the experimental rat models of chronic hypoxia and acute pancreatitis. The activation of the pancreatic renin-angiotensin system by

Functional Hypothalamic Amenorrhea: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline.

Science.gov (United States)

Gordon, Catherine M; Ackerman, Kathryn E; Berga, Sarah L; Kaplan, Jay R; Mastorakos, George; Misra, Madhusmita; Murad, M Hassan; Santoro, Nanette F; Warren, Michelle P

2017-05-01

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the European Society of Endocrinology, and the Pediatric Endocrine Society. This guideline was funded by the Endocrine Society. To formulate clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA). The participants include an Endocrine Society-appointed task force of eight experts, a methodologist, and a medical writer. This evidence-based guideline was developed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach to describe the strength of recommendations and the quality of evidence. The task force commissioned two systematic reviews and used the best available evidence from other published systematic reviews and individual studies. One group meeting, several conference calls, and e-mail communications enabled consensus. Endocrine Society committees and members and cosponsoring organizations reviewed and commented on preliminary drafts of this guideline. FHA is a form of chronic anovulation, not due to identifiable organic causes, but often associated with stress, weight loss, excessive exercise, or a combination thereof. Investigations should include assessment of systemic and endocrinologic etiologies, as FHA is a diagnosis of exclusion. A multidisciplinary treatment approach is necessary, including medical, dietary, and mental health support. Medical complications include, among others, bone loss and infertility, and appropriate therapies are under debate and investigation. Copyright © 2017 Endocrine Society

Specifying pancreatic endocrine cell fates.

Science.gov (United States)

Collombat, Patrick; Hecksher-Sørensen, Jacob; Serup, Palle; Mansouri, Ahmed

2006-07-01

Cell replacement therapy could represent an attractive alternative to insulin injections for the treatment of diabetes. However, this approach requires a thorough understanding of the molecular switches controlling the specification of the different pancreatic cell-types in vivo. These are derived from an apparently identical pool of cells originating from the early gut endoderm, which are successively specified towards the pancreatic, endocrine, and hormone-expressing cell lineages. Numerous studies have outlined the crucial roles exerted by transcription factors in promoting the cell destiny, defining the cell identity and maintaining a particular cell fate. This review focuses on the mechanisms regulating the morphogenesis of the pancreas with particular emphasis on recent findings concerning the transcription factor hierarchy orchestrating endocrine cell fate allocation.

Bicaudal C1 promotes pancreatic NEUROG3+ endocrine progenitor differentiation and ductal morphogenesis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemaire, Laurence A; Goulley, Joan; Kim, Yung Hae

2015-01-01

that line the ducts during development, and in the ducts after birth, but not in differentiated endocrine or acinar cells. Genetic inactivation of Bicc1 leads to ductal cell over-proliferation and cyst formation. Transcriptome comparison between WT and Bicc1 KO pancreata, before the phenotype onset, reveals......(+) endocrine progenitor production. Its deletion leads to a late but sustained endocrine progenitor decrease, resulting in a 50% reduction of endocrine cells. We show that BICC1 functions downstream of ONECUT1 in the pathway controlling both NEUROG3(+) endocrine cell production and ductal morphogenesis...

Practice patterns and job satisfaction in fellowship-trained endocrine surgeons.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsinberg, Michael; Duh, Quan-Yang; Cisco, Robin M; Gosnell, Jessica E; Scholten, Anouk; Clark, Orlo H; Shen, Wen T

2012-12-01

Debates about the difficult job market for young endocrine surgeons are ongoing. This study aimed to analyze the practice patterns and work-related satisfaction levels of recently trained endocrine surgeons. An anonymous survey was utilized. Participants were divided into 3 groups: "Young" (5 years). Fifty-six of 78 surgeons (72%) responded to the survey. Time in practice ranged from 1 to 9 years (mean, 3.9 ± 0.28). Forty-five (80%) described their practice as academic. Participants performed 244.1 ± 17.8 operations within the last year; 75.4 ± 3.3% were endocrine cases. More surgeons in the "young" group have academic practices (92%) and joined established endocrine surgery groups (54%) versus older surgeons (67% and 42%; P = .05). Of surgeons in the "young" group, 4% started their own practice versus 33% in the "older" group (P = .04). Level of satisfaction with financial compensation (3.2 on a 4-point scale versus 2.9) and lifestyle (3.6 vs 3.1) was also higher in the younger group (P = .009). Despite widespread speculation about scarcity of academic jobs after fellowship, recently trained endocrine surgeons are more likely to practice in academic settings and join established endocrine surgery practices when compared with older surgeons. Overall satisfaction level is higher among recently trained surgeons. Copyright © 2012 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Endocrine control of epigenetic mechanisms in male reproduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Ankolkar, Mandar; Balasinor, N H

2016-01-01

Endocrine control of reproduction is very well known and has been echoed by many research groups. However, recent developments point to the ability of toxic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) to alter epigenetic information of the gametes which gets transferred to the developing embryo and affects the immediate reproductive outcome or even persists transgenerationally. These epigenetic aberrations contribute to the ensuing pathophysiology of reproductive disorders. Investigations of the female in cases of poor reproductive outcome have been the main strategy towards diagnosis. However, despite the male partner contributing half of his genome to the progeny, thorough investigations in the male have been ignored. Environmental pollutants are all pervading and are encountered in our day-to-day life. Many of these pollutants have potential to disrupt the endocrine system. Here, we discuss how the male gametes (spermatozoa) are susceptible to a myriad of epigenetic insults inflicted by exposure to endocrine disruptors and how important is the contribution of the epigenetic marks of the spermatozoa in healthy reproduction. We advocate that sperm epigenetics should be considered as a significant contributor to reproductive health and should be researched further and be subsequently included in routine diagnostic workup in cases of poor reproductive outcome.

Low empathy-like behaviour in male mice associates with impaired sociability, emotional memory, physiological stress reactivity and variations in neurobiological regulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Laviola, Giovanni; Zoratto, Francesca; Ingiosi, Danilo; Carito, Valentina; Huzard, Damien; Fiore, Marco; Macrì, Simone

2017-01-01

Deficits in empathy have been proposed to constitute a hallmark of several psychiatric disturbances like conduct disorder, antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders. Limited sensitivity to punishment, shallow or deficient affect and reduced physiological reactivity to environmental stressors have been often reported to co-occur with limited empathy and contribute to the onset of antisocial phenotypes. Empathy in its simplest form (i.e. emotional contagion) is addressed in preclinical models through the evaluation of the social transmission of emotional states: mice exposed to a painful stimulus display a higher response if in the presence of a familiar individual experiencing a higher degree of discomfort, than in isolation. In the present study, we investigated whether a reduction of emotional contagion can be considered a predictor of reduced sociality, sensitivity to punishment and physiological stress reactivity. To this aim, we first evaluated emotional contagion in a group of Balb/cJ mice and then discretised their values in four quartiles. The upper (i.e. Emotional Contagion Prone, ECP) and the lower (i.e. Emotional Contagion Resistant, ECR) quartiles constituted the experimental groups. Our results indicate that mice in the lower quartile are characterized by reduced sociability, impaired memory of negative events and dampened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical reactivity to external stressors. Furthermore, in the absence of changes in oxytocin receptor density, we show that these mice exhibit elevated concentrations of oxytocin and vasopressin and reduced density of BDNF receptors in behaviourally-relevant brain areas. Thus, not only do present results translate to the preclinical investigation of psychiatric disturbances, but also they can contribute to the study of emotional contagion in terms of its adaptive significance.

Low empathy-like behaviour in male mice associates with impaired sociability, emotional memory, physiological stress reactivity and variations in neurobiological regulations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giovanni Laviola

Full Text Available Deficits in empathy have been proposed to constitute a hallmark of several psychiatric disturbances like conduct disorder, antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders. Limited sensitivity to punishment, shallow or deficient affect and reduced physiological reactivity to environmental stressors have been often reported to co-occur with limited empathy and contribute to the onset of antisocial phenotypes. Empathy in its simplest form (i.e. emotional contagion is addressed in preclinical models through the evaluation of the social transmission of emotional states: mice exposed to a painful stimulus display a higher response if in the presence of a familiar individual experiencing a higher degree of discomfort, than in isolation. In the present study, we investigated whether a reduction of emotional contagion can be considered a predictor of reduced sociality, sensitivity to punishment and physiological stress reactivity. To this aim, we first evaluated emotional contagion in a group of Balb/cJ mice and then discretised their values in four quartiles. The upper (i.e. Emotional Contagion Prone, ECP and the lower (i.e. Emotional Contagion Resistant, ECR quartiles constituted the experimental groups. Our results indicate that mice in the lower quartile are characterized by reduced sociability, impaired memory of negative events and dampened hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical reactivity to external stressors. Furthermore, in the absence of changes in oxytocin receptor density, we show that these mice exhibit elevated concentrations of oxytocin and vasopressin and reduced density of BDNF receptors in behaviourally-relevant brain areas. Thus, not only do present results translate to the preclinical investigation of psychiatric disturbances, but also they can contribute to the study of emotional contagion in terms of its adaptive significance.

Many Putative Endocrine Disruptors Inhibit Prostaglandin Synthesis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, David M.; Skalkam, Maria L.; Audouze, Karine Marie Laure

2011-01-01

Background: Prostaglandins (PGs) play key roles in development and maintenance of homeostasis of the adult body. Despite these important roles, it remains unclear whether the PG pathway is a target for endocrine disruption. However, several known endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) share a high...... suggest a hitherto unknown mode of action by EDCs through inhibition of the PG pathway and suggest new avenues to investigate effects of EDCs on reproductive and immunological disorders that have become increasingly common in recent decades....

Endocrine diseases in ferrets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schoemaker, N.J.; van Zeeland, Y.R.A.

2013-01-01

SUMMARY Endocrine diseases are among the most commonly seen conditions in ferrets. Tumours of the islet cells in the pancreas, referred to as insulinomas, and tumours of the adrenal glands, referred to as hyperadrenocorticism, are more commonly described in this species than in any other species.

Molecular diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Molecular diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A. RJ Pegoraro, DJ Hacking, RH Buck, L Rom, PA Lanning, GMB Berger. Abstract. Objective. To identify by means of genetic analyses individuals who are at risk of developing medullary thyroid cancer that is a component of multiple endocrine neoplasia. Subjects.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Endocrine Co-Morbidities in Patients with Cystic Fibrosis

Science.gov (United States)

Siwamogsatham, Oranan; Alvarez, Jessica

2015-01-01

Purpose of review The aim of this review is to provide an update on various relevant endocrine aspects of care in adolescents and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). Recent findings As life expectancy in CF has continuously improved, endocrine complications have become more apparent. The common endocrine complications include cystic fibrosis related diabetes (CFRD), cystic fibrosis related bone disease, vitamin D deficiency and poor growth and pubertal development. Thyroid and adrenal disorders have also been reported, although the prevalence appears to be less common. Summary Endocrine diseases are an increasingly recognized complication that has a significant impact on the overall health of individuals with CF. This review summarizes the updated screening and management of endocrine diseases in the CF population. PMID:25105995

Endocrine dysfunction in patients of leprosy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rohit Kumar Singh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Leprosy is a chronic granulomatous disease and affects many internal organs in addition to the skin and peripheral nerves. Endocrine dysfunction is often silent and is often missed in patients of leprosy leading to significant morbidity. We studied the presence of occult endocrine disorders in leprosy patients and compared the same with disease parameters. Materials and Methods: We evaluated 40 patients of leprosy (aged 18-70 years, any duration in this cross-sectional, observational study. All subjects were assessed for pituitary, thyroid, adrenal, gonadal function, and dynamic testing was done when deemed necessary. The participants were divided into two groups: Group 1 (Leprosy, n = 40 and Group 2 (Controls, n = 20 and the data were analyzed with appropriate statistical tests. Results: The study participants (35 males, 5 females had a mean age of 36.4 ± 11.3 years, and duration of the disease was 2.5 ± 5.5 years. Eleven out of 40 patients showed results consistent with an endocrine disorder, including subclinical hypothyroidism (n = 4, sick euthyroid syndrome (n = 3, growth hormone (GH deficiency (n = 2, primary hypogonadism (n = 2 and secondary hypogonadism in one patient. One patient had partial hypopituitarism (GH deficiency and secondary hypogonadism and none of the controls showed any hormonal dysfunction. Testosterone levels showed inverse correlation with the number of skin patches (P = 0.0006. Conclusion: Occult endocrine dysfunction is seen in a quarter of patients with leprosy. Thyroid and gonadal axes abnormalities are common, and the severity is more in lepromatous forms of the disease. Further large studies are required to confirm the findings observed in our study.

Prader-Willi syndrome: From genetics to behaviour, with special focus on appetite treatments.

Science.gov (United States)

Griggs, Joanne L; Sinnayah, Puspha; Mathai, Michael L

2015-12-01

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder resulting from a deletion in the expression of the paternally derived alleles in the region of 15q11-q13. PWS has a prevalence rate of 1:10,000-1:30,000 and is characterized by marked endocrine abnormalities including growth hormone deficiency and raised ghrelin levels. The hyperphagic phenotype in PWS is established over a number of phases and is exacerbated by impaired satiety, low energy expenditure and intellectual difficulties including obsessive-compulsive disorder and/or autistic behaviours. Clinical management in PWS typically includes familial/carer restriction and close supervision of food intake. If the supervision of food is left unmanaged, morbid obesity eventuates, central to the risk of cardiorespiratory disorder. None of the current appetite management/intervention strategies for PWS include pharmacological treatment, though recent research shows some promise. We review the established aberrant genetics and the endocrine and neuronal attributes which may determine disturbed regulatory processes in PWS. Focusing on clinical trials for appetite behaviours in PWS, we define the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments with a view to initiating and focusing research towards possible targets for modulating appetite in PWS. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behavioural conditioning of immune functions: how the central nervous system controls peripheral immune responses by evoking associative learning processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Riether, Carsten; Doenlen, Raphaël; Pacheco-López, Gustavo; Niemi, Maj-Britt; Engler, Andrea; Engler, Harald; Schedlowski, Manfred

2008-01-01

During the last 30 years of psychoneuroimmunology research the intense bi-directional communication between the central nervous system (CNS) and the immune system has been demonstrated in studies on the interaction between the nervous-endocrine-immune systems. One of the most intriguing examples of such interaction is the capability of the CNS to associate an immune status with specific environmental stimuli. In this review, we systematically summarize experimental evidence demonstrating the behavioural conditioning of peripheral immune functions. In particular, we focus on the mechanisms underlying the behavioural conditioning process and provide a theoretical framework that indicates the potential feasibility of behaviourally conditioned immune changes in clinical situations.

Nigerian Endocrine Practice: Submissions

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Original Articles should be restricted to clinical or basic studies, particularly translational research, which add new information to the etiology, treatment, and outcomes of endocrine disorders that have not been published previously. These manuscripts should be restricted to 3,500 words, no more than 40 references, and no ...

What Is Women's Endocrine Health?

Science.gov (United States)

... harness the power to prevent endocrine disorders, the Power of Prevention. Childhood Childhood is a time of rapid growth and development to learn healthy living habits and priorities. It can, however, be a great ...

Development and Investigation of Reactivity Measurement Methods in Subcritical Cores

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wright, Johanna

2005-05-01

Subcriticality measurements during core loading and in future accelerator driven systems have a clear safety relevance. In this thesis two subcriticality methods are treated: the Feynman-alpha and the source modulation method. The Feynman-alpha method is a technique to determine the reactivity from the relative variance of the detector counts during a measurement period. The period length is varied to get the full time dependence of the variance-to-mean. The corresponding theoretical formula was known only with stationary sources. In this thesis, due to its relevance for novel reactivity measurement methods, the Feynman-alpha formulae for pulsed sources for both the stochastic and the deterministic cases are treated. Formulae neglecting as well as including the delayed neutrons are derived. The formulae neglecting delayed neutrons are experimentally verified with quite good agreement. The second reactivity measurement technique investigated in this thesis is the so-called source modulation technique. The theory of the method was elaborated on the assumption of point kinetics, but in practice the method will be applied by using the signal from a single local neutron detector. Applicability of the method therefore assumes point kinetic behaviour of the core. Hence, first the conditions of the point kinetic behaviour of subcritical cores was investigated. After that the performance of the source modulation technique in the general case as well as and in the limit of exact point kinetic behaviour was examined. We obtained the unexpected result that the method has a finite, non-negligible error even in the limit of point kinetic behaviour, and a substantial error in the operation range of future accelerator driven subcritical reactors (ADS). In practice therefore the method needs to be calibrated by some other method for on-line applications.

Development and Investigation of Reactivity Measurement Methods in Subcritical Cores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wright, Johanna

2005-05-01

Subcriticality measurements during core loading and in future accelerator driven systems have a clear safety relevance. In this thesis two subcriticality methods are treated: the Feynman-alpha and the source modulation method. The Feynman-alpha method is a technique to determine the reactivity from the relative variance of the detector counts during a measurement period. The period length is varied to get the full time dependence of the variance-to-mean. The corresponding theoretical formula was known only with stationary sources. In this thesis, due to its relevance for novel reactivity measurement methods, the Feynman-alpha formulae for pulsed sources for both the stochastic and the deterministic cases are treated. Formulae neglecting as well as including the delayed neutrons are derived. The formulae neglecting delayed neutrons are experimentally verified with quite good agreement. The second reactivity measurement technique investigated in this thesis is the so-called source modulation technique. The theory of the method was elaborated on the assumption of point kinetics, but in practice the method will be applied by using the signal from a single local neutron detector. Applicability of the method therefore assumes point kinetic behaviour of the core. Hence, first the conditions of the point kinetic behaviour of subcritical cores was investigated. After that the performance of the source modulation technique in the general case as well as and in the limit of exact point kinetic behaviour was examined. We obtained the unexpected result that the method has a finite, non-negligible error even in the limit of point kinetic behaviour, and a substantial error in the operation range of future accelerator driven subcritical reactors (ADS). In practice therefore the method needs to be calibrated by some other method for on-line applications

Adipose tissue as an endocrine organ.

Science.gov (United States)

McGown, Christine; Birerdinc, Aybike; Younossi, Zobair M

2014-02-01

Obesity is one of the most important health challenges faced by developed countries and is increasingly affecting adolescents and children. Obesity is also a considerable risk factor for the development of numerous other chronic diseases, such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The epidemic proportions of obesity and its numerous comorbidities are bringing into focus the highly complex and metabolically active adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is increasingly being considered as a functional endocrine organ. This article discusses the endocrine effects of adipose tissue during obesity and the systemic impact of this signaling. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Metabolic, endocrine, and related bone diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, L.F.

1987-01-01

Bone is living tissue, and old bone is constantly removed and replaced with new bone. Normally this exchange is in balance, and the mineral content remains relatively constant. This balance may be disturbed as a result of certain metabolic and endocrinologic disorders. The term dystrophy, referring to a disturbance of nutrition, is applied to metabolic and endocrine bone diseases and should be distinguished from the term dysplasia, referring to a disturbance of bone growth. The two terms are easily confused but are not interchangeable. Metabolic bone disease is caused by endocrine imbalance, vitamin deficiency or excess, and other disturbances in bone metabolism leading to osteoporosis and osteomalacia

Afferent Endocrine Control of Eating

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langhans, Wolfgang; Holst, Jens Juul

2016-01-01

The afferent endocrine factors that control eating can be separated into different categories. One obvious categorization is by the time course of their effects, with long-term factors that signal adiposity and short-term factors that operate within the time frame of single meals. The second...... obvious categorization is by the origin of the endocrine signalling molecules. The level of knowledge concerning the physiological mechanisms and relevance of the hormones that are implicated in the control of eating is clearly different. With the accumulating knowledge about the hormones' actions......, various criteria have been developed for when the effect of a hormone can be considered 'physiologic'. This chapter treats the hormones separately and categorizes them by origin. It discusses ALL hormones that are implicated in eating control such as Gastrointestinal (GI) hormone and glucagon-like peptide...

Radiation pathomorphology of the gastrointestinal endocrine cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuzhakov, V.V.; Yakovleva, N.D.; Kvetnoj, I.M.; Ulitina, E.D.

1994-01-01

The paper presents the results of histochemical, electronmicroscopic and radioautographic analysis of the effects of a total single gamma irradiation on the functional morphology of cells of the diffuse endocrine system of the gastrointestinal tract of rats and mice. Irradiation in dosses from 5 to 20 Gy results in reduction of the detectability of argyrophilic and argentaffine cells. Changes in these cells counts are related to the irradiation dose. The reaction observed early after the irradiation is related to changes in the endocrine and endoplasmatic reticulum

Polish Society of Endocrinology Position statement on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

Science.gov (United States)

Rutkowska, Aleksandra; Rachoń, Dominik; Milewicz, Andrzej; Ruchała, Marek; Bolanowski, Marek; Jędrzejuk, Diana; Bednarczuk, Tomasz; Górska, Maria; Hubalewska-Dydejczyk, Alicja; Kos-Kudła, Beata; Lewiński, Andrzej; Zgliczyński, Wojciech

2015-01-01

With the reference to the position statements of the Endocrine Society, the Paediatric Endocrine Society, and the European Society of Paediatric Endocrinology, the Polish Society of Endocrinology points out the adverse health effects caused by endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) commonly used in daily life as components of plastics, food containers, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. The statement is based on the alarming data about the increase of the prevalence of many endocrine disorders such as: cryptorchidism, precocious puberty in girls and boys, and hormone-dependent cancers (endometrium, breast, prostate). In our opinion, it is of human benefit to conduct epidemiological studies that will enable the estimation of the risk factors of exposure to EDCs and the probability of endocrine disorders. Increasing consumerism and the industrial boom has led to severe pollution of the environment with a corresponding negative impact on human health; thus, there is great necessity for the biomonitoring of EDCs in Poland.

Nicotine enhances modulation of food-cue reactivity by leptin and ghrelin in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Kroemer, Nils B; Wuttig, Franziska; Bidlingmaier, Martin; Zimmermann, Ulrich S; Smolka, Michael N

2015-07-01

Endocrine signals such as ghrelin and leptin are known to modulate the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system and, consequently, show associations with food and drug reward. In animal models, nicotine was demonstrated to reduce body weight by attenuating food intake and effects of leptin and ghrelin are partly modulated by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors which hint at potential interactions. However, the neuropharmacological modulation of endocrine signals by nicotine in healthy humans remains to be tested experimentally. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate food-cue reactivity after an overnight fast and following a caloric load (oral glucose tolerance test, OGTT) in 26 healthy normal-weight never-smokers. Moreover, we administered either nicotine (2 mg) or placebo gums using a randomized cross-over design and assessed blood plasma levels of ghrelin and leptin. During fasting, nicotine administration decreased correlations with ghrelin levels in the mesocorticolimbic system whereas correlations with leptin were increased. After the OGTT, nicotine increased the modulatory effects of ghrelin and leptin on food-cue reactivity, particularly in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the amygdala. Critically, this led to an indirect modulation of the behavioral 'appetizer effect' (i.e. cue-induced increases in subjective appetite) by homeostatic feedback signals via food-cue reactivity in vmPFC. We conclude that nicotine enhances the effect of ghrelin and leptin in the valuation and relevance network which might, in turn, reduce appetite. This highlights that amplifying the impact of homeostatic signals such as ghrelin and leptin in normal-weight individuals might hint at a mechanism contributing to nicotine's anorexic potential. © 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.

An endocrine disrupting chemical changes courtship and parental care in the sand goby

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saaristo, Minna, E-mail: Minna.Saaristo@helsinki.fi [Department of Bio- and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, FI-00014 Helsinki (Finland); Craft, John A. [Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, Scotland (United Kingdom); Lehtonen, Kari K. [Finnish Environment Institute, Marine Research Centre, P.O. Box 140, FI-00251 Helsinki (Finland); Lindstroem, Kai [Environmental and Marine Biology, Abo Akademi University, FI-20520 Turku (Finland)

2010-05-10

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a diverse group of compounds that can mimic, block or modulate the synthesis of natural hormones. They are known to cause impairment of reproduction of aquatic organisms at very low concentrations. The aim of this study was to examine how exposure from 10 to 31 days to 17{alpha}-ethinyl estradiol (EE2, 41 ng L{sup -1}) affects the courtship and parental care behaviour of male sand gobies (Pomatoschistus minutus). The sand goby exhibits a polygynous mating system, where males compete for females and provide paternal care. First, male courtship performance towards a stimulus female was recorded with video camera. Secondly, after the male had received eggs his parental care behaviour was video recorded. In addition to behavioural endpoints, we measured the expression of hepatic vitellogenin (Vtg) and zona radiata protein (Zrp) mRNA, as well as common somatic indices. Our study shows that exposure to EE2 affected male fanning behaviour during both courtship and parental care. Interestingly, small exposed males increased their courtship fanning to similar levels as larger control males. However, during parental care egg fanning was not related to male size, and all exposed males fanned more than control males. The EE2-exposure induced Vtg and Zrp mRNA expression in males and decreased hepatosomatic index (HSI), and increased gonadosomatic index (GSI). Females prefer males that fan more, which will favour the small EDC exposed males. This may lead to mating that favours males that are not strong enough to tend the eggs until they hatch, thus decreasing the reproductive success of individuals.

Endocrine Therapy of Breast Cancer

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Clarke, Robert S

2005-01-01

...) or TAM should be given as first line endocrine therapy. Unfortunately, response rates are lower, and response durations are shorter, on crossover than when these agents are given as first line therapies, e.g., -40...

Science and policy on endocrine disrupters must not be mixed

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bergman, Åke; Andersson, Anna-Maria; Becher, Georg

2013-01-01

The "common sense" intervention by toxicology journal editors regarding proposed European Union endocrine disrupter regulations ignores scientific evidence and well-established principles of chemical risk assessment. In this commentary, endocrine disrupter experts express their concerns about a r...

Early endocrine disruptors exposure acts on 3T3-L1 differentiation and endocrine activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofiane Boudalia

2017-06-01

Conclusion: This study confirms that EDs singularly or in mixtures, introduced during early stages of life, could affect the differentiation and the endocrine activity of adipocytes, and can act as potential factors for obesity.

Endocrine Therapy of Breast Cancer

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Clarke, Robert

2008-01-01

...) or TAM should be given as first line endocrine therapy. Unfortunately, response rates are lower, and response durations are shorter, on crossover than when these agents are given as first line therapies, e.g., ̃40...

Endocrine Therapy of Breast Cancer

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Clarke, Robert

2007-01-01

...) or TAM should be given as first line endocrine therapy. Unfortunately, response rates are lower, and response durations are shorter, on crossover than when these agents are given as first line therapies, e.g., ̃40...

The impact of the amount of polypropylene fibres on spalling behaviour and residual mechanical properties of Reactive Powder Concretes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hager I.

2013-09-01

Full Text Available In this paper, an experimental study on the spalling behaviour and mechanical properties of Reactive Powder Concretes (RPCs in high temperature are presented. The research program was established to evaluate the impact of low melting temperature polypropylene fibres PP on mechanical properties evolution with temperature but also to verify the effectiveness of their addition to prevent spalling. Three sets of RPC specimens were prepared for this study with different amount of PP fibres (no fibres, 1.0 kg/m3 and 2.0 kg/m3. The addition of PP fibres reduces the initial compressive strength of the RPC material by approx. 14% no significant influence on modulus of elasticity was observed. Addition of 1 kg/m3 of PP fibres in RPC, seem not to give a sufficient protection against occurrence of spalling phenomenon. By adding 2 kg/m3 of PP fibres the risk of spalling is significantly reduced.

Rhythms in the endocrine system of fish: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, Mairi; Azpeleta, Clara; López-Olmeda, Jose Fernando

2017-12-01

The environment which living organisms inhabit is not constant and many factors, such as light, temperature, and food availability, display cyclic and predictable variations. To adapt to these cyclic changes, animals present biological rhythms in many of their physiological variables, timing their functions to occur when the possibility of success is greatest. Among these variables, many endocrine factors have been described as displaying rhythms in vertebrates. The aim of the present review is to provide a thorough review of the existing knowledge on the rhythms of the endocrine system of fish by examining the hormones that show rhythmicity, how environmental factors control these rhythms and the variation in the responses of the endocrine system depending on the time of the day. We mainly focused on the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, which can be considered as the master axis of the endocrine system of vertebrates and regulates a great variety of functions, including reproduction, growth, metabolism, energy homeostasis, stress response, and osmoregulation. In addition, the rhythms of other hormones, such as melatonin and the factors, produced in the gastrointestinal system of fish are reviewed.

Double adjoint method for determining the contribution of composition to reactivity at different times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christie, S.A.; Lathouwers, D.; Kloosterman, J.L.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► The double adjoint method is described. ► System reloading is determined so the multiplication factor behaviour is repeated. ► Both fast and thermal systems behave as desired. ► Allowance must be made for indirect effects in thermal systems. ► An alternative definition of breeding ratio is derived. -- Abstract: The double adjoint method uses the adjoint reactivity and transmutation problems to describe how the system composition is related to the system reactivity at different points in time. Values of the contribution to the reactivity are determined using the adjoint reactivity problem, and these are then used as the source function for the adjoint transmutation problem. The method is applied to the problem of determining the contribution of the beginning of cycle composition to the end of cycle reactivity. It is tested in both fast and thermal systems by comparing the behaviour of the multiplication factor at the end of cycle in calculations with perturbed initial compositions to that predicted by the double adjoint method. The results from the fast system are good, while those from the thermal system are less favourable. This is believed to be due to the method neglecting the coupling between the composition and the flux, which plays a more significant role in thermal systems than fast ones. The importance of correcting for the effects of the fuel compound is also established. The values found are used in calculations to determine the appropriate fuel reloading of the systems tested, with the aim of duplicating the behaviour of the multiplication factor of the original system. Again the fast system gives good results, while the thermal system is less accurate. The double adjoint method is also used for a definition of breeding ratio, and some of the features of this definition are illustrated by examining the effects of different feed materials and reprocessing schemes. The method is shown to be a useful tool for the comparison of the

ECETOC Florence workshop on risk assessment of endocrine substances, including the potency concept.

Science.gov (United States)

Fegert, Ivana

2013-12-16

The European regulation on plant protection products (1107/2009) and the Biocidal Products Regulation (EC Regulation 528/2012) only support the marketing and use of chemicals if they do not cause endocrine disruption in humans or wildlife species. Also, substances with endocrine properties are subject to authorization under the European regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorization and restriction of chemicals (REACH; 1907/2006). Therefore, the regulatory consequences of identifying a substance as an endocrine disrupting chemical are severe. In contrast to that, basic scientific criteria, necessary to define endocrine disrupting properties, are not described in any of these legislative documents. Thus, the European Center for Ecotoxicology and Toxicology of Chemicals (ECETOC) established a task force to provide scientific criteria for the identification and assessment of chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties that may be used within the context of these three legislative texts (ECETOC, 2009a). In 2009, ECETOC introduced a scientific framework as a possible concept for identifying endocrine disrupting properties within a regulatory context (ECETOC, 2009b; Bars et al., 2011a,b). The proposed scientific criteria integrated, in a weight of evidence approach, information from regulatory (eco)toxicity studies and mechanistic/screening studies by combining evidence for adverse effects detected in apical whole-organism studies with an understanding of the mode of action (MoA) of endocrine toxicity. However, since not all chemicals with endocrine disrupting properties are of equal hazard, an adequate concept should also be able to differentiate between chemicals with endocrine properties of low concern from those of higher concern (for regulatory purposes). For this purpose, the task force refined this part of their concept. Following an investigation of the key factors at a second workshop of invited regulatory, academic and industry scientists, the

Endocrine and gonadial tumors among A-bomb survivors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeichi, Nobuo; Dohi, Kiyohiko; Fujikura, Toshio

1986-01-01

A review of 4,136 consecutive autopsies between 1961 and 1977 and surgical cases from A-bomb survivors seen in Hiroshima University School of Medicine was made in terms of pituitary tumors, parathyroid tumors, thyroid cancer, carcinoid, tumors of the adrenal cortex, ovarian tumors, testicular tumors, and multiple endocrine gonadial tumors (MEGT). The occurrence of thyroid cancer, parathyroid tumors, and MEGT may be correlated with atomic radiation. Mortality from endocrine and gonadial tumors tended to be higher with increasing T65 doses. As for MEGT, the combination of thyroid cancer and ovarian tumors occurred frequently among A-bomb survivors. The combination of medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland and pheochromacytoma of the adrenal gland was unlikely to be related to atomic radiation. Further study may be needed in elucidating possible effects of atomic radiation on endocrine hormones. (Namekawa, K.)

Going beyond audit and feedback: towards behaviour-based interventions to change physician laboratory test ordering behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Meidani, Z; Mousavi, G A; Kheirkhah, D; Benar, N; Maleki, M R; Sharifi, M; Farrokhian, A

2017-12-01

Studies indicate there are a variety of contributing factors affecting physician test ordering behaviour. Identifying these behaviours allows development of behaviour-based interventions. Methods Through a pilot study, the list of contributing factors in laboratory tests ordering, and the most ordered tests, were identified, and given to 50 medical students, interns, residents and paediatricians in questionnaire form. The results showed routine tests and peer or supervisor pressure as the most influential factors affecting physician ordering behaviour. An audit and feedback mechanism was selected as an appropriate intervention to improve physician ordering behaviour. The intervention was carried out at two intervals over a three-month period. Findings There was a large reduction in the number of laboratory tests ordered; from 908 before intervention to 389 and 361 after first and second intervention, respectively. There was a significant relationship between audit and feedback and the meaningful reduction of 7 out of 15 laboratory tests including complete blood count (p = 0.002), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p = 0.01), C-reactive protein (p = 0.01), venous blood gas (p = 0.016), urine analysis (p = 0.005), blood culture (p = 0.045) and stool examination (p = 0.001). Conclusion The audit and feedback intervention, even in short duration, affects physician ordering behaviour. It should be designed in terms of behaviour-based intervention and diagnosis of the contributing factors in physicians' behaviour. Further studies are required to substantiate the effectiveness of such behaviour-based intervention strategies in changing physician behaviour.

How can we estimate natural selection on endocrine traits? Lessons from evolutionary biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonier, Frances; Martin, Paul R

2016-11-30

An evolutionary perspective can enrich almost any endeavour in biology, providing a deeper understanding of the variation we see in nature. To this end, evolutionary endocrinologists seek to describe the fitness consequences of variation in endocrine traits. Much of the recent work in our field, however, follows a flawed approach to the study of how selection shapes endocrine traits. Briefly, this approach relies on among-individual correlations between endocrine phenotypes (often circulating hormone levels) and fitness metrics to estimate selection on those endocrine traits. Adaptive plasticity in both endocrine and fitness-related traits can drive these correlations, generating patterns that do not accurately reflect natural selection. We illustrate why this approach to studying selection on endocrine traits is problematic, referring to work from evolutionary biologists who, decades ago, described this problem as it relates to a variety of other plastic traits. We extend these arguments to evolutionary endocrinology, where the likelihood that this flaw generates bias in estimates of selection is unusually high due to the exceptional responsiveness of hormones to environmental conditions, and their function to induce adaptive life-history responses to environmental variation. We end with a review of productive approaches for investigating the fitness consequences of variation in endocrine traits that we expect will generate exciting advances in our understanding of endocrine system evolution. © 2016 The Author(s).

Pathophysiology of the Effects of Alcohol Abuse on the Endocrine System.

Science.gov (United States)

Rachdaoui, Nadia; Sarkar, Dipak K

2017-01-01

Alcohol can permeate virtually every organ and tissue in the body, resulting in tissue injury and organ dysfunction. Considerable evidence indicates that alcohol abuse results in clinical abnormalities of one of the body's most important systems, the endocrine system. This system ensures proper communication between various organs, also interfacing with the immune and nervous systems, and is essential for maintaining a constant internal environment. The endocrine system includes the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, the hypothalamic-pituitary-growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor-1 axis, and the hypothalamic-posterior pituitary axis, as well as other sources of hormones, such as the endocrine pancreas and endocrine adipose tissue. Alcohol abuse disrupts all of these systems and causes hormonal disturbances that may result in various disorders, such as stress intolerance, reproductive dysfunction, thyroid problems, immune abnormalities, and psychological and behavioral disorders. Studies in both humans and animal models have helped shed light on alcohol's effects on various components of the endocrine system and their consequences.

Endocrine emergencies in critically ill patients: Challenges in diagnosis and management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukhminder Jit Singh Bajwa

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Endocrine emergencies pose unique challenges for the attending intensivist while managing critically ill patients. Besides taking care of primary disease state, one has to divert an equal attention to the possible associated endocrinopathies also. One of the common reasons for inability to timely diagnose an endocrinal failure in critically ill patients being the dominance of other severe systemic diseases and their clinical presentation. The timely diagnosis and administration of therapeutic interventions for these endocrine disorders can improve the outcome in critically ill patients. The timely diagnosis and administration of timely therapeutics in common endocrine disorders like severe thyroid disease, acute adrenal insufficiency and diabetic ketoacidosis significantly influence the outcome and prognosis. Careful evaluation of clinical history and a high degree of suspicion are the corner stone to diagnose such problems. Aggressive management of the patient is equally important as the complications are devastating and can prove highly fatal. The present article is an attempt to review some of the common endocrine emergencies in intensive care unit and the challenges associated with their diagnosis and management.

Overview of the Pathophysiological Implications of Organotins on the Endocrine System.

Science.gov (United States)

Marques, Vinicius Bermond; Faria, Rodrigo Alves; Dos Santos, Leonardo

2018-01-01

Organotins (OTs) are pollutants that are used widely by industry as disinfectants, pesticides, and most frequently as biocides in antifouling paints. This mini-review presents the main evidences from the literature about morphophysiological changes induced by OTs in the mammal endocrine system, focusing on the metabolism and reproductive control. Similar to other toxic compounds, the main effects with potential health risks to humans and experimental animals are not only related to dose and time of exposure but also to age, gender, and tissue/cell exposed. Regarding the underlying mechanisms, current literature indicates that OTs can directly damage endocrine glands, as well as interfere with neurohormonal control of endocrine function (i.e., in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis), altering hormone synthesis and/or bioavailability or activity of hormone receptors in the target cells. Importantly, OTs induces biochemical and morphological changes in gonads, abnormal steroidogenesis, both associated with reproductive dysfunctions such as irregular estrous cyclicity in female or spermatogenic disorders in male animals. Additionally, due to their role on endocrine systems predisposing to obesity, OTs are also included in the metabolism disrupting chemical hypothesis, either by central (e.g., accurate nucleus and lateral hypothalamus) or peripheral (e.g., adipose tissue) mechanisms. Thus, OTs should be indeed considered a major endocrine disruptor, being indispensable to understand the main toxic effects on the different tissues and its causative role for endocrine, metabolic, and reproductive dysfunctions observed.

Thirty-day outcomes underestimate endocrine and exocrine insufficiency after pancreatic resection.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Pei-Wen; Dinh, Kate H; Sullivan, Mary; Wassef, Wahid Y; Zivny, Jaroslav; Whalen, Giles F; LaFemina, Jennifer

2016-04-01

Long-term incidence of endocrine and exocrine insufficiency after pancreatectomy is poorly described. We analyze the long-term risks of pancreatic insufficiency after pancreatectomy. Subjects who underwent pancreatectomy from 2002 to 2012 were identified from a prospective database (n = 227). Subjects who underwent total pancreatectomy or pancreatitis surgery were excluded. New post-operative endocrine and exocrine insufficiency was defined as the need for new pharmacologic intervention within 1000 days from resection. 28 (16%) of 178 subjects without pre-existing endocrine insufficiency developed post-operative endocrine insufficiency: 7 (25%) did so within 30 days, 8 (29%) between 30 and 90 days, and 13 (46%) after 90 days. 94 (43%) of 214 subjects without pre-operative exocrine insufficiency developed exocrine insufficiency: 20 (21%) did so within 30 days, 29 (31%) between 30 and 90 days, and 45 (48%) after 90 days. Adjuvant radiation was associated with new endocrine insufficiency. On multivariate regression, pancreaticoduodenectomy and chemotherapy were associated with a greater risk of exocrine insufficiency. Reporting 30-day functional outcomes for pancreatic resection is insufficient, as nearly 45% of subjects who develop disease do so after 90 days. Reporting of at least 90-day outcomes may more reliably assess risk for post-operative endocrine and exocrine insufficiency. Copyright © 2016 International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

78 FR 57859 - Draft Guidance for Industry on Endocrine Disruption Potential of Drugs: Nonclinical Evaluation...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-20

... the endocrine system. This draft guidance also discusses factors to consider in determining the need... interfere with some aspect of the endocrine system of an organism or its progeny. Any component of the endocrine system can be a target of endocrine disruptors, although the systems most commonly affected...

Endocrine therapy for recurrence after definitive radiotherapy in patients with prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furuya, Yuzo; Akakura, Koichiro; Ichikawa, Tomohiko; Igarashi, Tatsuo; Ito, Haruo; Tanaka, Masashi; Murakami, Shino

2001-01-01

Long-term results were analyzed to evaluate the role of endocrine therapy in the management of local and distant recurrence of prostate cancer following external radiation therapy. Between 1976 and 1994, 92 patients with untreated prostate cancer underwent external beam radiation therapy alone. Endocrine therapy had been started when relapse was evident. Failure was seen in 35 of 92 patients: 10 local, 19 distant and six biochemical failures. Endocrine treatment was performed in 28 patients with nine local and 19 distant failures. The cancer-specific survival rate from the endocrine treatment was 54.5% at 5 years. Prostate-specific antigen level in 20 of 20 patients (100%) decreased to below the normal limit 3 months after the start of endocrine therapy. In univariate analysis, T classification was the most significant variable for cancer-specific survival from the initial treatment. A favorable outcome was achieved by endocrine therapy in patients who had relapsed after external beam radiation monotherapy. Even the recurrent tumor had a sensitivity to androgen. Patients with locally advanced disease (T2b and T3) had poorer prognosis than those with minimally extended disease (T1b and T2a). (author)

Reconsidering the sedentary behaviour paradigm.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carol Maher

Full Text Available AIMS: Recent literature has posed sedentary behaviour as an independent entity to physical inactivity. This study investigated whether associations between sedentary behaviour and cardio-metabolic biomarkers remain when analyses are adjusted for total physical activity. METHODS: Cross-sectional analyses were undertaken on 4,618 adults from the 2003/04 and 2005/06 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Minutes of sedentary behaviour and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA, and total physical activity (total daily accelerometer counts minus counts accrued during sedentary minutes were determined from accelerometry. Associations between sedentary behaviour and cardio-metabolic biomarkers were examined using linear regression. RESULTS: Results showed that sedentary behaviour was detrimentally associated with 8/11 cardio-metabolic biomarkers when adjusted for MVPA. However, when adjusted for total physical activity, the associations effectively disappeared, except for C-reactive protein, which showed a very small, favourable association (β = -0.06 and triglycerides, which showed a very small, detrimental association (β = 0.04. Standardised betas suggested that total physical activity was consistently, favourably associated with cardio-metabolic biomarkers (9/11 biomarkers, standardized β = 0.08-0.30 while sedentary behaviour was detrimentally associated with just 1 biomarker (standardized β = 0.12. CONCLUSION: There is virtually no association between sedentary behaviour and cardio-metabolic biomarkers once analyses are adjusted for total physical activity. This suggests that sedentary behaviour may not have health effects independent of physical activity.

Nuclear Receptors and Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1 (MEN1)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dreijerink, K.M.A.

2009-01-01

Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is an inherited syndrome that is characterized by the occurrence of tumours of the parathyroid glands, gastroenteropancreatic tumours, pitui-tary gland adenomas, as well as adrenal adenomas and neuro-endocrine tumours, often at a young age. MEN1 tumours can

Adjuvant psychological therapy in long-term endocrine conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Daniels, J; Turner-Cobb, J M

2017-06-01

Consideration of psychological distress in long-term endocrine conditions is of vital importance given the prevalence of anxiety and depression in such disorders. Poor mental health can lead to compromised self-care, higher utilization of health services, lower rates of adherence, reduced quality of life and ultimately poorer outcomes. Adjuvant psychological therapy offers an effective resource to reduce distress in endocrine conditions. While the vast majority of work in this area has focused on psychological screening and intervention in diabetes, identification and recognition of psychological distress are equally important in other endocrinological conditions, with supportive evidence in polycystic ovary syndrome and Addison's disease. Referral pathways and recommendations set out by UK guidelines and the Department of Health mandate requires greater attention across a wider range of long-term endocrine conditions to facilitate improved quality of life and health outcome. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Circulating miRNAs as biomarkers for endocrine disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Butz, H; Kinga, N; Racz, K; Patocs, A

2016-01-01

Specific, sensitive and non-invasive biomarkers are always needed in endocrine disorders. miRNAs are short, non-coding RNA molecules with well-known role in gene expression regulation. They are frequently dysregulated in metabolic and endocrine diseases. Recently it has been shown that they are secreted into biofluids by nearly all kind of cell types. As they can be taken up by other cells they may have a role in a new kind of paracrine, cell-to-cell communication. Circulating miRNAs are protected by RNA-binding proteins or microvesicles hence they can be attractive candidates as diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. In this review, we summarize the characteristics of extracellular miRNA's and our knowledge about their origin and potential roles in endocrine and metabolic diseases. Discussions about the technical challenges occurring during identification and measurement of extracellular miRNAs and future perspectives about their roles are also highlighted.

Information/testing strategy for identification of substances with endocrine disrupting properties

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hass, Ulla; Christiansen, Sofie; Bjerregaard, Poul

This report has been prepared by the Danish Centre on Endocrine Disrupters (CeHoS) as a project contracted by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. The Danish Centre on Endocrine Disrupters is an interdisciplinary scientific network without walls. The main purpose of the Centre is to build ...... of substances with endocrine disrupting properties under various legislative frameworks, including REACH (EC No 1907/2006), the Plant Protection Products Regulation (PPPR) (EC No 1107/2009) and the Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) (EC No 528/2012) ....

Comparative analysis of graphite oxidation behaviour based on microstructure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Badenhorst, Heinrich, E-mail: heinrich.badenhorst@up.ac.za; Focke, Walter

2013-11-15

Two unidentified powdered graphite samples, from a natural and a synthetic origin respectively, were examined. These materials are intended for use in nuclear applications, but have an unknown treatment history since they are considered proprietary. In order to establish a baseline for comparison, the samples were compared to two commercial flake natural graphite samples with varying impurity levels. The samples were characterized by conventional techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence. The results indicated that all four samples were very similar, with low impurity levels and good crystallinity, yet they exhibit remarkably different oxidation behaviours. The oxidized microstructures of the materials were examined using high-resolution scanning electron microscopy at low acceleration voltages. The relative influence of each factor affecting the oxidation was established, enabling a structured comparison of the different oxidative behaviours. Based on this analysis, it was possible to account for the measured differences in oxidative reactivity. The material with the lowest reactivity was a flake natural graphite which was characterized as having highly visible crystalline perfection, large particles with a high aspect ratio and no traces of catalytic activity. The second sample, which had an identical inherent microstructure, was found to have an increased reactivity due to the presence of small catalytic impurities. This material also exhibited a more gradual reduction in the oxidation rate at higher conversion, caused by the accumulation of particles which impede the oxidation. The sample with the highest reactivity was found to be a milled, natural graphite material, despite its evident crystallinity. The increased reactivity was attributable to a smaller particle size, the presence of catalytic impurities and extensive damage to the particle structure caused by jet milling. Despite displaying the lowest levels of

Effects of alcohol on the endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Rachdaoui, Nadia; Sarkar, Dipak K

2013-09-01

Chronic consumption of a large amount of alcohol disrupts the communication between nervous, endocrine, and immune system and causes hormonal disturbances that lead to profound and serious consequences at physiologic and behavioral levels. These alcohol-induced hormonal dysregulations affect the entire body and can result in various disorders such as stress abnormalities, reproductive deficits, body growth defect, thyroid problems, immune dysfunction, cancers, bone disease, and psychological and behavioral disorders. This review summarizes the findings from human and animal studies that provide consistent evidence on the various effects of alcohol abuse on the endocrine system. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Genetic basis of endocrine pathology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T.V. Sorokman

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the review was analysis of literature data relating to the molecular genetic basis and diagnosis of endocrine pathology. We searched for published and unpublished researches using Pubmed as the search engine by the keywords: ‘genes’, ‘endocrine diseases’, ‘molecular diagnostics’, ‘prohormones’, ‘nuclear receptors and transcription factors’, taking into consideration studies conducted over the last 10 years, citation review of relevant primary and review articles, conference abstracts, personal files, and contact with expert informants. The criterion for the selection of articles for the study was based on their close relevance to the topic, thus out of 144 analyzed articles, the findings of the researchers covered in 32 articles were crucial. The described nosologies presented various heredi­tary forms of hypopituitarism, disturbances of steroid hormone biosynthesis, abnormal gender formation, monogenic forms of diabetes mellitus, endocrine tumors, etc. Pathology is identified that is associated with a mutation of genes encoding protein prohormones, receptors, steroid biosynthesis enzymes, intracellular signaling molecules, transport proteins, ion channels, and transcription factors. Among the endocrine diseases associated with defects in genes encoding protein prohormones, the defects of the GH1 gene are most common, the defects in the gene CYP21A2 (21-hydroxylase are among diseases associated with defects in genes encoding enzymes. More often mutations of genes encoding proteins belong to the class of G-protein coupled receptors. Most of the mutations associated with MEN-2A are concentrated in the rich cysteine region of the Ret receptor. More than 70 monogenic syndromes are known, in which there is a marked tolerance to glucose and some form of diabetes mellitus is diagnosed, diabetes mellitus caused by mutation of the mitochondrial gene (mutation tRNALeu, UUR is also detected. Of all the monogenic forms of

The Vitamin D Endocrine System.

Science.gov (United States)

Norman, Anthony W.

1985-01-01

Discusses the physiology and biochemistry of the vitamin D endocrine system, including role of biological calcium and phosphorus, vitamin D metabolism, and related diseases. A 10-item, multiple-choice test which can be used to obtain continuing medical education credit is included. (JN)

Cosmetics as endocrine disruptors: are they a health risk?

Science.gov (United States)

Nicolopoulou-Stamati, Polyxeni; Hens, Luc; Sasco, Annie J

2015-12-01

Exposure to chemicals from different sources in everyday life is widespread; one such source is the wide range of products listed under the title "cosmetics", including the different types of popular and widely-advertised sunscreens. Women are encouraged through advertising to buy into the myth of everlasting youth, and one of the most alarming consequences is in utero exposure to chemicals. The main route of exposure is the skin, but the main endpoint of exposure is endocrine disruption. This is due to many substances in cosmetics and sunscreens that have endocrine active properties which affect reproductive health but which also have other endpoints, such as cancer. Reducing the exposure to endocrine disruptors is framed not only in the context of the reduction of health risks, but is also significant against the background and rise of ethical consumerism, and the responsibility of the cosmetics industry in this respect. Although some plants show endocrine-disrupting activity, the use of well-selected natural products might reduce the use of synthetic chemicals. Instruments dealing with this problem include life-cycle analysis, eco-design, and green labels; in combination with the committed use of environmental management systems, they contribute to "corporate social responsibility".

Production of pancreatic hormone-expressing endocrine cells from human embryonic stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Amour, Kevin A; Bang, Anne G; Eliazer, Susan; Kelly, Olivia G; Agulnick, Alan D; Smart, Nora G; Moorman, Mark A; Kroon, Evert; Carpenter, Melissa K; Baetge, Emmanuel E

2006-11-01

Of paramount importance for the development of cell therapies to treat diabetes is the production of sufficient numbers of pancreatic endocrine cells that function similarly to primary islets. We have developed a differentiation process that converts human embryonic stem (hES) cells to endocrine cells capable of synthesizing the pancreatic hormones insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, pancreatic polypeptide and ghrelin. This process mimics in vivo pancreatic organogenesis by directing cells through stages resembling definitive endoderm, gut-tube endoderm, pancreatic endoderm and endocrine precursor--en route to cells that express endocrine hormones. The hES cell-derived insulin-expressing cells have an insulin content approaching that of adult islets. Similar to fetal beta-cells, they release C-peptide in response to multiple secretory stimuli, but only minimally to glucose. Production of these hES cell-derived endocrine cells may represent a critical step in the development of a renewable source of cells for diabetes cell therapy.

Listening to music and physiological and psychological functioning: the mediating role of emotion regulation and stress reactivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Thoma, M V; Scholz, U; Ehlert, U; Nater, U M

2012-01-01

Music listening has been suggested to have short-term beneficial effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the association and potential mediating mechanisms between various aspects of habitual music-listening behaviour and physiological and psychological functioning. An internet-based survey was conducted in university students, measuring habitual music-listening behaviour, emotion regulation, stress reactivity, as well as physiological and psychological functioning. A total of 1230 individuals (mean = 24.89 ± 5.34 years, 55.3% women) completed the questionnaire. Quantitative aspects of habitual music-listening behaviour, i.e. average duration of music listening and subjective relevance of music, were not associated with physiological and psychological functioning. In contrast, qualitative aspects, i.e. reasons for listening (especially 'reducing loneliness and aggression', and 'arousing or intensifying specific emotions') were significantly related to physiological and psychological functioning (all p = 0.001). These direct effects were mediated by distress-augmenting emotion regulation and individual stress reactivity. The habitual music-listening behaviour appears to be a multifaceted behaviour that is further influenced by dispositions that are usually not related to music listening. Consequently, habitual music-listening behaviour is not obviously linked to physiological and psychological functioning.

Endocrine disruptors in female reproductive tract development and carcinogenesis

OpenAIRE

Ma, Liang

2009-01-01

Growing concerns over endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and their effects on human fetal development and adult health have promoted research into the underlying molecular mechanisms of endocrine disruption. Gene targeting technology has allowed insight into the genetic pathways governing reproductive tract development and how exposure to EDCs during a critical developmental window can alter reproductive tract development, potentially forming the basis for adult diseases. This review prima...

Modification of Fear Memory by Pharmacological and Behavioural Interventions during Reconsolidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Thome, Janine; Koppe, Georgia; Hauschild, Sophie; Liebke, Lisa; Schmahl, Christian; Lis, Stefanie; Bohus, Martin

2016-01-01

Dysfunctional fear responses play a central role in many mental disorders. New insights in learning and memory suggest that pharmacological and behavioural interventions during the reconsolidation of reactivated fear memories may increase the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. It has been proposed that interventions applied during reconsolidation may modify the original fear memory, and thus prevent the spontaneous recovery and reinstatement of the fear response. We investigated whether pharmacological (propranolol) and behavioural (reappraisal, multisensory stimulation) interventions reduce fear memory, and prevent reinstatement of fear in comparison to a placebo control group. Eighty healthy female subjects underwent a differential fear conditioning procedure with three stimuli (CS). Two of these (CS+) were paired with an electric shock on day 1. On day 2, 20 subjects were pseudo-randomly assigned to either the propranolol or placebo condition, or underwent one of the two behavioural interventions after one of the two CS+ was reactivated. On day 3, all subjects underwent an extinction phase, followed by a reinstatement test. Dependent variables were US expectancy ratings, fear-potentiated startle, and skin conductance response. Differential fear responses to the reactivated and non-reactivated CS+ were observed only in the propranolol condition. Here, the non-reactivated CS+ evoked stronger fear-potentiated startle-responses compared to the placebo group. None of the interventions prevented the return of the extinguished fear response after re-exposure to the unconditioned stimulus. Our data are in line with an increasing body of research stating that the occurrence of reconsolidation may be constrained by boundary conditions such as subtle differences in experimental manipulations and instructions. In conclusion, our findings do not support a beneficial effect in using reconsolidation processes to enhance effects of psychotherapeutic interventions. This

Modification of Fear Memory by Pharmacological and Behavioural Interventions during Reconsolidation

Science.gov (United States)

Thome, Janine; Koppe, Georgia; Hauschild, Sophie; Liebke, Lisa; Schmahl, Christian; Lis, Stefanie; Bohus, Martin

2016-01-01

Background Dysfunctional fear responses play a central role in many mental disorders. New insights in learning and memory suggest that pharmacological and behavioural interventions during the reconsolidation of reactivated fear memories may increase the efficacy of therapeutic interventions. It has been proposed that interventions applied during reconsolidation may modify the original fear memory, and thus prevent the spontaneous recovery and reinstatement of the fear response. Methods We investigated whether pharmacological (propranolol) and behavioural (reappraisal, multisensory stimulation) interventions reduce fear memory, and prevent reinstatement of fear in comparison to a placebo control group. Eighty healthy female subjects underwent a differential fear conditioning procedure with three stimuli (CS). Two of these (CS+) were paired with an electric shock on day 1. On day 2, 20 subjects were pseudo-randomly assigned to either the propranolol or placebo condition, or underwent one of the two behavioural interventions after one of the two CS+ was reactivated. On day 3, all subjects underwent an extinction phase, followed by a reinstatement test. Dependent variables were US expectancy ratings, fear-potentiated startle, and skin conductance response. Results Differential fear responses to the reactivated and non-reactivated CS+ were observed only in the propranolol condition. Here, the non-reactivated CS+ evoked stronger fear-potentiated startle-responses compared to the placebo group. None of the interventions prevented the return of the extinguished fear response after re-exposure to the unconditioned stimulus. Conclusions Our data are in line with an increasing body of research stating that the occurrence of reconsolidation may be constrained by boundary conditions such as subtle differences in experimental manipulations and instructions. In conclusion, our findings do not support a beneficial effect in using reconsolidation processes to enhance effects of

Overview of the Pathophysiological Implications of Organotins on the Endocrine System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vinicius Bermond Marques

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Organotins (OTs are pollutants that are used widely by industry as disinfectants, pesticides, and most frequently as biocides in antifouling paints. This mini-review presents the main evidences from the literature about morphophysiological changes induced by OTs in the mammal endocrine system, focusing on the metabolism and reproductive control. Similar to other toxic compounds, the main effects with potential health risks to humans and experimental animals are not only related to dose and time of exposure but also to age, gender, and tissue/cell exposed. Regarding the underlying mechanisms, current literature indicates that OTs can directly damage endocrine glands, as well as interfere with neurohormonal control of endocrine function (i.e., in the hypothalamic–pituitary axis, altering hormone synthesis and/or bioavailability or activity of hormone receptors in the target cells. Importantly, OTs induces biochemical and morphological changes in gonads, abnormal steroidogenesis, both associated with reproductive dysfunctions such as irregular estrous cyclicity in female or spermatogenic disorders in male animals. Additionally, due to their role on endocrine systems predisposing to obesity, OTs are also included in the metabolism disrupting chemical hypothesis, either by central (e.g., accurate nucleus and lateral hypothalamus or peripheral (e.g., adipose tissue mechanisms. Thus, OTs should be indeed considered a major endocrine disruptor, being indispensable to understand the main toxic effects on the different tissues and its causative role for endocrine, metabolic, and reproductive dysfunctions observed.

Overview of the Pathophysiological Implications of Organotins on the Endocrine System

Science.gov (United States)

Marques, Vinicius Bermond; Faria, Rodrigo Alves; Dos Santos, Leonardo

2018-01-01

Organotins (OTs) are pollutants that are used widely by industry as disinfectants, pesticides, and most frequently as biocides in antifouling paints. This mini-review presents the main evidences from the literature about morphophysiological changes induced by OTs in the mammal endocrine system, focusing on the metabolism and reproductive control. Similar to other toxic compounds, the main effects with potential health risks to humans and experimental animals are not only related to dose and time of exposure but also to age, gender, and tissue/cell exposed. Regarding the underlying mechanisms, current literature indicates that OTs can directly damage endocrine glands, as well as interfere with neurohormonal control of endocrine function (i.e., in the hypothalamic–pituitary axis), altering hormone synthesis and/or bioavailability or activity of hormone receptors in the target cells. Importantly, OTs induces biochemical and morphological changes in gonads, abnormal steroidogenesis, both associated with reproductive dysfunctions such as irregular estrous cyclicity in female or spermatogenic disorders in male animals. Additionally, due to their role on endocrine systems predisposing to obesity, OTs are also included in the metabolism disrupting chemical hypothesis, either by central (e.g., accurate nucleus and lateral hypothalamus) or peripheral (e.g., adipose tissue) mechanisms. Thus, OTs should be indeed considered a major endocrine disruptor, being indispensable to understand the main toxic effects on the different tissues and its causative role for endocrine, metabolic, and reproductive dysfunctions observed. PMID:29615977

Examining the effects of hyperglycemia on pancreatic endocrine function in humans

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Solomon, Thomas P J; Knudsen, Sine H; Karstoft, Kristian

2012-01-01

Investigating the impact of hyperglycemia on pancreatic endocrine function promotes our understanding of the pathophysiology of hyperglycemia-related disease.......Investigating the impact of hyperglycemia on pancreatic endocrine function promotes our understanding of the pathophysiology of hyperglycemia-related disease....

Putative effects of endocrine disrupters on pubertal development in the human

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teilmann, Grete; Juul, Anders; Skakkebaek, Niels E

2002-01-01

developing countries to industrialized countries often develop precocious puberty. Not only precocious puberty, but also delayed puberty can, theoretically, be associated with exposure to endocrine disrupters. While it is very plausible that endocrine disrupters may disturb pubertal development...

Endocrine sequelae after radiotherapy in childhood and adolescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Couto-Silva, Ana Claudia; Adan, Luis Fernando; Brauner, Raja

2005-01-01

Radiotherapy may result in endocrine abnormalities, osteoporosis, obesity and neurological sequelae in patients treated for cancer. In the hypothalamo-pituitary area, GH deficiency is the most frequent complication. The frequency, delay of appearance and severity of GH deficiency depend most on the dose delivered during cranial irradiation but variables as age at treatment and fractionation schedule may play an important role as well. Other hypothalamo-pituitary dysfunctions are also dose-dependent. Low dose cranial irradiation may induce precocious or early puberty, while high doses are related to gonadotropin deficiency. Endocrine complications due to extracranial irradiation such as gonadal or thyroid abnormalities are described. In spite of normal GH secretion, linear growth may be impaired by bone lesions secondary to craniospinal or total body irradiation. Results on final height have been optimized by better indicators of GH therapy associated with adequate treatment of early or precocious puberty. The purpose of this review is to explore the late endocrine sequelae of radiotherapy. (author)

Hormones in the city: endocrine ecology of urban birds.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonier, Frances

2012-05-01

Urbanization dramatically changes the landscape, presenting organisms with novel challenges and often leading to reduced species diversity. Urban ecologists have documented numerous biotic and abiotic consequences of urbanization, such as altered climate, species interactions, and community composition, but we lack an understanding of the mechanisms underlying organisms' responses to urbanization. Here, I review findings from the nascent field of study of the endocrine ecology of urban birds. Thus far, no clear or consistent patterns have been revealed, but we do have evidence that urban habitat can shape endocrine traits, and that those traits might contribute to adaptation to the urban environment. I suggest strong approaches for future work addressing exciting questions about the role of endocrine traits in mediating responses to urbanization within species across the globe. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of yolk protein as biomarkers for endocrine disruption in molluscs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Morthorst, Jane Ebsen; Holbech, Henrik; Kinnberg, Karin Lund

is also regulated by estrogens in molluscs even though it still remains unknown if and where vertebrate steroids are synthesized in molluscs and regulation of the endocrine system in molluscs is also unknown. By using our newly developed ELISA the present work investigates if yolk protein is a suitable......During recent years invertebrates and especially molluscs have received increasing attention in the field of endocrine disruption and development of OECD test guidelines to assess the effects of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in molluscs is under development. The development of standardized...... tests to detect effects of EDCs in molluscs has proved cumbersome due to lack of specific biomarkers and endpoints for endocrine effects. Intersex (presence of oocytes in the testis) and induction of vitellogenin (the yolk protein precursor in oviparous vertebrates) have been used as biomarkers for EDCs...

Imaging of endocrine system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, B.K.; Noreen Norfaraheen Lee Abdullah

2012-01-01

In recent years, the role of nuclear medicine in the study of morphology and pathophysiology of various endocrine organs has greatly expanded. Newly developed radiopharmaceuticals, new instrumentation, innovative study designs and dual isotope techniques have contributed significantly to the evaluation of parathyroid and adrenal diseases. In selected cases, patients with metabolic bone disorders and infertility have greatly been benefited. (author)

Emotionality Modulates the Effect of Chronic Stress on Feeding Behaviour in Birds

Science.gov (United States)

Favreau-Peigné, Angélique; Calandreau, Ludovic; Constantin, Paul; Gaultier, Bernard; Bertin, Aline; Arnould, Cécile; Laurence, Agathe; Richard-Yris, Marie-Annick; Houdelier, Cécilia; Lumineau, Sophie; Boissy, Alain; Leterrier, Christine

2014-01-01

Chronic stress is a long-lasting negative emotional state that induces negative consequences on animals’ psycho-physiological state. This study aimed at assessing whether unpredictable and repeated negative stimuli (URNS) influence feeding behaviour in quail. Sixty-four quail were exposed to URNS from day 17 to 40, while 64 quail were undisturbed. Two lines divergently selected on their inherent emotionality were used to assess the effect of genetic factors on the sensitivity to URNS. All quail were submitted to a sequential feeding procedure (using two diets of different energetic values) which placed them in a contrasting situation. Behavioural tests were performed to assess the emotional reactivity of the two lines. Results confirmed that differences exist between them and that their emotional reactivity was enhanced by URNS. Diet preferences, motivation and daily intake were also measured. URNS did not change the preferences for the hypercaloric diet compared to the hypocaloric diet in choice tests, but they reduced daily intakes in both lines. Motivations for each diet were differently affected by URNS: they decreased the motivation to eat the hypercaloric diet in quail selected for their low inherent fearfulness whereas they increased the motivation to eat the hypocaloric diet in quail selected for their high inherent fearfulness, which suggested a devaluation process in the former and a compensatory behaviour in the later. Growth was furthermore reduced and laying delayed by URNS in both lines. In conclusion, the exposure to URNS induced interesting changes in feeding behaviour added with an increase in emotional reactivity and an alteration of production parameters. This confirms that both lines of quail experienced a chronic stress state. However differences in feed motivation and emotional reactivity between lines under chronic stress suggested that they experienced different emotional state and use different ways to cope with it depending on their

Emotionality modulates the effect of chronic stress on feeding behaviour in birds.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angélique Favreau-Peigné

Full Text Available Chronic stress is a long-lasting negative emotional state that induces negative consequences on animals' psycho-physiological state. This study aimed at assessing whether unpredictable and repeated negative stimuli (URNS influence feeding behaviour in quail. Sixty-four quail were exposed to URNS from day 17 to 40, while 64 quail were undisturbed. Two lines divergently selected on their inherent emotionality were used to assess the effect of genetic factors on the sensitivity to URNS. All quail were submitted to a sequential feeding procedure (using two diets of different energetic values which placed them in a contrasting situation. Behavioural tests were performed to assess the emotional reactivity of the two lines. Results confirmed that differences exist between them and that their emotional reactivity was enhanced by URNS. Diet preferences, motivation and daily intake were also measured. URNS did not change the preferences for the hypercaloric diet compared to the hypocaloric diet in choice tests, but they reduced daily intakes in both lines. Motivations for each diet were differently affected by URNS: they decreased the motivation to eat the hypercaloric diet in quail selected for their low inherent fearfulness whereas they increased the motivation to eat the hypocaloric diet in quail selected for their high inherent fearfulness, which suggested a devaluation process in the former and a compensatory behaviour in the later. Growth was furthermore reduced and laying delayed by URNS in both lines. In conclusion, the exposure to URNS induced interesting changes in feeding behaviour added with an increase in emotional reactivity and an alteration of production parameters. This confirms that both lines of quail experienced a chronic stress state. However differences in feed motivation and emotional reactivity between lines under chronic stress suggested that they experienced different emotional state and use different ways to cope with it

Genetics of Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Neoplasias (PDQ®)—Health Professional Version

Science.gov (United States)

Genetics of Endocrine and Neuroendocrine Neoplasias discusses inherited syndromes multiple endocrine neoplasia types 1, 2, and 4 (MEN1, MEN2, MEN4), familial pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma, Carney-Stratakis syndrome, and familial nonmedullary thyroid cancer. Learn more in this clinician summary.

Hedgehog signaling: endocrine gland development and function.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, M Michael

2010-01-01

The role of hedgehog signaling is analyzed in relation to the developing endocrine glands: pituitary, ovary, testis, adrenal cortex, pancreas, prostate, and epiphyseal growth. Experimental and pathological correlates of these organs are also discussed. The second section addresses a number of topics. First, the pituitary gland, no matter how hypoplastic, is present in most cases of human holoprosencephaly, unlike animals in which it is always said to be absent. The difference appears to be that animal mutations and teratogenic models involve both copies of the gene in question, whereas in humans the condition is most commonly heterozygous. Second, tests of endocrine function are not reported with great frequency, and an early demise in severe cases of holoprosencephaly accounts for this trend. Reported tests of endocrine function are reviewed. Third, diabetes insipidus has been recorded in a number of cases of holoprosencephaly. Its frequency is unknown because it could be masked by adrenal insufficiency in some cases and may not be recognized in others. Because of the abnormal hypothalamic-infundibular region in holoprosencephaly, diabetes insipidus could be caused by a defect in the supra-optic or paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei or in release of ADH via the infundibulum and posterior pituitary.

The behavioural immune system and the psychology of human sociality.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaller, Mark

2011-12-12

Because immunological defence against pathogens is costly and merely reactive, human anti-pathogen defence is also characterized by proactive behavioural mechanisms that inhibit contact with pathogens in the first place. This behavioural immune system comprises psychological processes that infer infection risk from perceptual cues, and that respond to these perceptual cues through the activation of aversive emotions, cognitions and behavioural impulses. These processes are engaged flexibly, producing context-contingent variation in the nature and magnitude of aversive responses. These processes have important implications for human social cognition and social behaviour-including implications for social gregariousness, person perception, intergroup prejudice, mate preferences, sexual behaviour and conformity. Empirical evidence bearing on these many implications is reviewed and discussed. This review also identifies important directions for future research on the human behavioural immune system--including the need for enquiry into underlying mechanisms, additional behavioural consequences and implications for human health and well-being.

Nuclear Fuel Behaviour during Reactivity Initiated Accidents. Workshop Proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

A reactivity initiated accident (RIA) is a nuclear reactor accident that involves an unwanted increase in fission rate and reactor power. The power increase may damage the reactor core. The main objective of the workshop was to review the current status of the experimental and analytical studies of the fuel behavior during the RIA transients in PWR and BWR reactors and the acceptance criteria for RIA in use and under consideration. The workshop was organized in an opening session and 5 technical sessions: 1) Recent experimental results and experimental techniques used; 2) Modelling and Data Interpretation; 3) Code Assessment; 4) RIA Core Analysis and 5) Revision and application of safety criteria

Corrosion, haemocompatibility and bacterial adhesion behaviour of ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

TiZrN coating was deposited on 316L stainless steel (SS) by the reactive magnetron co-sputtering technique. Cubic phase of TiZrN with uniform surface morphology was observed by X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy. Bacterial adhesion, haemocompatibility and corrosion behaviour of TiZrN coating were ...

Endocannabinoids and the Endocrine System in Health and Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Hillard, Cecilia J

2015-01-01

Some of the earliest reports of the effects of cannabis consumption on humans were related to endocrine system changes. In this review, the effects of cannabinoids and the role of the CB1 cannabinoid receptor in the regulation of the following endocrine systems are discussed: the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, prolactin and oxytocin, thyroid hormone and growth hormone, and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Preclinical and human study results are presented.

Toxicity of compounds with endocrine activity in the OECD 421 reproductive toxicity screening test

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Piersma AH; Verhoef A; Elvers LH; Wester PW; LEO; LPI

1998-01-01

The issue of endocrine disruption has, in view of human risk assessment, raised the question on whether more sensitive test methods are needed to detect the reproductive toxic properties of xenobiotic compounds with endocrine properties. We studied six known and alleged endocrine disruptors in an

Embryonic transcription factor SOX9 drives breast cancer endocrine resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeselsohn, Rinath; Cornwell, MacIntosh; Pun, Matthew; Buchwalter, Gilles; Nguyen, Mai; Bango, Clyde; Huang, Ying; Kuang, Yanan; Paweletz, Cloud; Fu, Xiaoyong; Nardone, Agostina; De Angelis, Carmine; Detre, Simone; Dodson, Andrew; Mohammed, Hisham; Carroll, Jason S; Bowden, Michaela; Rao, Prakash; Long, Henry W; Li, Fugen; Dowsett, Mitchell; Schiff, Rachel; Brown, Myles

2017-05-30

The estrogen receptor (ER) drives the growth of most luminal breast cancers and is the primary target of endocrine therapy. Although ER blockade with drugs such as tamoxifen is very effective, a major clinical limitation is the development of endocrine resistance especially in the setting of metastatic disease. Preclinical and clinical observations suggest that even following the development of endocrine resistance, ER signaling continues to exert a pivotal role in tumor progression in the majority of cases. Through the analysis of the ER cistrome in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer cells, we have uncovered a role for an RUNX2-ER complex that stimulates the transcription of a set of genes, including most notably the stem cell factor SOX9, that promote proliferation and a metastatic phenotype. We show that up-regulation of SOX9 is sufficient to cause relative endocrine resistance. The gain of SOX9 as an ER-regulated gene associated with tamoxifen resistance was validated in a unique set of clinical samples supporting the need for the development of improved ER antagonists.

Meeting report: Measuring endocrine-sensitive endpoints within the first years of life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arbuckle, T.E.; Hauser, R.; Swan, S.H.

2008-01-01

An international workshop tided "Assessing Endocrine-Related Endpoints within the First Years of Life" was held 30 April-1 May 2007, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Representatives from a number of pregnancy cohort studies in North America and Europe presented options for measuring various endocrine......-sensitive endpoints in early life and discussed issues related to performing and using those measures. The workshop focused on measuring reproductive tract developmental endpoints [e.g., anogenital distance (AGD)], endocrine status, and infant anthropometry. To the extent possible, workshop participants strove...... on the genital exam. Although a number of outcome measures recommended during the genital exam have been associated with exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, little is known about how predictive these effects are of later reproductive health or other chronic health conditions....

Requirement for Pdx1 in specification of latent endocrine progenitors in zebrafish

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ellertsdottir Elin

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Insulin-producing beta cells emerge during pancreas development in two sequential waves. Recently described later-forming beta cells in zebrafish show high similarity to second wave mammalian beta cells in developmental capacity. Loss-of-function studies in mouse and zebrafish demonstrated that the homeobox transcription factors Pdx1 and Hb9 are both critical for pancreas and beta cell development and discrete stage-specific requirements for these genes have been uncovered. Previously, exocrine and endocrine cell recovery was shown to follow loss of pdx1 in zebrafish, but the progenitor cells and molecular mechanisms responsible have not been clearly defined. In addition, interactions of pdx1 and hb9 in beta cell formation have not been addressed. Results To learn more about endocrine progenitor specification, we examined beta cell formation following morpholino-mediated depletion of pdx1 and hb9. We find that after early beta cell reduction, recovery occurs following loss of either pdx1 or hb9 function. Unexpectedly, simultaneous knockdown of both hb9 and pdx1 leads to virtually complete and persistent beta cell deficiency. We used a NeuroD:EGFP transgenic line to examine endocrine cell behavior in vivo and developed a novel live-imaging technique to document emergence and migration of late-forming endocrine precursors in real time. Our data show that Notch-responsive progenitors for late-arising endocrine cells are predominantly post mitotic and depend on pdx1. By contrast, early-arising endocrine cells are specified and differentiate independent of pdx1. Conclusions The nearly complete beta cell deficiency after combined loss of hb9 and pdx1 suggests functional cooperation, which we clarify as distinct roles in early and late endocrine cell formation. A novel imaging approach permitted visualization of the emergence of late endocrine cells within developing embryos for the first time. We demonstrate a pdx1-dependent

The impact of opioids on the endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Nathaniel; Mazer, Norman A

2009-02-01

Opioids have been used for medicinal and analgesic purposes for centuries. However, their negative effects on the endocrine system, which have been known for some times, are barely discussed in modern medicine. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review of the impact of opioids on the endocrine system. A review of the English language literature on preclinical and clinical studies of any type on the influence of opioids on the endocrine system was conducted. Preliminary recommendations for monitoring and managing these problems were provided. Long-term opioid therapy for either addiction or chronic pain often induces hypogonadism owing to central suppression of hypothalamic secretion of gonadotropin-releasing hormone. Symptoms of opioid-induced hypogonadism include loss of libido, infertility, fatigue, depression, anxiety, loss of muscle strength and mass, osteoporosis, and compression fractures in both men and women; impotence in men; and menstrual irregularities and galactorrhea in women. In view of the increased use of opioids for chronic pain, it has become increasingly important to monitor patients taking opioids and manage endocrine complications. Therefore, patients on opioid therapy should be routinely screened for such symptoms and for laboratory abnormalities in sex hormones. Opioid-induced hypogonadism seems to be a common complication of therapeutic or illicit opioid use. Patients on long-term opioid therapy should be prospectively monitored, and in cases of opioid-induced hypogonadism, we recommend nonopioid pain management, opioid rotation, or sex hormone supplementation after careful consideration of the risks and benefits.

CT and MR imaging findings of endocrine tumor of the pancreas according to WHO classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rha, Sung Eun; Jung, Seung Eun; Lee, Kang Hoon; Ku, Young Mi; Byun, Jae Young; Lee, Jae Mun

2007-01-01

The pancreatic endocrine tumors are rare neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas originating from totipotential stem cells or differentiated mature endocrine cells within the exocrine gland. Endocrine tumors are usually classified into functioning and non-functioning tumors and presents with a range of benignity or malignancy. In this article, we present the various CT and MR imaging findings of endocrine tumors of pancreas according to recent WHO classification

Muscular Dystrophies at Different Ages: Metabolic and Endocrine Alterations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oriana del Rocío Cruz Guzmán

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Common metabolic and endocrine alterations exist across a wide range of muscular dystrophies. Skeletal muscle plays an important role in glucose metabolism and is a major participant in different signaling pathways. Therefore, its damage may lead to different metabolic disruptions. Two of the most important metabolic alterations in muscular dystrophies may be insulin resistance and obesity. However, only insulin resistance has been demonstrated in myotonic dystrophy. In addition, endocrine disturbances such as hypogonadism, low levels of testosterone, and growth hormone have been reported. This eventually will result in consequences such as growth failure and delayed puberty in the case of childhood dystrophies. Other consequences may be reduced male fertility, reduced spermatogenesis, and oligospermia, both in childhood as well as in adult muscular dystrophies. These facts all suggest that there is a need for better comprehension of metabolic and endocrine implications for muscular dystrophies with the purpose of developing improved clinical treatments and/or improvements in the quality of life of patients with dystrophy. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe the current knowledge about of metabolic and endocrine alterations in diverse types of dystrophinopathies, which will be divided into two groups: childhood and adult dystrophies which have different age of onset.

Recent Advances on Endocrine Disrupting Effects of UV Filters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiaying Wang

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Ultraviolet (UV filters are used widely in cosmetics, plastics, adhesives and other industrial products to protect human skin or products against direct exposure to deleterious UV radiation. With growing usage and mis-disposition of UV filters, they currently represent a new class of contaminants of emerging concern with increasingly reported adverse effects to humans and other organisms. Exposure to UV filters induce various endocrine disrupting effects, as revealed by increasing number of toxicological studies performed in recent years. It is necessary to compile a systematic review on the current research status on endocrine disrupting effects of UV filters toward different organisms. We therefore summarized the recent advances on the evaluation of the potential endocrine disruptors and the mechanism of toxicity for many kinds of UV filters such as benzophenones, camphor derivatives and cinnamate derivatives.

The endocrine system and sarcopenia: potential therapeutic benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

McIntire, Kevin L; Hoffman, Andrew R

2011-12-01

Age related muscle loss, known as sarcopenia, is a major factor in disability, loss of mobility and quality of life in the elderly. There are many proposed mechanisms of age-related muscle loss that include the endocrine system. A variety of hormones regulate growth, development and metabolism throughout the lifespan. Hormone activity may change with age as a result of reduced hormone secretion or decreased tissue responsiveness. This review will focus on the complex interplay between the endocrine system, aging and skeletal muscle and will present possible benefits of therapeutic interventions for sarcopenia.

Late effects of early exposures to endocrine disrupting chemicals in rats

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boberg, Julie; Hass, Ulla

2017-01-01

Endocrine disrupting compounds may interfere with tissues at critical developmental stages and give rise to cancer later in life. This talk will focus on early-life exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals which is associated with increased risk for carcinogenesis in mammary and prostate glands...

Nanotoxicity: a growing need for study in the endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Xuefei; Liu, Ying; Kong, Xiangjun; Lobie, Peter E; Chen, Chunying; Zhu, Tao

2013-05-27

Nanomaterials (NMs) are engineered for commercial purposes such as semiconductors, building materials, cosmetics, and drug carriers, while natural nanoparticles (NPs) already exist in the environment. Due to their unique physicochemical properties, they may interact actively with biological systems. Some of these interactions might be detrimental to human health, and therefore studies on the potential 'nanotoxicity' of these materials in different organ systems are warranted. The purpose of developing the concept of nanotoxicity is to recognize and evaluate the hazards and risks of NMs and evaluate safety. This review will summarize and discuss recent reports derived from cell lines or animal models concerning the effects of NMs on, and their application in, the endocrine system of mammalian and other species. It will present an update on current studies of the effects of some typical NMs-such as metal-based NMs, carbon-based NMs, and dendrimers-on endocrine functions, in which some effects are adverse or unwanted and others are favorable or intended. Disruption of endocrine function is associated with adverse health outcomes including reproductive failure, metabolic syndrome, and some types of cancer. Further investigations are therefore required to obtain a thorough understanding of any potential risk of pathological endocrine disruption from products containing NMs. This review aims to provide impetus for further studies on the interactions of NMs with endocrine functions. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Influence of initial conditions on rod behaviour during boiling crisis phase following a reactivity initiated accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georgenthum, V.; Sugiyama, T.

2010-01-01

In the frame of their research programs on high burn-up fuel safety, the French Institute for Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) performed a large set of tests devoted to the study of PWR fuel rod behavior during Reactivity Initiated Accident (RIA) respectively in the CABRI reactor and in the NSRR reactor. The reactor test conditions are different in terms of coolant nature, temperature and pressure. In the CABRI reactor, tests were performed until now with sodium coolant at 280 Celsius degrees and 3 bar. In the NSRR reactor most of the tests were performed with stagnant water at 20 C. degrees and atmospheric pressure but recently a new high temperature high pressure capsule has been developed which allows to performed tests at up to 280 Celsius degrees and 70 bar. The paper discusses the influence of test conditions on rod behaviour during boiling phase, based on tests results and SCANAIR code calculations. The study shows that when the boiling crisis is reached, the initial inner and outer rod pressure have an essential impact on the clad straining and possible ballooning. The analysis of the different test conditions makes it possible to discriminate the influence of initial conditions on the different phases of the transient and is useful for modelling and code development. (authors)

Screening for secondary endocrine hypertension in young patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Trifanescu, Raluca; Carsote, Mara; Caragheorgheopol, Andra; Hortopan, Dan; Dumitrascu, Anda; Dobrescu, Mariana; Poiana, Catalina

2013-06-01

Secondary endocrine hypertension accounts for 5-12% of hypertension's causes. In selected patients (type 2 diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea syndrome with resistant hypertension, sudden deterioration in hypertension control), prevalence could be higher. To present etiology of endocrine secondary hypertension in a series of patients younger than 40 years at hypertension's onset. Medical records of 80 patients (39M/41F), aged 30.1 ± 8.2 years (range: 12-40 years), with maximum systolic blood pressure=190.4 ± 29.2 mm Hg, range: 145-300 mm Hg, maximum diastolic blood pressure=107.7 ± 16.9 mm Hg, range: 80-170 mm Hg) referred by cardiologists for endocrine hypertension screening were retrospectively reviewed. Cardiac and renal causes of secondary hypertension were previously excluded. In all patients, plasma catecholamines were measured by ELISA and plasma cortisol by immunochemiluminescence. Orthostatic aldosterone (ELISA) and direct renin (chemiluminescence) were measured in 48 patients. Secondary endocrine hypertension was confirmed in 16 out of 80 patients (20%). Primary hyperaldosteronism was diagnosed in 7 (4M/3F) out of 48 screened patients (14.6%). i.e. 8.75% from whole group: 5 patients with adrenal tumors (3 left/2 right), 2 patients with bilateral adrenal hyperplasia; all patients were hypokalemic at diagnostic (average nadir K+ levels = 2.5 ± 0.5 mmol/L); four patients were hypokalaemic on diuretic therapy (indapamidum); other 3 patients were hypokalaemic in the absence of diuretic therapy. Cushing's syndrome was diagnosed in 6 patients (7.5%): subclinical Cushing due to 4 cm right adrenal tumour - n = 1, overt ACTH-independent Cushing's syndrome due to: macronodular adrenal hyperplasia associated with primary hyperparathyroidism - n = 1; due to adrenal carcinoma - n = 1; due to adrenal adenomas - n = 2; Cushing's disease - n = 1). Pheochromocytomas were diagnosed in 3 patients (3.75%). Primary hyperaldosteronism was the most frequent cause of secondary

The relationship between temperament, gender, and behavioural problems in preschool children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sibel Yoleri

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between gender and the temperamental characteristics of children between the ages of five and six, as well as to assess their behavioural problems. The sample included 128 children selected by simple random sampling from 5-6 year old children, receiving preschool education in the city centre of Izmir province in Turkey. Of the children, 65 were girls (50.8% and 63 (49.2% were boys. The data collection instruments were the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales and the Short Temperament Scale for Children, respectively. The results of this study reveal that there is no significiant difference between gender and the child temperament subscales of approach/withdrawal; persistence and rhythmicity; and a child's behavioural problems, respectively. However, the gender of the children was found to be significantly related to the reactivity sub-dimension of their temperament (p < 0.05. Moreover, a significant correlation was observed between the temperament subscale of reactivity and externalising problems subscale of behavioural problems (p < 0.05. On the other hand, a negative correlation was observed between the persistence temperament dimension and the behavioural problem dimension of self-centredness (p < 0.05. In the opinion of the researcher, it is important to know the children's personality features, monitor their behaviour, and take respective measures when necessary. These research results contributed positively to this end.

A Proactive and Responsive Bio-Psychosocial Approach to Managing Challenging Behaviour in Mainstream Primary Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Madden, Lorraine O. B.; Senior, Joyce

2018-01-01

Research in the area of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, and teacher's struggle to respond to challenging behaviour in mainstream classrooms, has consistently highlighted the need for proventative and responsive approaches within a continuum of support. This study aims to, firstly, investigate what proactive and reactive strategies…

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type I

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, H.J.; Lois, J.F.; Gomes, A.S.

1985-01-01

A case of multiple endocrine neoplasia (Men) consisting of an unusual combination of an insulin-producing islet cell tumour and an adrenal adenoma is reported. CT clearly demonstrated the adrenal mass whereas the pancreatic lesion remained questionable. Conversely angiography located the pancreatic tumour but the adrenal findings were subtle. (orig.)

Early and late endocrine effects in pediatric central nervous system diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Aslan, Ivy R; Cheung, Clement C

2014-01-01

Endocrinopathies are frequently linked to central nervous system disease, both as early effects prior to the disease diagnosis and/or late effects after the disease has been treated. In particular, tumors and infiltrative diseases of the brain and pituitary, such as craniopharyngioma, optic pathway and hypothalamic gliomas, intracranial germ cell tumor, and Langerhans cell histiocytosis, can present with abnormal endocrine manifestations that precede the development of neurological symptoms. Early endocrine effects include diabetes insipidus, growth failure, obesity, and precocious or delayed puberty. With improving prognosis and treatment of childhood brain tumors, many survivors experience late endocrine effects related to medical and surgical interventions. Chemotherapeutic agents and radiation therapy can affect the hypothalamic-pituitary axes governing growth, thyroid, gonadal, and adrenal function. In addition, obesity and metabolic alterations are frequent late manifestations. Diagnosing and treating both early and late endocrine manifestations can dramatically improve the growth, well-being, and quality of life of patients with childhood central nervous system diseases.

Barriers to and facilitative processes of endocrine therapy adherence among women with breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Bright, Emma E; Petrie, Keith J; Partridge, Ann H; Stanton, Annette L

2016-07-01

The treatment of chronic illness, and the prevention of disease progression and recurrence, often involve long-term adherence to prescription medications in breast cancer. Despite the survival benefit of endocrine therapies, nonadherence remains high. In this study, we examined barriers to and facilitators of endocrine therapy adherence among women with breast cancer (n = 1371). Participants currently taking tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors were recruited from Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation's Army of Women(®) Registry. Participants responded online to open-ended and close-ended questions about thoughts, feelings, and behaviors relevant to endocrine therapy. Two weeks later, women were invited to complete a second online questionnaire regarding current endocrine therapy adherence. Approximately one-third (36 %) of participants reported the presence of factors that make endocrine therapy difficult; reporting any barrier to medication adherence was significantly associated with nonadherence (P adhere and the use of cognitive self-talk (e.g., thoughts regarding endocrine therapy efficacy) was related to higher adherence. Hierarchical linear regressions revealed a significant behavioral barrier × behavioral facilitator interaction (P behavioral barrier in the absence of a behavioral facilitator reported the lowest adherence. Findings suggest that a sizeable minority of women face barriers to taking endocrine therapy, which are associated with nonadherence.

Phytochemicals for taming agitated immune-endocrine-neural axis.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Seema

2017-07-01

Homeostasis of immune-endocrine-neural axis is paramount for human health. If this axis gets agitated due to age, genetic variations, environmental exposures or lifestyle assaults, a cascade of adverse reactions occurs in human body. Cytokines, hormones and neurotransmitters, the effector molecules of this axis behave erratically, leading to a gamut of neural, endocrine, autoimmune, and metabolic diseases. Current panel of drugs can tackle some of them but not in a sustainable, benign way as a myriad of side effects, causal of them have been documented. In this context, phytochemicals, the secondary metabolites of plants seem beneficial. These bioactive constituents encompassing polyphenols, alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, tannins, lignans, stilbenoids (resveratrol), saponins, polysaccharides, glycosides, and lectins etc. have been proven to exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, hypotensive, antidiabetic, anticancer, immunomodulatory, anti-allergic, analgesic, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, dermatoprotective, and antimicrobial properties, among a litany of other biological effects. This review presents a holistic perspective of common afflictions resultant of immune-endocrine-neural axis disruption, and the phytochemicals capable of restoring their normalcy and mitigating the ailments. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Endocrine system on chip for a diabetes treatment model.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Dao Thi Thuy; van Noort, Danny; Jeong, In-Kyung; Park, Sungsu

2017-02-21

The endocrine system is a collection of glands producing hormones which, among others, regulates metabolism, growth and development. One important group of endocrine diseases is diabetes, which is caused by a deficiency or diminished effectiveness of endogenous insulin. By using a microfluidic perfused 3D cell-culture chip, we developed an 'endocrine system on chip' to potentially be able to screen drugs for the treatment of diabetes by measuring insulin release over time. Insulin-secreting β-cells are located in the pancreas, while L-cells, located in the small intestines, stimulate insulin secretion. Thus, we constructed a co-culture of intestinal-pancreatic cells to measure the effect of glucose on the production of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) from the L-cell line (GLUTag) and insulin from the pancreatic β-cell line (INS-1). After three days of culture, both cell lines formed aggregates, exhibited 3D cell morphology, and showed good viability (>95%). We separately measured the dynamic profile of GLP-1 and insulin release at glucose concentrations of 0.5 and 20 mM, as well as the combined effect of GLP-1 on insulin production at these glucose concentrations. In response to glucose stimuli, GLUTag and INS-1 cells produced higher amounts of GLP-1 and insulin, respectively, compared to a static 2D cell culture. INS-1 combined with GLUTag cells exhibited an even higher insulin production in response to glucose stimulation. At higher glucose concentrations, the diabetes model on chip showed faster saturation of the insulin level. Our results suggest that the endocrine system developed in this study is a useful tool for observing dynamical changes in endocrine hormones (GLP-1 and insulin) in a glucose-dependent environment. Moreover, it can potentially be used to screen GLP-1 analogues and natural insulin and GLP-1 stimulants for diabetes treatment.

Childhood obesity and endocrine disrupting chemicals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Taek Kim

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The prevalence of obesity around the world has increased sharply. Strong evidence has emerged over the last decades that human exposure to numerous endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs is the cause of obesity and obesity-related metabolic diseases. Many EDCs are manmade chemicals that are released into the environment. EDCs are exogenous compounds that interfere with hormonal regulation and normal endocrine systems, thereby affecting the health of animals and humans. The number of chemicals belonging to EDCs is increasing and some of them are very stable; they persist in the environment (persistent organic pollutants. Although they are banned, their concentrations have been continuously increasing over time. This review gives a brief introduction to common EDCs, and evidence of harmful effects of EDCs on obesity-related diseases; we focus in particular on EDCs’ role in causing mitochondrial dysfunction.

Neurobehavioral endocrine regulation of small mammal populations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christian, J.J.

1978-01-01

A brief review is given of the hypothesis that density-dependent behavioral-endocrine negative feedbacks can regulate and often limit the growth of populations of many species of small mammals. Recent laboratory studies are summarized that show how stress, particularly psychogenic, which results in increased adrenocortical secretion also alters gonadotropin secretion and inhibits reproduction. Chronic stress due to crowding, immobilization, et al. inhibits the release of LH and FSH, particularly by abolishing the pulsatile release of LH, and also causes a rise in prolactin (at least acutely). Stimulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical system is accompanied by an inversely proportional inhibition of growth hormone secretion. Decreasing photoperiod enhances the sensitivity of the hypothalamus to inhibition of gonadotropin secretion by androgens and estrogens. Other endocrine responses to increased density or subordinate social rank also are summarized. How these facts fit into the negative feedback scheme is discussed, including the greatly prolonged effects of diminished lactation. The changed quality of the animals associated with changes in density discussed by Lidicker also can be explained by the above responses to density. Data on changes in growth and reproductive function which are consistent with the behavioral-endocrine feedback hypothesis are presented for several populations of small mammals, including some previously unpublished data for Microtus pennsylvanicus

Radiotherapy of endocrine orbitopathy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weischedel, U.; Wieland, C.

1985-01-01

After a review of the history and a discussion of recent theories about pathogenesis of endocrine ophthalmopathy the authros give a report on their radiotherapeutical treatment results with cobalt-60-γ-rays in 50 patients. Amelioration was achieved in 50% of the cases, in the other 50% no progression was seen. Radiotherapy is of antiphlogistic and functional effectivity and should be integrated in the treatment regime in early stages. (orig.) [de

Environmental endocrine disruptors: Effects on the human male reproductive system.

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeney, M F; Hasan, N; Soto, A M; Sonnenschein, C

2015-12-01

Incidences of altered development and neoplasia of male reproductive organs have increased during the last 50 years, as shown by epidemiological data. These data are associated with the increased presence of environmental chemicals, specifically "endocrine disruptors," that interfere with normal hormonal action. Much research has gone into testing the effects of specific endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on the development of male reproductive organs and endocrine-related cancers in both in vitro and in vivo models. Efforts have been made to bridge the accruing laboratory findings with the epidemiological data to draw conclusions regarding the relationship between EDCs, altered development and carcinogenesis. The ability of EDCs to predispose target fetal and adult tissues to neoplastic transformation is best explained under the framework of the tissue organization field theory of carcinogenesis (TOFT), which posits that carcinogenesis is development gone awry. Here, we focus on the available evidence, from both empirical and epidemiological studies, regarding the effects of EDCs on male reproductive development and carcinogenesis of endocrine target tissues. We also critique current research methodology utilized in the investigation of EDCs effects and outline what could possibly be done to address these obstacles moving forward.

Stress and stereotypic behaviour in mink (Mustela vison)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Malmkvist, Jens; Jeppesen, Leif Lau; Palme, R.

2011-01-01

We examined whether female mink with low (LS) and high (HS) occurrence of stereotypic behaviour differ in their adrenocortical activity in baseline conditions or in response to immobilisation (Experiment 1), handling, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge (Experiment 2) and excretion...... 4-20 h after the handling (P = 0.001). In Experiment 3 (n = 16), the excretion of infused (3)H-cortisol did not differ between LS and HS mink. Stereotypic behaviour is concurrent with higher baseline concentrations of FCM, which cannot be explained by a greater adrenocortical reactivity...... or a different excretion of the circulating cortisol. Instead, we conclude that mink with a high level of stereotypic behaviour have a greater perception of stress, or increased sensitivity to stressors at the pituitary level....

A comprehensive review of regulatory test methods for endocrine adverse health effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Manibusan, M K; Touart, L W

2017-07-01

Development of new endocrine disruption-relevant test methods has been the subject of intensive research efforts for the past several decades, prompted in part by mandates in the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA). While scientific understanding and test methods have advanced, questions remain on whether current scientific methods are capable of adequately addressing the complexities of the endocrine system for regulatory health and ecological risk assessments. The specific objective of this article is to perform a comprehensive, detailed evaluation of the adequacy of current test methods to inform regulatory risk assessments of whether a substance has the potential to perturb endocrine-related pathways resulting in human adverse effects. To that end,  approximately 42 existing test guidelines (TGs) were considered in the evaluation of coverage for endocrine-related adverse effects. In addition to evaluations of whether test methods are adequate to capture endocrine-related effects, considerations of further enhancements to current test methods, along with the need to develop novel test methods to address existing test method gaps are described. From this specific evaluation, up to 35 test methods are capable of informing whether a chemical substance perturbs known endocrine related biological pathways. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that current validated test methods are adequate to discern substances that may perturb the endocrine system, resulting in an adverse health effect. Together, these test methods predominantly form the core data requirements of a typical food-use pesticide registration submission. It is recognized, however, that the current state of science is rapidly advancing and there is a need to update current test methods to include added enhancements to ensure continued coverage and public health and environmental protection.

Insulin signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans regulates both endocrine-like and cell-autonomous outputs.

Science.gov (United States)

Iser, Wendy B; Gami, Minaxi S; Wolkow, Catherine A

2007-03-15

In C. elegans, insulin signaling affects development, lifespan and stress resistance. Several studies have shown that insulin signaling affects lifespan in an endocrine-like manner from different cells, while the major downstream target of insulin, the FOXO transcription factor encoded by daf-16, may act preferentially in intestinal cells to prolong lifespan. This discrepancy raised the possibility that insulin may have both endocrine and cell-intrinsic outputs. Here, we further investigated the types of cells capable of producing endocrine outputs of insulin and also identified a new cell-intrinsic insulin output. We found that insulin signaling within groups of neurons promoted wildtype lifespan, showing that the endocrine outputs of insulin were not restricted to specific cells. In contrast, DAF-16 appeared to have a greater effect on lifespan when expressed in a combination of tissues. These results suggest that insulin signaling may regulate DAF-16 through cell-intrinsic and endocrine pathways. We also found that an insulin-dependent response to fasting in intestinal cells was preferentially regulated by intestinal insulin signaling and was less responsive to insulin signaling from non-intestinal cells. Together, these results show that C. elegans insulin signaling has endocrine as well as tissue-specific outputs which could influence lifespan in a combinatorial fashion.

Development and application of QSAR models for mechanisms related to endocrine disruption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abildgaard Rosenberg, Sine

Humans are daily exposed to a wide variety of man-made chemicals through food, consumer products, water, air inhalation etc. For the main part of these chemicals no or only very limited information is available on their potential to cause endocrine disruption. Traditionally such information has...... is a background section, comprising 1) an introduction to the endocrine system with a focus on thyroid hormones (THs) and their essential function in neurodevelopment as well as a description of how chemicals may interference with endocrine mechanisms and cause adverse effects, 2) an introduction to the applied...

Radiologic features of cystic, endocrine and other pancreatic neoplasms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balci, N. Cem; Semelka, Richard C.

2001-01-01

This article presents imaging features of cystic, endocrine and other pancreatic neoplasms. Microcystic adenoma which is composed of small cysts ( 2 cm) are accounted for mucinous cystic neoplasms, its variant along pancreatic duct is ductectatic mucinous cystic neoplasm. Endocrine tumors of pancreas are hypervascular and can be depicted on early dynamic enhanced crosssectional imaging modalities or on angiography when they are <1 cm. Pancreatic metastases and lymphomas are rare neoplasms which should also be included in differential diagnosis for pancreatic masses

X-Ray semiotics of cranial involvement in endocrine diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spuzyak, M.I.; Kramnoj, I.E.; Belaya, L.M.; Tyazhelova, O.V.; Litvinenko, V.M.

1992-01-01

The incidence and type of X-ray semeiotics of the skull involvement were studied in 703 patients with endocrine diseases. Craniorgam analysis involved study of the thickness and structure of the vault bones, shape and size of the skull, status of the sutures, internal plate relief, changes of the base of the skull, of the sella turcica first of all, and facial bone. The characteristic X-ray symprom complexes of the involvement of the skull in some endocrine diseases were distinguished

Central control of glucose homeostasis: the brain--endocrine pancreas axis.

Science.gov (United States)

Thorens, B

2010-10-01

A large body of data gathered over the last decades has delineated the neuronal pathways that link the central nervous system with the autonomic innervation of the endocrine pancreas, which controls alpha- and beta-cell secretion activity and mass. These are important regulatory functions that are certainly keys for preserving the capacity of the endocrine pancreas to control glucose homeostasis over a lifetime. Identifying the cells involved in controlling the autonomic innervation of the endocrine pancreas, in response to nutrient, hormonal and environmental cues and how these cues are detected to activate neuronal activity are important goals of current research. Elucidation of these questions may possibly lead to new means for preserving or restoring defects in insulin and glucagon secretion associated with type 2 diabetes. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

The international spinal cord injury endocrine and metabolic function basic data set

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauman, W A; Biering-Sørensen, Fin; Krassioukov, A

2011-01-01

To develop the International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Endocrine and Metabolic Function Basic Data Set within the framework of the International SCI Data Sets that would facilitate consistent collection and reporting of basic endocrine and metabolic findings in the SCI population....

Reactive transport modelling of a heating and radiation experiment in the Boom clay (Belgium)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montenegro, L.; Samper, J.; Delgado, J.

2003-01-01

Most countries around the world consider Deep Geological Repositories (DGR) as the most safe option for the final disposal of high level radioactive waste (HLW). DGR is based on adopting a system of multiple barriers between the HLW and the biosphere. Underground laboratories provide information about the behaviour of these barriers at real conditions. Here we present a reactive transport model for the CERBERUS experiment performed at the HADES underground laboratory at Mol (Belgium) in order to characterize the thermal (T), hydrodynamic (H) and geochemical (G) behaviour of the Boon clay. This experiment is unique because it addresses the combined effect of heat and radiation produced by the storage of HLW in a DGR. Reactive transport models which are solved with CORE, are used to perform quantitative predictions of Boom clay thermo-hydro-geochemical (THG) behaviour. Numerical results indicate that heat and radiation cause a slight oxidation near of the radioactive source, pyrite dissolution, a pH decrease and slight changes in the pore water chemical composition of the Boom clay. (Author) 33 refs

CONTAMINANT-ASSOCIATED ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION IN REPTILES.

Science.gov (United States)

The data presented suggest that contaminants can alter the endocrine and reproductive system of reptiles by mimicking hormones and by various mechanisms other than direct hormonal mimicry. However, these data indicate, as do many other studies using various vertebrates, that a fo...

Diabetic and endocrine emergencies

OpenAIRE

Kearney, T; Dang, C

2007-01-01

Endocrine emergencies constitute only a small percentage of the emergency workload of general doctors, comprising about 1.5% of all hospital admission in England in 2004–5. Most of these are diabetes related with the remaining conditions totalling a few hundred cases at most. Hence any individual doctor might not have sufficient exposure to be confident in their management. This review discusses the management of diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar hyperglycaemic state, hypoglycaemia, hyperca...

Behaviour of the RBMK-1000 plant during reactivity disturbances under part load reduction - completing investigations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clemente, M.; Langenbuch, S.

1989-01-01

This report describes investigations of the behavior of a RBMK-1000 reactor core during reactivity initiated accidents and completes earlier studies of the Chernobyl accident. Special questions related to this accident are studied, e.g. the effect of Xenon dynamics during the delayed load reduction and the coarse of the experiment as planned with the coast-down of four main recirculaton pumps at nominal part load conditions. The main interest is the detailed analysis of reactivity initiated accidents in the low power range till 25% during start-up. In the calculations no reactor trip is taken into account. The results confirm the unfavourable effects of the positive void coefficient, which are amplified in the low power range. Finally the results are discussed in comparison to other positive reactivity effects. (orig.) [de

Endocrine profiles and neuropsychologic correlates of functional hypothalamic amenorrhea in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Bomba, Monica; Gambera, Alessandro; Bonini, Luisa; Peroni, Maria; Neri, Francesca; Scagliola, Pasquale; Nacinovich, Renata

2007-04-01

To determine trigger factors and neuropsychologic correlates of functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA) in adolescence and to evaluate the correlations with the endocrine-metabolic profile. Cross-sectional comparison of adolescents with FHA and eumenorrheic controls Academic medical institution Twenty adolescent girls with FHA (aged <18 years) and 20 normal cycling girls All subjects underwent endocrine-gynecologic (hormone) and neuropsychiatric (tests and interview) investigations. A separate semistructured interview was also used to investigate parents. Gonadotropins, leptin, prolactin, androgens, estrogens, cortisol, carrier proteins (SHBG, insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1), and metabolic parameters (insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, thyroid hormones) were assayed in FHA and control subjects. All girls were evaluated using a test for depression, a test for disordered eating, and a psychodynamic semistructured interview. Adolescents with FHA showed a particular susceptibility to common life events, restrictive disordered eating, depressive traits, and psychosomatic disorders. The endocrine-metabolic profile was strictly correlated to the severity of the psychopathology. Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea in adolescence is due to a particular neuropsychologic vulnerability to stress, probably related to familial relationship styles, expressed by a proportional endocrine impairment.

Association studies in common endocrine diseases (review article

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akrami SM

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Our understanding of the pathogenesis of endocrine disorders increase rapidly by genetic studies at the molecular level. Common endocrine disorders such as diabetes mellitus, obesity, osteoporosis, dyslipidemia and cancer follow the multifactorial model in the genetic aspect. This review tries to clarify the approach in molecular studies of such diseases for clinicians in different specialties. How to evaluate a possible association between a single nucleotide polymorphism and an endocrinopathy or its complication is the main concern of this review. Two approaches for gene mapping will be discussed as well as main challenges regarding each approach. All such genetic studies ideally include some test of the association between genome sequence variation and the phenotype of interest such as the trait itself, the presence of a given complication, or measures of some endocrinopathy-related intermediate trait. Despite different advances in this analysis, there are major concerns regarding the overall performance and robustness of genetic association studies. By using powerful new high-throughput methods, further insights to molecular basis of such endocrine disorders can be expected. Close correlation between geneticists and clinicians can effectively bridge between basic sciences and clinical investigations.

Spreeta-based biosensor for endocrine disruptors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Marchesini, G.R.; Koopal, K.; Meulenberg, E.; Haasnoot, W.; Irth, H.

2007-01-01

The construction and performance of an automated low-cost Spreeta¿-based prototype biosensor system for the detection of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) is described. The system consists primarily of a Spreeta miniature liquid sensor incorporated into an aluminum flow cell holder, dedicated to

Ultrastructure of the midgut endocrine cells in Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides (Hymenoptera, Apidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. A. Neves

Full Text Available In this study we describe the ultrastructure of the endocrine cells observed in the midgut of M. quadrifasciata anthidioides. This bee has two types of endocrine cells, which are numerous on the posterior midgut region. Cells of the closed type are smaller and have irregular secretory granules with lower electrondensity than those of the open cell type. The open cell type has elongated mitochondria mainly on the basal area, where most of the secretory granules are also found. Besides the secretion granules and mitochondria, endocrine cells in this species have well-developed autophagic vacuoles and Golgi complex elements.

Endocrine dysfunction after total body irradiation and bone marrow transplantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feyer, P.; Titlbach, O.; Hoffmann, F.A.; Kubel, M.; Helbig, W.; Leipzig Univ.

1989-01-01

Data regarding changes of endocrine parameters after total body irradiation (TBI) and bone marrow transplantation (BMT) are described. Endocrine glands are usually resistant to irradiation under morphological aspects. But new methods of determination and sensitive tests were developed in the last few years. Now it is possible to detect already small functional changes. Endocrine studies in the course of the disease were followed serially in 16 patients with TBI and BMT. Pretransplant conditioning consisted of single-dose irradiation combined with a high-dose, short-term chemotherapy. Reactions of the endocrine system showed a defined temporary order. Changes of ACTH and cortisol were in the beginning. The pituitary-adrenal cortex system responds in a different way. The pituitary-thyroid system develops a short-term 'low-T 3 -syndrome' reflecting the extreme stress of the organism. At the same time we obtained an increase of thyroxine. Testosterone and luteotropic hormone, the sexual steroids showed levels representing a primary gonadal insufficiency. The studies in the posttransplant period yielded a return to the normal range at most of the hormonal levels with the exception of the sexual steroids. Sterility is one of the late effects of TBI. A tendency towards hypothyroidism could be noticed in some cases being only subclinical forms. Reasons and possible therapy are discussed. (author)

Effects of dialectical behaviour therapy-mindfulness training on emotional reactivity in borderline personality disorder: preliminary results.

Science.gov (United States)

Feliu-Soler, Albert; Pascual, Juan C; Borràs, Xavier; Portella, Maria J; Martín-Blanco, Ana; Armario, Antonio; Alvarez, Enric; Pérez, Víctor; Soler, Joaquim

2014-01-01

Emotional dysregulation has been proposed as a hallmark of borderline personality disorder (BPD). Mindfulness techniques taught in dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) appear to be effective in reducing affective symptoms and may enhance emotion regulation in BPD patients. In the present study, we assessed whether 10 weeks of DBT-mindfulness (DBT-M) training added to general psychiatric management (GPM) could improve emotion regulation in BPD patients. A total of 35 patients with BPD were included and sequentially assigned to GPM (n = 17) or GPM plus DBT-M (n = 18). Participants underwent a negative emotion induction procedure (presentation of standardized unpleasant images) both pre-intervention and post-intervention. Clinical evaluation was also performed before and after treatment. No differences were observed in emotional response at the post-treatment session. However, patients in the DBT-M group showed greater improvement in clinical symptoms. Formal mindfulness practice was positively correlated with clinical improvements and lower self-reported emotional reactivity. Our preliminary results suggest that mindfulness training reduces some psychiatric symptoms but may not have a clear effect on how patients respond to emotional stimuli in an experimental setting. No clear effect of mindfulness training was observed on emotional response to a negative emotion induction procedure. Application of the DBT-M module jointly to GPM induced better clinical outcomes than GPM alone. Formal mindfulness practice showed a positive impact on emotion regulation and clinical improvement. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The indication of endocrine therapy from the radiological view with mammary carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nadji-Esfahani, A.

1982-01-01

Important for the determining of the indication of endocrine treatment with mammary carcinoma is the pre-determination of receptors. A safe method for the choice of patients, for whom endocrine therapy would be appropriate, is not yet available. Patients who have no estrogen receptors, have as good as no chance, to be picked for endocrine therapy. The highest remission rates (around 60%) with endocrine therapy are attained when estrogen and progesterone receptors are both present, which, however, is usually only so in about one-third of the cases. Estrogen receptors are present in about 60 to 70% of the cases. With pre-menopausal women the following would be considered as endocrine procedures after switching off the ovaries: Androgens with abdominal, lung and pleura metastases; anti-estrogens (at best Tamoxifen) with abdominal and visceral metastasis; adrenalectomy with abdominal and bone metastases; and hypophyseal switching-off mostly with skeletal pains. In post-menopause estrogens are the first choice. In combination with progestogen they are indicated for abdominal and lung metastases and for carcinomatic pleura discharges. With abdominal and visceral metastasis Tamoxifen can be considered as first choice. The indications for hypophyseal switching-off, adrenalectomy and androgens are the same as for pre-menopausal women. (TRV) [de

Purinergic receptors in the endocrine and exocrine pancreas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Novak, I

2008-01-01

The pancreas is a complex gland performing both endocrine and exocrine functions. In recent years there has been increasing evidence that both endocrine and exocrine cells possess purinergic receptors, which influence processes such as insulin secretion and epithelial ion transport. Most commonly......, there is also evidence for other P2 and adenosine receptors in beta cells (P2Y(2), P2Y(4), P2Y(6), P2X subtypes and A(1) receptors) and in glucagon-secreting alpha cells (P2X(7), A(2) receptors). In the exocrine pancreas, acini release ATP and ATP-hydrolysing and ATP-generating enzymes. P2 receptors...

The eye as a window to rare endocrine disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Chopra, Rupali; Chander, Ashish; Jacob, Jubbin J.

2012-01-01

The human eye, as an organ, can offer critical clues to the diagnosis of various systemic illnesses. Ocular changes are common in various endocrine disorders such as diabetes mellitus and Graves’ disease. However there exist a large number of lesser known endocrine disorders where ocular involvement is significant. Awareness of these associations is the first step in the diagnosis and management of these complex patients. The rare syndromes involving the pituitary hypothalamic axis with significant ocular involvement include Septo-optic dysplasia, Kallman's syndrome, and Empty Sella syndrome all affecting the optic nerve at the optic chiasa. The syndromes involving the thyroid and parathyroid glands that have ocular manifestations and are rare include Mc Cune Albright syndrome wherein optic nerve decompression may occur due to fibrous dysplasia, primary hyperparathyroidism that may present as red eye due to scleritis and Ascher syndrome wherein ptosis occurs. Allgrove's syndrome, Cushing's disease, and Addison's disease are the rare endocrine syndromes discussed involving the adrenals and eye. Ocular involvement is also seen in gonadal syndromes such as Bardet Biedl, Turner's, Rothmund's, and Klinefelter's syndrome. This review also highlights the ocular manifestation of miscellaneous syndromes such as Werner's, Cockayne's, Wolfram's, Kearns Sayre's, and Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome. The knowledge of these relatively uncommon endocrine disorders and their ocular manifestations will help an endocrinologist reach a diagnosis and will alert an ophthalmologist to seek specialty consultation of an endocrinologist when encountered with such cases. PMID:22629495

Incidence of endocrine disorders in Indian adult male population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. V. S. Hari Kumar

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: The comprehensive epidemiology of endocrine disorders is lacking from our country. Most of the available data pertain to the prevalence of diabetes and thyroid disorders only. We studied the incidence of endocrine disorders in a cohort of service personnel followed for a long duration. Materials and Methods: The data for this descriptive epidemiologic study were derived from the electronic medical records of the male service personnel enrolled between 1990 and 2015. They were recruited between the ages of 17 and 20 years in good health, and their morbidity data were derived from the medical records. We calculated the incidence rates as per person-years (py using appropriate statistical methods. Results: Our analysis includes 51,217 participants (median: age 33 years, range: 17–54 with a mean follow-up of 12.5 years. Yearly evaluation of the data gave a cumulative follow-up duration of 613,925 py. The incidence of diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemia was 0.41, 0.23, and 0.12 per 1000 py, respectively. The incidence of thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary, adrenal, and metabolic bone disorders was 3.9, 8.6, 1.6, 0.81, and 0.97 per 100,000 py, respectively. Conclusion: Our cohort had lower incidence rates of endocrine disorders when compared with the Western population. Long-term epidemiological studies are essential to identify the demographic trends of the endocrine disorders in India.

Emotional non-acceptance links early life stress and blunted cortisol reactivity to social threat.

Science.gov (United States)

Cărnuţă, Mihai; Crişan, Liviu G; Vulturar, Romana; Opre, Adrian; Miu, Andrei C

2015-01-01

Early life stress (ELS) has been recently associated with blunted cortisol reactivity and emotion dysregulation, but no study until now examined whether these characteristics are related. The main goal of this study was to examine the potential mediator role of emotion dysregulation in the relation between ELS and cortisol reactivity to social threat. Only women who were free of psychiatric and endocrine disorders, had regular menstrual cycle and did not use oral contraceptives were selected for this study (N=62). After filling in ELS and multidimensional emotion dysregulation measures, participants underwent the Trier Social Stress Test during which cortisol and autonomic responses were assessed. Most participants (85.5%) reported one or more major stressful events (i.e., physical abuse, sexual abuse, major parental conflicts, death of a family or close friend, severe illness) experienced before age 17. ELS was negatively associated with cortisol reactivity and positively associated with skin conductance level (SCL) reactivity, but it did not influence heart rate and respiratory sinus arrhythmia. In addition, ELS was positively related to emotional non-acceptance (i.e., a tendency to develop secondary emotional responses to one's negative emotions), and the latter was negatively related to cortisol responses and positively related to SCL responses. Bootstrapping analyses indicated that emotional non-acceptance was a significant mediator in the relationships between ELS and both cortisol and SCL responses. Emotional non-acceptance is thus one of the psychological mechanisms underlying blunted cortisol and increased sympathetic reactivity in young healthy volunteers with a history of ELS. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Endocrine function in 97 patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ørngreen, Mette Cathrine; Arlien-Søborg, P.; Duno, M

2012-01-01

. Correlation with CTG(n) expansion size was investigated with the Pearson correlation test. Eighteen percent of the DM1 patients had hyperparathyroidism with increased PTH compared with 0.5% in the background population. Of these, 16% had normocalcemia and 2% had hypercalcemia. An additional 3% had...... LH, but normal testosterone levels, indicating relative insufficiency. Numbers of CTG repeats correlated directly with plasma PTH, phosphate, LH, and tended to correlate with plasma testosterone for males. This is the largest study of endocrine dysfunction in a cohort of Caucasian patients with DM1....... We found that patients with DM1 have an increased risk of abnormal endocrine function, particularly calcium metabolism disorders. However, the endocrine dysfunction appears not to be of clinical significance in all of the cases. Finally, we found correlations between CTG(n) expansion size and plasma...

A meta-analysis and systematic review of reactivity to judgements of learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Double, Kit S; Birney, Damian P; Walker, Sarah A

2018-07-01

Judgements of learning (JoL) are often used in memory research as a means for assessing an individual's metacognitive beliefs about their learning. JoL have been shown to reliably predict performance as well as learning behaviours and decisions . Participants may, however, modify their behaviour in response to performing JoL. There has, however, been little consensus as to the reliability and direction of the effect. We report on a meta-analyses that assesses the evidence that memory performance is reactive to JoL. The results indicate that overall providing JoL does not have a significant effect on memory performance (g = 0.054, 95% CI -0.027 to 0.135). However, sub-groups analysis showed that this effect depends on the nature of the stimuli to be recalled, with moderate positive reactivity observed for related word pairs (g = 0.323, 95% CI 0.083 to 0.563) and word lists (g = 0.384, 95% CI 0.146 to 0.622) but no reactivity when pairs were unrelated or a mixture of related and unrelated pairs. These results indicate that researchers should be aware that eliciting JoL may well influence participants' underlying encoding processes, especially when using related word pairs or word lists.

ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING CHEMICALS: PREPUBERTAL EXPOSURES AND EFFECTS ON SEXUAL MATURATION AND THYROID FUNCTION IN THE MALE RAT. A FOCUS ON THE EDSTAC RECOMMENDATIONS. ENDOCRINE DISRUPTER SCREENING AND TESTING ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Science.gov (United States)

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: prepubertal exposures and effects on sexual maturation and thyroid function in the male rat. A focus on the EDSTAC recommendations. Endocrine Disrupter Screening and Testing Advisory Committee.Stoker TE, Parks LG, Gray LE, Cooper RL.

Psycho-Neuro-Endocrine-Immunology: A Psychobiological Concept.

Science.gov (United States)

França, Katlein; Lotti, Torello M

2017-01-01

Psycho-Neuro-Endocrine-Immunology (P.N.E.I.) is a scientific field of study that investigates the link between bidirectional communications among the nervous system, the endocrine system, and the immune system and the correlations of this cross-talk with physical health. The P.N.E.I. innovative medical approach represents a paradigm shift from a strictly biomedical view of health and disease taken as hermetically sealed compartments to a more interdisciplinary one. The key element of P.N.E.I. approach is represented by the concept of bidirectional cross-talk between the psychoneuroendocrine and immune systems. The Low Dose Medicine is one of the most promising approaches able to allow the researchers to design innovative therapeutic strategies for the treatment of skin diseases based on the rebalance of the immune response.

Endocrine cells in the denervated intestine

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, Gilda C; Zucoloto, Sérgio; Garcia, Sérgio B

2000-01-01

This study deals with the effects of myenteric denervation of the proximal jejunum on endocrine cell population of the crypt-villus unit, 5 months after treatment with benzalkonium chloride (BAC). Male Wistar albino rats weighing on average 100 g were allocated to two groups: the BAC group − the proximal jejunal serosa was treated with 2 mm BAC for 30 min, and the control group − treated with saline solution (0,9% NaCl). There was a significant reduction in neurone number in the jejunal myenteric plexus of the BAC group and the endocrine cell population (serotoninergic and argyrophilic cells) was significantly increased in this intestine segment. In conclusion, the present findings provide further evidence that the myenteric denervation induced by BAC may lead to the development of a local imbalance of the neurotransmitters, with a consequent induction of enteroendocrine cell (argyrophilic and serotoninergic cells) hyperplasia in the crypt and villus. PMID:10971748

The Insulin Regulatory Network in Adult Hippocampus and Pancreatic Endocrine System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masanao Machida

2012-01-01

Full Text Available There is a very strong correlation between the insulin-mediated regulatory system of the central nervous system and the pancreatic endocrine system. There are many examples of the same transcriptional factors being expressed in both regions in their embryonic development stages. Hormonal signals from the pancreatic islets influence the regulation of energy homeostasis by the brain, and the brain in turn influences the secretions of the islets. Diabetes induces neuronal death in different regions of the brain especially hippocampus, causes alterations on the neuronal circuits and therefore impairs learning and memory, for which the hippocampus is responsible. The hippocampus is a region of the brain where steady neurogenesis continues throughout life. Adult neurogenesis from undifferentiated neural stem cells is greatly decreased in diabetic patients, and as a result their learning and memory functions decline. Might it be possible to reactivate stem cells whose functions have deteriorated and that are present in the tissues in which the lesions occur in diabetes, a lifestyle disease, which plagues modern humans and develops as a result of the behavior of insulin-related factor? In this paper we summarize research in regard to these matters based on examples in recent years.

A DRAGON-MCNP comparison of void reactivity calculations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marleau, G [Ecole Polytechnique, Montreal, PQ (Canada). Inst. de Genie Nucleaire; Milgram, M S [Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Chalk River, ON (Canada)

1996-12-31

The determination of the reactivity coefficients associated with coolant voiding in a CANDU reactor is a subject which has attracted a large amount of interest in the last few years both from the theoretical and experimental point of view. One expects that deterministic codes such as DRAGON and WIMS-AECL or the MCNP4 Monte Carlo code should be able to adequately simulate the cell behaviour upon coolant voiding. However, the absence of an experimental database at equilibrium and discharge burnups has not permitted the full validation of any of these lattice codes, although a partial validation through comparison of two different computer codes has been considered. Here we present a comparison between DRAGON and MCNP4 of the void reactivity evaluation for fresh fuel. (author). 16 refs., 5 tabs.

A DRAGON-MCNP comparison of void reactivity calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marleau, G.

1995-01-01

The determination of the reactivity coefficients associated with coolant voiding in a CANDU reactor is a subject which has attracted a large amount of interest in the last few years both from the theoretical and experimental point of view. One expects that deterministic codes such as DRAGON and WIMS-AECL or the MCNP4 Monte Carlo code should be able to adequately simulate the cell behaviour upon coolant voiding. However, the absence of an experimental database at equilibrium and discharge burnups has not permitted the full validation of any of these lattice codes, although a partial validation through comparison of two different computer codes has been considered. Here we present a comparison between DRAGON and MCNP4 of the void reactivity evaluation for fresh fuel. (author). 16 refs., 5 tabs

The Current Role of Venous Sampling in the Localization of Endocrine Disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lau, Jeshen H. G.; Drake, William; Matson, Matthew

2007-01-01

Endocrine venous sampling plays a specific role in the diagnosis of endocrine disorders. In this article, we cover inferior petrosal sinus sampling, selective parathyroid venous sampling, hepatic venous sampling with arterial stimulation, adrenal venous sampling, and ovarian venous sampling. We review their indications and the scientific evidence justifying these indications in the diagnosis and management of Cushing's syndrome, hyperparathyroidism, pancreatic endocrine tumors, Conn's syndrome, primary hyperaldosteronism, pheochromocytomas, and androgen-secreting ovarian tumors. For each sampling technique, we compare its diagnostic accuracy with that of other imaging techniques and, where possible, look at how it impacts patient management. Finally, we incorporate venous sampling into diagnostic algorithms used at our institution

Somatostatin-receptor imaging in the localization of endocrine tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamberts, S.W.; Bakker, W.H.; Reubi, J.C.; Krenning, E.P.

1990-01-01

A number of different tumors have receptors for somatostatin. We evaluated the efficacy of scanning with 123 I-labeled Tyr3-octreotide, a somatostatin analogue, for tumor localization in 42 patients with carcinoid tumors, pancreatic endocrine tumors, or paragangliomas. We then evaluated the response to octreotide therapy in some of these patients. Primary tumors or metastases, often previously unrecognized, were visualized in 12 of 13 patients with carcinoid tumors and in 7 of 9 patients with pancreatic endocrine tumors. The endocrine symptoms of these patients responded well to therapy with octreotide. Among 20 patients with paragangliomas, 8 of whom had more than one tumor, 10 temporal (tympanic or jugular), 9 carotid, and 10 vagal tumors could be visualized. One small tympanic tumor and one small carotid tumor were not seen on the scan. The 123 I-labeled Tyr3-octreotide scanning technique is a rapid and safe procedure for the visualization of some tumors with somatostatin receptors. A positive scan may predict the ability of octreotide therapy to control symptoms of hormonal hypersecretion

Fluoride caused thyroid endocrine disruption in male zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Science.gov (United States)

Jianjie, Chen; Wenjuan, Xue; Jinling, Cao; Jie, Song; Ruhui, Jia; Meiyan, Li

2016-02-01

Excessive fluoride in natural water ecosystem has the potential to detrimentally affect thyroid endocrine system, but little is known of such effects or underlying mechanisms in fish. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of fluoride on growth performance, thyroid histopathology, thyroid hormone levels, and gene expressions in the HPT axis in male zebrafish (Danio rerio) exposed to different determined concentrations of 0.1, 0.9, 2.0 and 4.1 M of fluoride to investigate the effects of fluoride on thyroid endocrine system and the potential toxic mechanisms caused by fluoride. The results indicated that the growth of the male zebrafish used in the experiments was significantly inhibited, the thyroid microtrastructure was changed, and the levels of T3 and T4 were disturbed in fluoride-exposed male fish. In addition, the expressional profiles of genes in HPT axis displayed alteration. The expressions of all studied genes were significantly increased in all fluoride-exposed male fish after exposure for 45 days. The transcriptional levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroglobulin (TG), sodium iodide symporter (NIS), iodothyronine I (DIO1), and thyroid hormone receptor alpha (TRα) were also elevated in all fluoride-exposed male fish after 90 days of exposure, while the inconsistent expressions were found in the mRNA of iodothyronineⅡ (DIO2), UDP glucuronosyltransferase 1 family a, b (UGT1ab), transthyretin (TTR), and thyroid hormone receptor beta (TRβ). These results demonstrated that fluoride could notably inhibit the growth of zebrafish, and significantly affect thyroid endocrine system by changing the microtrastructure of thyroid, altering thyroid hormone levels and endocrine-related gene expressions in male zebrafish. All above indicated that fluoride could pose a great threat to thyroid endocrine system, thus detrimentally affected the normal function of thyroid of male zebrafish. Copyright © 2015

Endocrine resistance in breast cancer – an overview and update

Science.gov (United States)

Clarke, Robert; Tyson, John J.; Dixon, J. Michael

2015-01-01

Tumors that express detectable levels of the product of the ESR1 gene (estrogen receptor-α; ERα) represent the single largest molecular subtype of breast cancer. More women eventually die from ERα+ breast cancer than from either HER2+ disease (almost half of which also express ERα) and/or from triple negative breast cancer (ERα-negative, progesterone receptor-negative, and HER2-negative). Antiestrogens and aromatase inhibitors are largely indistinguishable from each other in their abilities to improve overall survival and almost 50% of ERα+ breast cancers will eventually fail one or more of these endocrine interventions. The precise reasons why these therapies fail in ERα+ breast cancer remain largely unknown. Pharmacogenetic explanations for Tamoxifen resistance are controversial. The role of ERα mutations in endocrine resistance remains unclear. Targeting the growth factors and oncogenes most strongly correlated with endocrine resistance has proven mostly disappointing in their abilities to improve overall survival substantially, particularly in the metastatic setting. Nonetheless, there are new concepts in endocrine resistance that integrate molecular signaling, cellular metabolism, and stress responses including endoplasmic reticulum stress and the unfolded protein response (UPR) that provide novel insights and suggest innovative therapeutic targets. Encouraging evidence that drug combinations with CDK4/CDK6 inhibitors can extend recurrence free survival may yet translate to improvements in overall survival. Whether the improvements seen with immunotherapy in other cancers can be achieved in breast cancer remains to be determined, particularly for ERα+ breast cancers. This review explores the basic mechanisms of resistance to endocrine therapies, concluding with some new insights from systems biology approaches further implicating autophagy and the UPR in detail, and a brief discussion of exciting new avenues and future prospects. PMID:26455641

Review: the role of neural crest cells in the endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Meghan Sara; Bronner-Fraser, Marianne

2009-01-01

The neural crest is a pluripotent population of cells that arises at the junction of the neural tube and the dorsal ectoderm. These highly migratory cells form diverse derivatives including neurons and glia of the sensory, sympathetic, and enteric nervous systems, melanocytes, and the bones, cartilage, and connective tissues of the face. The neural crest has long been associated with the endocrine system, although not always correctly. According to current understanding, neural crest cells give rise to the chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla, chief cells of the extra-adrenal paraganglia, and thyroid C cells. The endocrine tumors that correspond to these cell types are pheochromocytomas, extra-adrenal paragangliomas, and medullary thyroid carcinomas. Although controversies concerning embryological origin appear to have mostly been resolved, questions persist concerning the pathobiology of each tumor type and its basis in neural crest embryology. Here we present a brief history of the work on neural crest development, both in general and in application to the endocrine system. In particular, we present findings related to the plasticity and pluripotency of neural crest cells as well as a discussion of several different neural crest tumors in the endocrine system.

Influence of rank and macerals on the burnout behaviour of pulverized Indian coal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choudhury, Nandita; Biswas, S.; Sarkar, P.; Kumar, Manish; Mukherjee, A.; Choudhury, A. [Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Digwadih Campus (Formerly Central Fuel Research Institute), P.O. FRI, Dhanbad-828 108, Jharkhand (India); Ghosal, Sujit; Mitra, Tandra [Jadavpur University, Kolkata-700 032, West Bengal (India)

2008-04-03

The combustion behaviour of coal is significantly influenced by its rank and maceral and microlithotype compositions. Different macerals, due to their distinct and unique physical properties and chemical makeup, have different burning characteristics. This paper deals with the burning behaviour of coals of Indian origin by thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and in drop tube furnace (DTF) with particular emphasis on the role of macerals and their associations. Four coals of different rank and petrographic makeup, along with their two density fractions, with enriched vitrinite and inertinites, respectively,were studied in both TGA and DTF. The burnout behaviour was estimated from the chemical analyses of the char samples collected from the DTF. The burning characteristics of one of the coals deviate from the trend expected with the variations of rank. The behaviour of the density fractions in DTF was found to be different from that observed in TGA analyses. An attempt has been made to correlate the burnout with the petrographic macerals and microlithotypes present in the coals. The morphology of the residual chars indicates the contributions of the inertinites towards the formation of cenospheres and network types of reactive chars. The superior burning behaviour of the higher density inertinite-rich fractions over the raw coals and also some vitrinite-rich fractions indicate the better reactivity of the inertinites towards combustion. (author)

Career Advancement: Meeting the Challenges Confronting the Next Generation of Endocrinologists and Endocrine Researchers.

Science.gov (United States)

Santen, Richard J; Joham, Anju; Fishbein, Lauren; Vella, Kristen R; Ebeling, Peter R; Gibson-Helm, Melanie; Teede, Helena

2016-12-01

Challenges and opportunities face the next generation (Next-Gen) of endocrine researchers and clinicians, the lifeblood of the field of endocrinology for the future. A symposium jointly sponsored by The Endocrine Society and the Endocrine Society of Australia was convened to discuss approaches to addressing the present and future Next-Gen needs. Data collection by literature review, assessment of previously completed questionnaires, commissioning of a new questionnaire, and summarization of symposium discussions were studied. Next-Gen endocrine researchers face diminishing grant funding in inflation-adjusted terms. The average age of individuals being awarded their first independent investigator funding has increased to age 45 years. For clinicians, a workforce gap exists between endocrinologists needed and those currently trained. Clinicians in practice are increasingly becoming employees of integrated hospital systems, resulting in greater time spent on nonclinical issues. Workforce data and published reviews identify challenges specifically related to early career women in endocrinology. Strategies to Address Issues: Recommendations encompassed the areas of grant support for research, mentoring, education, templates for career development, specific programs for Next-Gen members by senior colleagues as outlined in the text, networking, team science, and life/work integration. Endocrine societies focusing on Next-Gen members provide a powerful mechanism to support these critical areas. A concerted effort to empower, train, and support the next generation of clinical endocrinologists and endocrine researchers is necessary to ensure the viability and vibrancy of our discipline and to optimize our contributions to improving health outcomes. Collaborative engagement of endocrine societies globally will be necessary to support our next generation moving forward.

Endocrine alterations in HIV-infected patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sujit Kumar Tripathy

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Aims and objectives: To study the frequency of thyroid, adrenal and gonadal dysfunction in newly diagnosed HIV-infected patients and to correlate them at different levels of CD4 cell counts. Materials and Methods: Forty-three HIV-positive cases were included in the study group. Cases were divided into three groups on the basis of CD4 cell count. Serum free T3, free T4, TSH, Cortisol, FSH, LH, testosterone and estradiol were estimated by the radioimmunoassay method. Hormone levels between cases were compared and their correlation with CD4 count was analyzed. Results: Prevalence of gonadal dysfunction (88.3% was the most common endocrine dysfunction followed by thyroid (60.4% and adrenal dysfunction (27.9%. Secondary hypogonadism (68.4% was more common than primary (31.6%. Low T3 syndrome, that is, isolated low free T3, was the most common (25.6% thyroid dysfunction followed by secondary hypothyroidism (16.2% and subclinical hypothyroidism (11.6%. Adrenal excess (16.3% was more common than adrenal insufficiency (11.6%. The difference in hormonal dysfunction between male and female was statistically insignificant (P > 0.05. 27.9% of patients had multiple hormone deficiency. There was negligible or no correlation between CD4 count and serum hormone level. Conclusion: In our study, endocrine dysfunction was quite common among HIV-infected patients but there was no correlation between hormone levels and CD4 count. Endocrine dysfunctions and role of hormone replacement therapy in HIV-infected patient needs to be substantiated by large longitudinal study, so that it will help to reduce morbidity, improve quality of life.

Endocrine disorders in pregnancy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feldt-Rasmussen, Ulla; Mathiesen, Elisabeth R

2011-01-01

The endocrinology of pregnancy involves endocrine and metabolic changes as a consequence of physiological alterations at the foetoplacental boundary between mother and foetus. The vast changes in maternal hormones and their binding proteins complicate assessment of the normal level of most hormones...... during gestation. The neuroendocrine events and their timing in the placental, foetal and maternal compartments are critical for initiation and maintenance of pregnancy, for foetal growth and development, and for parturition. As pregnancy advances, the relative number of trophoblasts increase...

Researches of WWER fuel rods behaviour under RIA accident conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nechaeva, O.; Medvedev, A.; Novikov, V.; Salatov, A.

2003-01-01

Unirradiated fuel rod and refabricated fuel rod tests in the BIGR as well as acceptance criteria proving absence of fragmentation and the settlement modeling of refabricated fuel rods thermomechanical behavior in the BIGR-tests using RAPTA-5 code are discussed in this paper. The behaviour of WWER type simulators with E110 and E635 cladding was researched at the BIGR reactor under power pulse conditions simulating reactivity initiated accident. The results of the tests in four variants of experimental conditions are submitted. The behaviour of 12 WWER type refabricated fuel rods was researched in the BIGR reactor under power pulse conditions simulating reactivity initiated accident: burnup 48 and 60 MWd/kgU, pulse width 3 ms, peak fuel enthalpy 115-190 cal/g. The program of future tests in the research reactor MIR with high burnup fuel rod (up to 70 MWd/kgU) under conditions simulating design RIA in WWER-1000 is presented

Metabolic syndrome, endocrine disruptors and prostate cancer associations: biochemical and pathophysiological evidences

Science.gov (United States)

Quagliariello, Vincenzo; Rossetti, Sabrina; Cavaliere, Carla; Di Palo, Rossella; Lamantia, Elvira; Castaldo, Luigi; Nocerino, Flavia; Ametrano, Gianluca; Cappuccio, Francesca; Malzone, Gabriella; Montanari, Micaela; Vanacore, Daniela; Romano, Francesco Jacopo; Piscitelli, Raffaele; Iovane, Gelsomina; Pepe, Maria Filomena; Berretta, Massimiliano; D'Aniello, Carmine; Perdonà, Sisto; Muto, Paolo; Botti, Gerardo; Ciliberto, Gennaro; Veneziani, Bianca Maria; De Falco, Francesco; Maiolino, Piera; Caraglia, Michele; Montella, Maurizio; Iaffaioli, Rosario Vincenzo; Facchini, Gaetano

2017-01-01

This review summarizes the main pathophysiological basis of the relationship between metabolic syndrome, endocrine disruptor exposure and prostate cancer that is the most common cancer among men in industrialized countries. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of metabolic and hormonal factors having a central role in the initiation and recurrence of many western chronic diseases including hormonal-related cancers and it is considered as the worlds leading health problem in the coming years. Many biological factors correlate metabolic syndrome to prostate cancer and this review is aimed to focus, principally, on growth factors, cytokines, adipokines, central obesity, endocrine abnormalities and exposure to specific endocrine disruptors, a cluster of chemicals, to which we are daily exposed, with a hormone-like structure influencing oncogenes, tumor suppressors and proteins with a key role in metabolism, cell survival and chemo-resistance of prostate cancer cells. Finally, this review will analyze, from a molecular point of view, how specific foods could reduce the relative risk of incidence and recurrence of prostate cancer or inhibit the biological effects of endocrine disruptors on prostate cancer cells. On the basis of these considerations, prostate cancer remains a great health problem in terms of incidence and prevalence and interventional studies based on the treatment of metabolic syndrome in cancer patients, minimizing exposure to endocrine disruptors, could be a key point in the overall management of this disease. PMID:28389628

Nuclear medicine procedures to diagnose endocrine pancreatic tumours

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bares, R.; Besenfelder, H.; Eschmann, S.M.; Pfannenberg, C.

2003-01-01

The typical clinical features of endocrine pancreatic tumours are either symptoms caused by excessive hormone production or progressive tumour growth. In several prospective studies it has been shown that somatostatin receptor scintigraphy is the most accurate imaging technique currently available to detect endocrine pancreatic tumours. Therefore it should be used whenever curative surgical treatment appears to be feasible. Furthermore it should be applied if a radionuclide treatment of inoperable tumours is considered. In this situation scintigraphy with 123 I-mIBG might be useful, too. Future developments include the use of PET with labelled somatostatin analogues or DOPA derivatives as well as image fusion techniques to optimize preoperative tumour localization. (orig.) [de

Endocrine responses to water restriction in desert sheep

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmed, Muna M.M.

1994-01-01

For ruminants grazing in semi-arid areas, the maintenance of balanced water and energy metabolism is challenging to productivity.The metabolic effects of water restriction usually stimulate endocrine which control metabolic activity depending on the thermal environment.Radioimmunoasay technique was used to determine the level of endocrine hormones, namely thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH),thyroxine(T4) and cortisol in desert sheep.Intermittent watering every 24h, 48h and 72h increased TSH level during the morning but decreased it during the afternoon.T4 level decreased during both morning and afternoon.The cortisol level was depressed by water restriction during the morning and afternoon but showed an overlapping pattern with that of the control during the afternoon. (Author)

The eye as a window to rare endocrine disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rupali Chopra

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The human eye, as an organ, can offer critical clues to the diagnosis of various systemic illnesses. Ocular changes are common in various endocrine disorders such as diabetes mellitus and Graves′ disease. However there exist a large number of lesser known endocrine disorders where ocular involvement is significant. Awareness of these associations is the first step in the diagnosis and management of these complex patients. The rare syndromes involving the pituitary hypothalamic axis with significant ocular involvement include Septo-optic dysplasia, Kallman′s syndrome, and Empty Sella syndrome all affecting the optic nerve at the optic chiasa. The syndromes involving the thyroid and parathyroid glands that have ocular manifestations and are rare include Mc Cune Albright syndrome wherein optic nerve decompression may occur due to fibrous dysplasia, primary hyperparathyroidism that may present as red eye due to scleritis and Ascher syndrome wherein ptosis occurs. Allgrove′s syndrome, Cushing′s disease, and Addison′s disease are the rare endocrine syndromes discussed involving the adrenals and eye. Ocular involvement is also seen in gonadal syndromes such as Bardet Biedl, Turner′s, Rothmund′s, and Klinefelter′s syndrome. This review also highlights the ocular manifestation of miscellaneous syndromes such as Werner′s, Cockayne′s, Wolfram′s, Kearns Sayre′s, and Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome. The knowledge of these relatively uncommon endocrine disorders and their ocular manifestations will help an endocrinologist reach a diagnosis and will alert an ophthalmologist to seek specialty consultation of an endocrinologist when encountered with such cases.

Update: Systemic Diseases and the Cardiovascular System (II). The endocrine system and the heart: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Rhee, Soo S; Pearce, Elizabeth N

2011-03-01

Normal endocrine function is essential for cardiovascular health. Disorders of the endocrine system, consisting of hormone hyperfunction and hypofunction, have multiple effects on the cardiovascular system. In this review, we discuss the epidemiology, diagnosis, and management of disorders of the pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands, with respect to the impact of endocrine dysfunction on the cardiovascular system. We also review the cardiovascular benefits of restoring normal endocrine function. Copyright © 2010 Sociedad Española de Cardiología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

System chemical biology studies of endocrine disruptors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taboureau, Olivier; Oprea, Tudor I.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) alter hormonal balance and other physiological systems through inappropriate developmental or adult exposure, perturbing the reproductive function of further generations. While disruption of key receptors (e.g., estrogen, androgen, and thyroid) at the ligand...

Monogenic autoimmune diseases of the endocrine system.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Matthew B; Hattersley, Andrew T; Flanagan, Sarah E

2016-10-01

The most common endocrine diseases, type 1 diabetes, hyperthyroidism, and hypothyroidism, are the result of autoimmunity. Clustering of autoimmune endocrinopathies can result from polygenic predisposition, or more rarely, may present as part of a wider syndrome due to a mutation within one of seven genes. These monogenic autoimmune diseases show highly variable phenotypes both within and between families with the same mutations. The average age of onset of the monogenic forms of autoimmune endocrine disease is younger than that of the common polygenic forms, and this feature combined with the manifestation of other autoimmune diseases, specific hallmark features, or both, can inform clinicians as to the relevance of genetic testing. A genetic diagnosis can guide medical management, give an insight into prognosis, inform families of recurrence risk, and facilitate prenatal diagnoses. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER Stress and Endocrine Disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daisuke Ariyasu

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The endoplasmic reticulum (ER is the organelle where secretory and membrane proteins are synthesized and folded. Unfolded proteins that are retained within the ER can cause ER stress. Eukaryotic cells have a defense system called the “unfolded protein response” (UPR, which protects cells from ER stress. Cells undergo apoptosis when ER stress exceeds the capacity of the UPR, which has been revealed to cause human diseases. Although neurodegenerative diseases are well-known ER stress-related diseases, it has been discovered that endocrine diseases are also related to ER stress. In this review, we focus on ER stress-related human endocrine disorders. In addition to diabetes mellitus, which is well characterized, several relatively rare genetic disorders such as familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus (FNDI, Wolfram syndrome, and isolated growth hormone deficiency type II (IGHD2 are discussed in this article.

Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER) Stress and Endocrine Disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Ariyasu, Daisuke; Yoshida, Hiderou; Hasegawa, Yukihiro

2017-01-01

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the organelle where secretory and membrane proteins are synthesized and folded. Unfolded proteins that are retained within the ER can cause ER stress. Eukaryotic cells have a defense system called the “unfolded protein response” (UPR), which protects cells from ER stress. Cells undergo apoptosis when ER stress exceeds the capacity of the UPR, which has been revealed to cause human diseases. Although neurodegenerative diseases are well-known ER stress-related diseases, it has been discovered that endocrine diseases are also related to ER stress. In this review, we focus on ER stress-related human endocrine disorders. In addition to diabetes mellitus, which is well characterized, several relatively rare genetic disorders such as familial neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus (FNDI), Wolfram syndrome, and isolated growth hormone deficiency type II (IGHD2) are discussed in this article. PMID:28208663

A case report of mixed acinar-endocrine carcinoma of the pancreas treated with S-1 chemotherapy: Does it work or induce endocrine differentiation?

Science.gov (United States)

Yokode, Masataka; Itai, Ryosuke; Yamashita, Yukimasa; Zen, Yoh

2017-11-01

Acinar cell carcinomas (ACCs) and mixed acinar-endocrine carcinomas (MAECs) of the pancreas are rare, accounting for only 1% of pancreatic tumors. Although both typically present at an advanced stage, chemotherapeutic regimes have not yet been standardized. A 65-year-old man presented with a large mass in the pancreatic tail with multiple liver metastases. He was initially treated with gemcitabine for suspected ductal carcinoma of the pancreas, but no response was observed. S-1, administered as second-line chemotherapy, showed an approximately 38% reduction in the size of the primary tumor and metastatic deposits with therapeutic effects being maintained for 12 months. When the tumor progressed again, he underwent a percutaneous liver biopsy, which led to the diagnosis of MAEC. Combination therapy with cisplatin and etoposide targeting the endocrine component was administered, and this was based on the endocrine component potentially being less sensitive to S-1 than the ACC element. However, therapy was stopped due to the development of neutropenia, and the patient is currently receiving best supportive care. Given the previous studies suggested that S-1 is more effective for ACCs than gemcitabine, MAECs may also respond to S-1 chemotherapy, similar to ACCs. Another potential interpretation is that S-1 was effective when the condition was ACC, and eventually showed decreased effectiveness when the condition shifted to MAEC. Future studies are needed to conclude whether S-1 chemotherapy truly works against MAECs or induces endocrine differentiation in ACCs as a part of the drug-resistance process.

Endocrine therapy use among elderly hormone receptor-pos...

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — Clinical guidelines recommend that women with hormone-receptor positive breast cancer receive endocrine therapy (selective estrogen receptor modulators or aromatase...

Target surface condition during reactive glow discharge sputtering of copper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Depla, D; Haemers, J; Gryse, R De

2002-01-01

During reactive glow discharge sputtering of copper in an argon/nitrogen plasma, we noticed an abrupt change of the target voltage and the deposition rate when the nitrogen concentration in the plasma exceeds a critical value. To explain this behaviour, the target surface after reactive glow discharge sputtering was examined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). An experimental arrangement was constructed that allows direct transfer of the glow discharge cathode to the XPS analysis chamber without air exposure. These XPS measurements revealed that several different chemical states of nitrogen are present in the layer that forms on the target surface. The relative concentration of these different states changes when the critical nitrogen concentration in the plasma is exceeded

Mechanisms in endocrinology: vitamin D as a potential contributor in endocrine health and disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Muscogiuri, Giovanna; Mitri, Joanna; Mathieu, Chantal; Badenhoop, Klaus; Tamer, Gonca; Orio, Francesco; Mezza, Teresa; Vieth, Reinhold; Colao, Annamaria; Pittas, Anastassios

2014-09-01

It has been suggested that vitamin D may play a role in the pathogenesis of several endocrine diseases, such as hyperparathyroidism, type 1 diabetes (T1DM), type 2 diabetes (T2DM), autoimmune thyroid diseases, Addison's disease and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). In this review, we debate the role of vitamin D in the pathogenesis of endocrine diseases. Narrative overview of the literature synthesizing the current evidence retrieved from searches of computerized databases, hand searches and authoritative texts. Evidence from basic science supports a role for vitamin D in many endocrine conditions. In humans, inverse relationships have been reported not only between blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone concentrations but also with risk of T1DM, T2DM, and PCOS. There is less evidence for an association with Addison's disease or autoimmune thyroid disease. Vitamin D supplementation may have a role for prevention of T2DM, but the available evidence is not consistent. Although observational studies support a potential role of vitamin D in endocrine disease, high quality evidence from clinical trials does not exist to establish a place for vitamin D supplementation in optimizing endocrine health. Ongoing randomized controlled trials are expected to provide insights into the efficacy and safety of vitamin D in the management of endocrine disease. © 2014 European Society of Endocrinology.

Endocrine carcinoma of the pancreatic tail exhibiting gastric variceal bleeding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Si-Yuan Wu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Nonfunctional endocrine carcinoma of the pancreas is uncommon. Without excess hormone secretion, it is clinically silent until the enlarging or metastatic tumor causes compressive symptoms. Epigastric pain, dyspepsia, jaundice, and abdominal mass are the usual symptoms, whereas upper gastrointestinal (GI bleeding is rare. Here, we describe the case of a 24-year-old man with the chief complaint of hematemesis. Upper GI panendoscopy revealed isolated gastric varices at the fundus and upper body. Ultrasonography and computed tomography showed a tumor mass at the pancreatic tail causing a splenic vein obstruction, engorged vessels near the fundus of the stomach, and splenomegaly. After distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy, the bleeding did not recur. The final pathologic diagnosis was endocrine carcinoma of the pancreas. Gastric variceal bleeding is a possible manifestation of nonfunctional endocrine carcinoma of the pancreas if the splenic vein is affected by a tumor. In non-cirrhotic patients with isolated gastric variceal bleeding, the differential diagnosis should include pancreatic disorders.

Application of Adverse Outcome Pathways to U.S. EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Browne, Patience; Noyes, Pamela D; Casey, Warren M; Dix, David J

2017-09-01

The U.S. EPA's Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP) screens and tests environmental chemicals for potential effects in estrogen, androgen, and thyroid hormone pathways, and it is one of the only regulatory programs designed around chemical mode of action. This review describes the EDSP's use of adverse outcome pathway (AOP) and toxicity pathway frameworks to organize and integrate diverse biological data for evaluating the endocrine activity of chemicals. Using these frameworks helps to establish biologically plausible links between endocrine mechanisms and apical responses when those end points are not measured in the same assay. Pathway frameworks can facilitate a weight of evidence determination of a chemical's potential endocrine activity, identify data gaps, aid study design, direct assay development, and guide testing strategies. Pathway frameworks also can be used to evaluate the performance of computational approaches as alternatives for low-throughput and animal-based assays and predict downstream key events. In cases where computational methods can be validated based on performance, they may be considered as alternatives to specific assays or end points. A variety of biological systems affect apical end points used in regulatory risk assessments, and without mechanistic data, an endocrine mode of action cannot be determined. Because the EDSP was designed to consider mode of action, toxicity pathway and AOP concepts are a natural fit. Pathway frameworks have diverse applications to endocrine screening and testing. An estrogen pathway example is presented, and similar approaches are being used to evaluate alternative methods and develop predictive models for androgen and thyroid pathways. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1304.

An iterative method for controlling reactive power flow in boundary transformers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trigo, Angel L.; Martinez, Jose L.; Riquelme, Jesus; Romero, Esther [Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Seville (Spain)

2011-02-15

This paper presents an operational tool designed to help the system operator to control the reactive power flow in transmission-subtransmission boundary transformers. The main objective is to determine the minimum number of control actions necessary to ensure that reactive power flows in transmission/subtransmission transformers remain within limits. The proposed iterative procedure combines the use of a linear programming problem and a load flow tool. The linear programming assumes a linear behaviour between dependent and control variables around an operating point, modelled with sensitivities. Experimental results regarding IEEE systems are provided comparing the performance of the proposed approach with that of a conventional optimal power flow. (author)

Local and global analysis of endocrine regulation as a non-cyclic feedback system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Taghvafard, Hadi; Proskurnikov, A.V.; Cao, Ming

2018-01-01

To understand the sophisticated control mechanisms of the human's endocrine system is a challenging task that is a crucial step towards precise medical treatment of many dysfunctions and diseases. Although mathematical models describing the endocrine system as a whole are still elusive, recently

A hypothetical role for vitamin K2 in the endocrine and exocrine aspects of dental caries.

Science.gov (United States)

Southward, Ken

2015-03-01

The growing interest in oral/systemic links demand new paradigms to understand disease processes. New opportunities for dental research, particularly in the fields of neuroscience and endocrinology will emerge. The role of the hypothalamus portion of the brain cannot be underestimated. Under the influence of nutrition, it plays a significant role in the systemic model of dental caries. Currently, the traditional theory of dental caries considers only the oral environment and does not recognize any significant role for the brain. The healthy tooth, however, has a centrifugal fluid flow to nourish and cleanse it. This is moderated by the hypothalamus/parotid axis which signals the endocrine portion of the parotid glands. High sugar intake creates an increase in reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress in the hypothalamus. When this signaling mechanism halts or reverses the dentinal fluid flow, it renders the tooth vulnerable to oral bacteria, which can now attach to the tooth's surface. Acid produced by oral bacteria such as Strep Mutans and lactobacillus can now de-mineralize the enamel and irritate the dentin. The acid attack stimulates an inflammatory response which results in dentin breakdown from the body's own matrix metalloproteinases. Vitamin K2 (K2) has been shown to have an antioxidant potential in the brain and may prove to be a potent way to preserve the endocrine controlled centrifugal dentinal fluid flow. Stress, including oxidative stress, magnifies the body's inflammatory response. Sugar can not only increase oral bacterial acid production but it can concurrently reduce the tooth's defenses through endocrine signaling. Saliva production is the exocrine function of the salivary glands. The buffering capacity of saliva is critical to neutralizing the oral environment. This minimizes the de-mineralization of enamel and enhances its re-mineralization. K2, such as that found in fermented cheese, improves salivary buffering through its influence on

Reproductive endocrine-disrupting effects of triclosan: Population exposure, present evidence and potential mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Cai-Feng; Tian, Ying

2015-01-01

Triclosan has been used as a broad-spectrum antibacterial agent for over 40 years worldwide. Increasing reports indicate frequent detection and broad exposure to triclosan in the natural environment and the human body. Current laboratory studies in various species provide strong evidence for its disrupting effects on the endocrine system, especially reproductive hormones. Multiple modes of action have been suggested, including disrupting hormone metabolism, displacing hormones from hormone receptors and disrupting steroidogenic enzyme activity. Although epidemiological studies on its effects in humans are mostly negative but conflicting, which is typical of much of the early evidence on the toxicity of EDCs, overall, the evidence suggests that triclosan is an EDC. This article reviews human exposure to triclosan, describes the current evidence regarding its reproductive endocrine-disrupting effects, and discusses potential mechanisms to provide insights for further study on its endocrine-disrupting effects in humans. - Highlights: • Triclosan is widely detected in human urine, blood and breast milk. • Laboratory studies suggest reproductive endocrine-disrupting effects of triclosan. • Laboratory studies suggest estrogenic properties of triclosan. • There are three potential mechanisms regarding the estrogenic effect of triclosan. • Prospective epidemiological studies on vulnerable populations are needed. - This review summarizes current evidence on human exposure to triclosan, and its reproductive endocrine-disrupting effects and potential mechanisms.

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and obesity development in humans: A review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tang-Péronard, Jeanett; Andersen, Helle Raun; Jensen, Tina Kold

2011-01-01

This study reviewed the literature on the relations between exposure to chemicals with endocrine-disrupting abilities and obesity in humans. The studies generally indicated that exposure to some of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals was associated with an increase in body size in humans...... dibenzofurans found either associations with weight gain or an increase in waist circumference, or no association. The one study investigating relations with bisphenol A found no association. Studies investigating prenatal exposure indicated that exposure in utero may cause permanent physiological changes...

Pituitary autoantibodies in endocrine disorders

OpenAIRE

Bensing, Sophie

2005-01-01

Autoimmune endocrine disorders are characterised by the development of autoantibodies to specific autoantigens in the target organs. Lymphocytic hypophysitis (LyH) is a disease characterised by inflammation of the pituitary gland, often resulting in hypopituitarism. The aetiology of LyH is considered to be autoimmune. However, only a few pituitary autoantigens have so far been identified. Reliable autoantibody markers are requested in the diagnostic procedure of LyH to avoid...

Concurrent endocrine neoplasias in dogs and cats: a retrospective study (2004-2014).

Science.gov (United States)

Beatrice, Laura; Boretti, Felicitas Schär; Sieber-Ruckstuhl, Nadja S; Mueller, Claudia; Kümmerle-Fraune, Claudia; Hilbe, Monika; Grest, Paula; Reusch, Claudia E

2018-03-17

Multiple endocrine neoplasia (MEN) is a well-known syndrome in human medicine, whereas only a few cases of concurrent endocrine neoplasias have been reported in dogs and cats. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of concurrent endocrine neoplasias in dogs and cats at our clinic, identify possible breed and sex predispositions and investigate similarities with MEN syndromes in humans. Postmortem reports of 951 dogs and 1155 cats that died or were euthanased at the Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine, University of Zurich, between 2004 and 2014 were reviewed, and animals with at least two concurrent endocrine neoplasias and/or hyperplasias were included. Twenty dogs and 15 cats met the inclusion criteria. In dogs, the adrenal glands were most commonly affected. Multiple tumours affecting the adrenal glands and the association of these tumours with pituitary adenomas were the most common tumour combinations. Only one dog had a combination resembling human MEN type 1 syndrome (pituitary adenoma and insulinoma). In cats, the thyroid glands were most commonly affected and there were no similarities to human MEN syndromes. The prevalence of concurrent endocrine neoplasia was 2.1 per cent in dogs and 1.3 per cent in cats and MEN-like syndromes are very rare in these species. © British Veterinary Association (unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

The Reactive-Causal Architecture: Introducing an Emotion Model along with Theories of Needs

Science.gov (United States)

Aydin, Ali Orhan; Orgun, Mehmet Ali

In the entertainment application area, one of the major aims is to develop believable agents. To achieve this aim, agents should be highly autonomous, situated, flexible, and display affect. The Reactive-Causal Architecture (ReCau) is proposed to simulate these core attributes. In its current form, ReCau cannot explain the effects of emotions on intelligent behaviour. This study aims is to further improve the emotion model of ReCau to explain the effects of emotions on intelligent behaviour. This improvement allows ReCau to be emotional to support the development of believable agents.

Behavioural Changes in Rats Internally Contaminated with Caesium-137

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramboiu, S.

2001-01-01

Full text: The effect of low doses of 137 Cs on the exercise performances, behavioural and learning processes in rats is analysed. The experiments were performed on albino male and female Wistar rats. The animals were divided as follows: two groups, M 1 and F 1 (males and females) internally contaminated with 490 Bq 137 Cs by milk ingestion during 34 days, groups M 2 and F 2 , internally contaminated with 283 Bq by ingestion of milk during 38 days and two control groups. The duration of forced swimming, the active avoidance reaction and the total latency time in the shuttle-box and the score of aggressive behaviour were analysed. The following results were obtained: (1) the duration of forced swimming decreased significantly in the contaminated groups as compared with controls. (2) The active avoidance reaction in the shuttle-box increased in female groups and decrease in male groups. (3) The total latency time of the same reaction was lower in animals internally contaminated with 137 Cs in the first day of learning. (4) The score of aggressive behavioural rise significantly, especially in female groups. The results can be explained by neurotoxic action of the caesium on several central neural areas including monoaminergic and endocrine mechanisms and sex dependence of caesium accumulation in the organism. (author)

Increased STAT1 signaling in endocrine-resistant breast cancer.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Huang

Full Text Available Proteomic profiling of the estrogen/tamoxifen-sensitive MCF-7 cell line and its partially sensitive (MCF-7/LCC1 and fully resistant (MCF-7/LCC9 variants was performed to identify modifiers of endocrine sensitivity in breast cancer. Analysis of the expression of 120 paired phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated epitopes in key oncogenic and tumor suppressor pathways revealed that STAT1 and several phosphorylated epitopes (phospho-STAT1(Tyr701 and phospho-STAT3(Ser727 were differentially expressed between endocrine resistant and parental controls, confirmed by qRT-PCR and western blotting. The STAT1 inhibitor EGCG was a more effective inhibitor of the endocrine resistant MCF-7/LCC1 and MCF-7/LCC9 lines than parental MCF-7 cells, while STAT3 inhibitors Stattic and WP1066 were equally effective in endocrine-resistant and parental lines. The effects of the STAT inhibitors were additive, rather than synergistic, when tested in combination with tamoxifen in vitro. Expression of STAT1 and STAT3 were measured by quantitative immunofluorescence in invasive breast cancers and matched lymph nodes. When lymph node expression was compared to its paired primary breast cancer expression, there was greater expression of cytoplasmic STAT1 (∼3.1 fold, phospho-STAT3(Ser727 (∼1.8 fold, and STAT5 (∼1.5 fold and nuclear phospho-STAT3(Ser727 (∼1.5 fold in the nodes. Expression levels of STAT1 and STAT3 transcript were analysed in 550 breast cancers from publicly available gene expression datasets (GSE2990, GSE12093, GSE6532. When treatment with tamoxifen was considered, STAT1 gene expression was nearly predictive of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS, log-rank p = 0.067, while STAT3 gene expression was predictive of DMFS (log-rank p<0.0001. Analysis of STAT1 and STAT3 protein expression in a series of 546 breast cancers also indicated that high expression of STAT3 protein was associated with improved survival (DMFS, p = 0.006. These results suggest

Current Limitations and Recommendations to Improve Testing for the Environmental Assessment of Endocrine Active Substances

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coady, Katherine K; Biever, Ronald C; Denslow, Nancy D

2017-01-01

In this paper existing regulatory frameworks and test systems for assessing potential endocrine-active chemicals are described, and associated challenges discussed, along with proposed approaches to address these challenges. Regulatory frameworks vary somewhat across geographies, but all basically...... evaluate whether a chemical possesses endocrine activity and whether this activity can result in adverse outcomes either to humans or the environment. Current test systems include in silico, in vitro and in vivo techniques focused on detecting potential endocrine activity, and in vivo tests that collect...... methods currently do not exist, and addressing key endocrine pathways of possible concern in addition to those associated with estrogen, androgen and thyroid signaling. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved....

Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2: achievements and current challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andreas Machens

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Incremental advances in medical technology, such as the development of sensitive hormonal assays for routine clinical care, are the drivers of medical progress. This principle is exemplified by the creation of the concept of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2, encompassing medullary thyroid cancer, pheochromocytoma, and primary hyperparathyroidism, which did not emerge before the early 1960s. This review sets out to highlight key achievements, such as joint biochemical and DNA-based screening of individuals at risk of developing multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2, before casting a spotlight on current challenges which include: (i ill-defined upper limits of calcitonin assays for infants and young children, rendering it difficult to implement the biochemical part of the integrated DNA-based/biochemical concept; (ii our increasingly mobile society in which different service providers are caring for one individual at various stages in the disease process. With familial relationships disintegrating as a result of geographic dispersion, information about the history of the origin family may become sketchy or just unavailable. This is when DNA-based gene tests come into play, confirming or excluding an individual's genetic predisposition to multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 even before there is any biochemical or clinical evidence of the disease. However, the unrivaled molecular genetic progress in multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 does not come without a price. Screening may uncover unknown gene sequence variants representing either harmless polymorphisms or pathogenic mutations. In this setting, functional characterization of mutant cells in vitro may generate helpful ancillary evidence with regard to the pathogenicity of gene variants in comparison with established mutations.

Nightmares that mislead to diagnosis of reactivation of PTSD

OpenAIRE

Roepke, Stefan; Hansen, Marie-Luise; Peter, Anita; Merkl, Angela; Palafox, Carla; Danker-Hopfe, Heidi

2013-01-01

Background: Sleep disturbance is a common characteristic of patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Besides the clinical descriptions of nightmares and insomnia, periodic limb movements (PLMs) are reported to co-occur in PTSD. Although the causal relationship between sleep disturbance and PTSD is not fully understood, sleep disturbance is an independent risk factor for the development and reactivation of PTSD. In contrast, the link between PTSD and REM sleep behaviour disorder (R...

Injury incidence, reactivity and ease of handling of horses kept in groups: A matched case control study in four Nordic countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keeling, L.J.; Bøe, K.E.; Christensen, Janne Winther

2016-01-01

evaluated. It was hypothesized that a more socially variable group composition has beneficial effects on behaviour, ease of handling and reducing reactivity whereas frequent changes in group composition has negative consequences, resulting in more injuries. We found that differences in treatment effects...... horses from groups and horses’ reactivity to a fearful stimulus. Using a matched case control design, 61 groups of horses were studied in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. They were allocated into groups of similar or different age and sex or where membership changed regularly or remained stable....... Injuries were recorded before mixing the horses into treatment groups, the day after mixing and four weeks later. Reactivity of horses to a moving novel object and the behaviour of a horse being removed from its group and the reactions of other group members towards this horse and the handler were...

FGF-2b and h-PL Transform Duct and Non-Endocrine Human Pancreatic Cells into Endocrine Insulin Secreting Cells by Modulating Differentiating Genes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Giulia Donadel

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM is a multifactorial disease orphan of a cure. Regenerative medicine has been proposed as novel strategy for DM therapy. Human fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2b controls β-cell clusters via autocrine action, and human placental lactogen (hPL-A increases functional β-cells. We hypothesized whether FGF-2b/hPL-A treatment induces β-cell differentiation from ductal/non-endocrine precursor(s by modulating specific genes expression. Methods: Human pancreatic ductal-cells (PANC-1 and non-endocrine pancreatic cells were treated with FGF-2b plus hPL-A at 500 ng/mL. Cytofluorimetry and Immunofluorescence have been performed to detect expression of endocrine, ductal and acinar markers. Bromodeoxyuridine incorporation and annexin-V quantified cells proliferation and apoptosis. Insulin secretion was assessed by RIA kit, and electron microscopy analyzed islet-like clusters. Results: Increase in PANC-1 duct cells de-differentiation into islet-like aggregates was observed after FGF-2b/hPL-A treatment showing ultrastructure typical of islets-aggregates. These clusters, after stimulation with FGF-2b/hPL-A, had significant (p < 0.05 increase in insulin, C-peptide, pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (PDX-1, Nkx2.2, Nkx6.1, somatostatin, glucagon, and glucose transporter 2 (Glut-2, compared with control cells. Markers of PANC-1 (Cytokeratin-19, MUC-1, CA19-9 were decreased (p < 0.05. These aggregates after treatment with FGF-2b/hPL-A significantly reduced levels of apoptosis. Conclusions: FGF-2b and hPL-A are promising candidates for regenerative therapy in DM by inducing de-differentiation of stem cells modulating pivotal endocrine genes.

Consensus models to predict endocrine disruption for all ...

Science.gov (United States)

Humans are potentially exposed to tens of thousands of man-made chemicals in the environment. It is well known that some environmental chemicals mimic natural hormones and thus have the potential to be endocrine disruptors. Most of these environmental chemicals have never been tested for their ability to disrupt the endocrine system, in particular, their ability to interact with the estrogen receptor. EPA needs tools to prioritize thousands of chemicals, for instance in the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program (EDSP). Collaborative Estrogen Receptor Activity Prediction Project (CERAPP) was intended to be a demonstration of the use of predictive computational models on HTS data including ToxCast and Tox21 assays to prioritize a large chemical universe of 32464 unique structures for one specific molecular target – the estrogen receptor. CERAPP combined multiple computational models for prediction of estrogen receptor activity, and used the predicted results to build a unique consensus model. Models were developed in collaboration between 17 groups in the U.S. and Europe and applied to predict the common set of chemicals. Structure-based techniques such as docking and several QSAR modeling approaches were employed, mostly using a common training set of 1677 compounds provided by U.S. EPA, to build a total of 42 classification models and 8 regression models for binding, agonist and antagonist activity. All predictions were evaluated on ToxCast data and on an exte

Epicardial adipose tissue in endocrine and metabolic diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Iacobellis, Gianluca

2014-05-01

Epicardial adipose tissue has recently emerged as new risk factor and active player in metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Albeit its physiological and pathological roles are not completely understood, a body of evidence indicates that epicardial adipose tissue is a fat depot with peculiar and unique features. Epicardial fat is able to synthesize, produce, and secrete bioactive molecules which are then transported into the adjacent myocardium through vasocrine and/or paracrine pathways. Based on these evidences, epicardial adipose tissue can be considered an endocrine organ. Epicardial fat is also thought to provide direct heating to the myocardium and protect the heart during unfavorable hemodynamic conditions, such as ischemia or hypoxia. Epicardial fat has been suggested to play an independent role in the development and progression of obesity- and diabetes-related cardiac abnormalities. Clinically, the thickness of epicardial fat can be easily and accurately measured. Epicardial fat thickness can serve as marker of visceral adiposity and visceral fat changes during weight loss interventions and treatments with drugs targeting the fat. The potential of modulating the epicardial fat with targeted pharmacological agents can open new avenues in the pharmacotherapy of endocrine and metabolic diseases. This review article will provide Endocrine's reader with a focus on epicardial adipose tissue in endocrinology. Novel, established, but also speculative findings on epicardial fat will be discussed from the unexplored perspective of both clinical and basic Endocrinologist.

No evidence of somatic aryl hydrocarbon receptor interacting protein mutations in sporadic endocrine neoplasia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raitila, A; Georgitsi, M; Karhu, A

2007-01-01

. Here, we have analyzed 32 pituitary adenomas and 79 other tumors of the endocrine system for somatic AIP mutations by direct sequencing. No somatic mutations were identified. However, two out of nine patients with prolactin-producing adenoma were shown to harbor a Finnish founder mutation (Q14X...... as non-secreting pituitary adenomas have been reported, most mutation-positive patients have had growth hormone-producing adenomas diagnosed at relatively young age. Pituitary adenomas are also component tumors of some familial endocrine neoplasia syndromes such as multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1...... (MEN1) and Carney complex (CNC). Genes underlying MEN1 and CNC are rarely mutated in sporadic pituitary adenomas, but more often in other lesions contributing to these two syndromes. Thus far, the occurrence of somatic AIP mutations has not been studied in endocrine tumors other than pituitary adenomas...

The possible role of gastrointestinal endocrine cells in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Salhy, Magdy; Hausken, Trygve; Gilja, Odd Helge; Hatlebakk, Jan Gunnar

2017-02-01

The etiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is unknown, but several factors appear to play a role in its pathophysiology, including abnormalities of the gastrointestinal endocrine cells. The present review illuminates the possible role of gastrointestinal hormones in the pathophysiology of IBS and the possibility of utilizing the current knowledge in treating the disease. Areas covered: Research into the intestinal endocrine cells and their possible role in the pathophysiology of IBS is discussed. Furthermore, the mechanisms underlying the abnormalities in the gastrointestinal endocrine cells in IBS patients are revealed. Expert commentary: The abnormalities observed in the gastrointestinal endocrine cells in IBS patients explains their visceral hypersensitivity, gastrointestinal dysmotility, and abnormal intestinal secretion, as well as the interchangeability of symptoms over time. Clarifying the role of the intestinal stem cells in the pathophysiology of IBS may lead to new treatment methods for IBS.

Genetics of Common Endocrine Disease: The Present and the Future.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodarzi, Mark O

2016-03-01

In honor of the 75th issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the author was invited to present his perspectives on genetics in human endocrinology. This paper reviews what the field has achieved in the genetics of common endocrine disease, and offers predictions on where the field will move in the future and its impact on endocrine clinical practice. The October 2015 data release of the National Human Genome Research Institute-European Bioinformatics Institute (NHGRI-EBI) Catalog of Published Genome-wide Association Studies was queried regarding endocrinologic diseases and traits. PubMed searches were focused on genetic prediction of disease, genetic findings and drug targets, functional interrogation of genetic loci, use of genetics to subtype disease, missing heritability, systems genomics, and higher order chromatin structures as regulators of gene function. Nearly a quarter of genome wide association study findings concern endocrinologic diseases and traits. While these findings have not yet dramatically altered clinical care, genetics will have a major impact by providing the drug targets of tomorrow, facilitated by experimental and bioinformatic advances that will shorten the time from gene discovery to drug development. Use of genetic findings to subtype common endocrine disease will allow more precise prevention and treatment efforts. Future advances will allow us to move away from the common view of DNA as a string of letters, allowing exploration of higher order structure that likely explains much "missing heritability." The future will see a greater role of genetics at the bedside, with genetic epidemiologic discoveries leading not only to new treatments of endocrine disease, but also helping us prescribe the right drug to the right patients by allowing subclassification of common heterogeneous endocrine conditions. Future technological breakthroughs will reveal the heritable mysteries hidden in chromatin structure, leading to a

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals and public health protection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zoeller, R Thomas; Brown, T R; Doan, L L

2012-01-01

An endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) is an exogenous chemical, or mixture of chemicals, that can interfere with any aspect of hormone action. The potential for deleterious effects of EDC must be considered relative to the regulation of hormone synthesis, secretion, and actions and the variabili...

A Rat α-Fetoprotein Binding Activity Prediction Model to Facilitate Assessment of the Endocrine Disruption Potential of Environmental Chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, Huixiao; Shen, Jie; Ng, Hui Wen; Sakkiah, Sugunadevi; Ye, Hao; Ge, Weigong; Gong, Ping; Xiao, Wenming; Tong, Weida

2016-03-25

Endocrine disruptors such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), diethylstilbestrol (DES) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) are agents that interfere with the endocrine system and cause adverse health effects. Huge public health concern about endocrine disruptors has arisen. One of the mechanisms of endocrine disruption is through binding of endocrine disruptors with the hormone receptors in the target cells. Entrance of endocrine disruptors into target cells is the precondition of endocrine disruption. The binding capability of a chemical with proteins in the blood affects its entrance into the target cells and, thus, is very informative for the assessment of potential endocrine disruption of chemicals. α-fetoprotein is one of the major serum proteins that binds to a variety of chemicals such as estrogens. To better facilitate assessment of endocrine disruption of environmental chemicals, we developed a model for α-fetoprotein binding activity prediction using the novel pattern recognition method (Decision Forest) and the molecular descriptors calculated from two-dimensional structures by Mold² software. The predictive capability of the model has been evaluated through internal validation using 125 training chemicals (average balanced accuracy of 69%) and external validations using 22 chemicals (balanced accuracy of 71%). Prediction confidence analysis revealed the model performed much better at high prediction confidence. Our results indicate that the model is useful (when predictions are in high confidence) in endocrine disruption risk assessment of environmental chemicals though improvement by increasing number of training chemicals is needed.

Criteria for endocrine disrupters: report from the Danish centre on Endocrine Disrupters (CEHOS)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holbech, Henrik; Bjerregaard, Poul; Hass, Ulla

health and the environment. A number of issues relevant for the development of criteria for EDs were considered such as definition, potency, lead effects, specificity and relevance for humans and the environment. The proposed criteria divide substances into three categories dependent on the available...... and the main purpose of the Centre is to build and gather new knowledge on endocrine disrupters (EDs) with focus on information needed for the preventive work of the regulatory authorities. The aim of the report was to propose scientific criteria for the identification of ED substances of concern for human...

Adjuvant endocrine therapy for premenopausal women with hormone-responsive breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathew, Aju; Davidson, Nancy E

2015-11-01

Multiple strategies for endocrine treatment of premenopausal women with hormone-responsive breast cancer have been assessed and results have been presented over the last two years. These include tamoxifen for 5-10 years (ATLAS and aTTom), tamoxifen for 5 years followed by aromatase inhibitor (AI) for 5 years for women who have become postmenopausal (MA-17); ovarian ablation (OA) by surgery (EBCTCG overview); ovarian function suppression (OFS) by LHRH agonist (LHRH agonist meta-analysis); or combinations of approaches including OFS plus tamoxifen or AI (SOFT, TEXT, ABCSG 12 and E3193). Many of these trials have taken place in the backdrop of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy which can confound interpretation because such therapy can suppress ovarian function either transiently or permanently. Nonetheless these trials suggest in aggregate that 10 years of tamoxifen are better than 5 years and that a program of extended adjuvant therapy of tamoxifen for 5 years followed by aromatase inhibitor for 5 years is effective for suitable candidates. The SOFT and E3193 trials do not show a major advantage for use of OFS + tamoxifen compared to tamoxifen alone. The joint SOFT/TEXT analysis and ABCGS12 trials both suggest that outcomes can be excellent with the use of combined endocrine therapy alone in properly selected patients but give conflicting results with regard to potential benefits for OFS + AI compared with OFS + tamoxifen. Further work will be needed to ascertain long-term outcomes, identify factors that predict who will benefit from extended adjuvant endocrine therapy, and assess role of OFS by medical or surgical means. It is clear, however, that endocrine therapy is a critical part of the adjuvant regimen for most premenopausal women with hormone-responsive breast cancer, and a subset of these women with luminal A-type tumors can be safely treated with endocrine therapy alone. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Endocrine outcomes with proton and photon radiotherapy for standard risk medulloblastoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, Bree R; Esiashvili, Natia; Kim, Sungjin; Patterson, Briana; Weyman, Elizabeth A; Thornton, Lauren T; Mazewski, Claire; MacDonald, Tobey J; Ebb, David; MacDonald, Shannon M; Tarbell, Nancy J; Yock, Torunn I

2016-06-01

Endocrine dysfunction is a common sequela of craniospinal irradiation (CSI). Dosimetric data suggest that proton radiotherapy (PRT) may reduce radiation-associated endocrine dysfunction but clinical data are limited. Seventy-seven children were treated with chemotherapy and proton (n = 40) or photon (n = 37) radiation between 2000 and 2009 with ≥3 years of endocrine screening. The incidence of multiple endocrinopathies among the proton and photon cohorts is compared. Multivariable analysis and propensity score adjusted analysis are performed to estimate the effect of radiotherapy type while adjusting for other variables. The median age at diagnosis was 6.2 and 8.3 years for the proton and photon cohorts, respectively (P = .010). Cohorts were similar with respect to gender, histology, CSI dose, and total radiotherapy dose and whether the radiotherapy boost was delivered to the posterior fossa or tumor bed. The median follow-up time was 5.8 years for proton patients and 7.0 years for photon patients (P = .010). PRT was associated with a reduced risk of hypothyroidism (23% vs 69%, P < .001), sex hormone deficiency (3% vs 19%, P = .025), requirement for any endocrine replacement therapy (55% vs 78%, P = .030), and a greater height standard deviation score (mean (± SD) -1.19 (± 1.22) vs -2 (± 1.35), P = .020) on both univariate and multivariate and propensity score adjusted analysis. There was no significant difference in the incidence of growth hormone deficiency (53% vs 57%), adrenal insufficiency (5% vs 8%), or precocious puberty (18% vs 16%). Proton radiotherapy may reduce the risk of some, but not all, radiation-associated late endocrine abnormalities. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Neuro-Oncology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Wetting behaviour and reactivity between liquid Gd and ZrO2 substrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Turalska P.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The wetting behavior and reactivity between molten pure Gd and polycrystalline 3YSZ substrate (ZrO2 stabilized with 3 wt% of Y2O3were experimentally determined by a sessile drop method using a classical contact heating coupled with drop pushing procedure. The test was performed under an inert flowing gas atmosphere (Ar at two temperatures of 1362°C and 1412°C. Immediately after melting (Tm=1341°C, liquid Gd did not wet the substrate forming a contact angle of θ=141°. The non-wetting to wetting transition (θ < 90° took place after about 110 seconds of interaction and was accompanied by a sudden decrease in the contact angle value to 67°. Further heating of the couple to 1412 °C did not affect wetting (θ=67°±1°. The solidified Gd/3YSZ couple was studied by means of optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy coupled with X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy. Structural investigations revealed that the wettability in the Gd/3YSZ system is of a reactive nature associated with the formation of a continuous layer of a wettable reaction product Gd2Zr2O7.

The international spinal cord injury endocrine and metabolic function basic data set.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauman, W A; Biering-Sørensen, F; Krassioukov, A

2011-10-01

To develop the International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Endocrine and Metabolic Function Basic Data Set within the framework of the International SCI Data Sets that would facilitate consistent collection and reporting of basic endocrine and metabolic findings in the SCI population. International. The International SCI Endocrine and Metabolic Function Data Set was developed by a working group. The initial data set document was revised on the basis of suggestions from members of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets, the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) Executive and Scientific Committees, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Board, other interested organizations and societies, and individual reviewers. In addition, the data set was posted for 2 months on ISCoS and ASIA websites for comments. The final International SCI Endocrine and Metabolic Function Data Set contains questions on the endocrine and metabolic conditions diagnosed before and after spinal cord lesion. If available, information collected before injury is to be obtained only once, whereas information after injury may be collected at any time. These data include information on diabetes mellitus, lipid disorders, osteoporosis, thyroid disease, adrenal disease, gonadal disease and pituitary disease. The question of gonadal status includes stage of sexual development and that for females also includes menopausal status. Data will be collected for body mass index and for the fasting serum lipid profile. The complete instructions for data collection and the data sheet itself are freely available on the websites of ISCoS (http://www.iscos.org.uk) and ASIA (http://www.asia-spinalinjury.org).

Pernicious anaemia and mucosal endocrine cell proliferation of the non-antral stomach.

OpenAIRE

Rode, J; Dhillon, A P; Papadaki, L; Stockbrügger, R; Thompson, R J; Moss, E; Cotton, P B

1986-01-01

There is a recognised association between pernicious anaemia and the development of gastric carcinoma, endocrine cell hyperplasia, and carcinoid tumour. Multiple endoscopic biopsies from the body mucosa of seven patients with pernicious anaemia showed small intestinal metaplasia with varying degrees of inflammation, fibrosis, and expansion of the lamina propria. Using conventional silver and lead stains, endocrine cells were inconspicuous. Staining for the general neural and neuroendocrine ma...

Reno-endocrinal disorders: A basic understanding of the molecular genetics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sukhminder Jit Singh Bajwa

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The successful management of endocrine diseases is greatly helped by the complete understanding of the underlying pathology. The knowledge about the molecular genetics contributes immensely in the appropriate identification of the causative factors of the diseases and their subsequent management. The fields of nephrology and endocrinology are also interrelated to a large extent. Besides performing the secretory functions, the renal tissue also acts as target organ for many hormones such as antidiuretic hormone (ADH, atrial natriuretic peptides (ANP, and aldosterone. Understanding the molecular genetics of these hormones is important because the therapeutic interventions in many of these conditions is related to shared renal and endocrine functions, including the anemia of renal disease, chronic kidney disease, mineral bone disorders, and hypertension related to chronic kidney disease. Their understanding and in-depth knowledge is very essential in designing and formulating the therapeutic plans and innovating new management strategies. However, we still have to go a long way in order to completely understand the various confounding causative relationships between the pathology and disease of these reno-endocrinal manifestations.

Tribo-mechanical behaviour of SiC filled glass-epoxy composites at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

While glass fibers enhance the toughness of the matrix, silicon carbide shows high hardness, thermal stability and low chemical reactivity, leading to superior friction properties. In this work an attempt was made to evaluate the mechanical properties and tribological behaviour of glass fabric reinforced- epoxy (G-E) ...

Skeletal Muscle Insulin Resistance in Endocrine Disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melpomeni Peppa

2010-01-01

Full Text Available We summarize the existing literature data concerning the involvement of skeletal muscle (SM in whole body glucose homeostasis and the contribution of SM insulin resistance (IR to the metabolic derangements observed in several endocrine disorders, including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS, adrenal disorders and thyroid function abnormalities. IR in PCOS is associated with a unique postbinding defect in insulin receptor signaling in general and in SM in particular, due to a complex interaction between genetic and environmental factors. Adrenal hormone excess is also associated with disrupted insulin action in peripheral tissues, such as SM. Furthermore, both hyper- and hypothyroidism are thought to be insulin resistant states, due to insulin receptor and postreceptor defects. Further studies are definitely needed in order to unravel the underlying pathogenetic mechanisms. In summary, the principal mechanisms involved in muscle IR in the endocrine diseases reviewed herein include abnormal phosphorylation of insulin signaling proteins, altered muscle fiber composition, reduced transcapillary insulin delivery, decreased glycogen synthesis, and impaired mitochondrial oxidative metabolism.

Endocrine disruptors and asthma-associated chemicals in consumer products.

Science.gov (United States)

Dodson, Robin E; Nishioka, Marcia; Standley, Laurel J; Perovich, Laura J; Brody, Julia Green; Rudel, Ruthann A

2012-07-01

Laboratory and human studies raise concerns about endocrine disruption and asthma resulting from exposure to chemicals in consumer products. Limited labeling or testing information is available to evaluate products as exposure sources. We analytically quantified endocrine disruptors and asthma-related chemicals in a range of cosmetics, personal care products, cleaners, sunscreens, and vinyl products. We also evaluated whether product labels provide information that can be used to select products without these chemicals. We selected 213 commercial products representing 50 product types. We tested 42 composited samples of high-market-share products, and we tested 43 alternative products identified using criteria expected to minimize target compounds. Analytes included parabens, phthalates, bisphenol A (BPA), triclosan, ethanolamines, alkylphenols, fragrances, glycol ethers, cyclosiloxanes, and ultraviolet (UV) filters. We detected 55 compounds, indicating a wide range of exposures from common products. Vinyl products contained > 10% bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and could be an important source of DEHP in homes. In other products, the highest concentrations and numbers of detects were in the fragranced products (e.g., perfume, air fresheners, and dryer sheets) and in sunscreens. Some products that did not contain the well-known endocrine-disrupting phthalates contained other less-studied phthalates (dicyclohexyl phthalate, diisononyl phthalate, and di-n-propyl phthalate; also endocrine-disrupting compounds), suggesting a substitution. Many detected chemicals were not listed on product labels. Common products contain complex mixtures of EDCs and asthma-related compounds. Toxicological studies of these mixtures are needed to understand their biological activity. Regarding epidemiology, our findings raise concern about potential confounding from co-occurring chemicals and misclassification due to variability in product composition. Consumers should be able to avoid

SALLY - a computer programme for the calculation of the dynamical behaviour of a cooling channel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reiche, C.; Ziegenbein, D.

1978-12-01

This report describes the mathematical-physical fundamentals and provides a user's manual as well as some test examples for the programme SALLY. SALLY is suitable for the calculation of the dynamical behaviour of a cooling channel under following conditions: point-kinetics, heat transfer in the fuel in radial direction only, reactivity feedback, simple model of the first cooling cycle. Reactivity, coolant inlet temperature or coolant velocity can be disturbed. (author)

Isothermal CO2 Gasification Reactivity and Kinetic Models of Biomass Char/Anthracite Char

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hai-Bin Zuo

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Gasification of four biomass chars and anthracite char were investigated under a CO2 atmosphere using a thermo-gravimetric analyzer. Reactivity differences of chars were considered in terms of pyrolysis temperature, char types, crystallinity, and inherent minerals. The results show that the gasification reactivity of char decreased with the increase of pyrolysis temperature. Char gasification reactivity followed the order of anthracite coal char (AC-char ˂ pine sawdust char (PS-char ˂ peanut hull char (PH-char ˂ wheat straw char (WS-char ˂ corncob char (CB-char under the same pyrolysis temperature. Two repesentative gas-solid models, the random pore model (RPM and the modified random pore model (MRPM, were applied to describe the reactive behaviour of chars. The results indicate RPM performs well to describe gasification rates of chars but cannot predict the phenomenon that there appears to exist a peak conversion for biomass chars at a high conversion rate, where the MRPM performs better.

Mixed acinar-endocrine carcinoma of the pancreas: new clinical and pathological features in a contemporary series.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Run; Jih, Lily; Zhai, Jing; Nissen, Nicholas N; Colquhoun, Steven; Wolin, Edward; Dhall, Deepti

2013-04-01

The objective of this study was to characterize the novel clinical and pathological features of mixed acinar-endocrine carcinoma of the pancreas. This was a retrospective review of medical records and surgical pathology specimens of patients with a diagnosis of mixed acinar-endocrine carcinoma of the pancreas at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center between 2005 and 2011. Additional immunohistochemistry was performed on the specimens of some patients. Five patients were identified. The median age at presentation was 74 years (range, 59-89 years), and all patients were male. The presenting symptoms were all related to tumor mass effects. The median size of the tumor was 10 cm (range, 3.9-16 cm). Preoperative clinical diagnosis aided by fine-needle aspiration biopsy was incorrect in all 5 cases. Most tumors (3/5) exhibited predominantly endocrine differentiation without hormonal production. Only 10% to 30% of cells were truly amphicrine, whereas most were differentiated into either endocrine or acinar phenotype. The clinical behavior ranged from moderate to aggressive with postoperative survival from 2.5 months to more than 3 years. Four patients received neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy with variable responses. Mixed acinar-endocrine carcinoma of the pancreas appears to be not uncommon in men, may harbor predominantly endocrine component, is often misdiagnosed by cytology, and exhibits variable clinical behavior. Mixed acinar-endocrine carcinoma of the pancreas should be considered in older patients with sizable pancreatic mass and may warrant aggressive surgical resection and chemotherapy.

Parathyroid mitogenic activity in plasma from patients with familial multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandi, M.L.; Aurbach, G.D.; Fitzpatrick, L.A.; Quarto, R.; Spiegel, A.M.; Bliziotes, M.M.; Norton, J.A.; Doppman, J.L.; Marx, S.J.

1986-01-01

Hyperplasia of the parathyroid glands is a central feature of familial multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1. We used cultured bovine parathyroid cells to test for mitogenic activity in plasma from patients with this disorder. Normal plasma stimulated [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation, on the average, to the same extent as it was stimulated in a plasma-free control culture. This contrasted with the results of the tests with plasma from patients with familial multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1, in which parathyroid mitogenic activity increased 2400 percent over the control value (P less than 0.001). Plasma from these patients also stimulated the proliferation of bovine parathyroid cells in culture, whereas plasma from normal subjects inhibited it. Parathyroid mitogenic activity in plasma from the patients with familial multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 was greater than that in plasma from patients with various other disorders, including sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism (with adenoma, hyperplasia, or cancer of the parathyroid), sporadic primary hypergastrinemia, sporadic pituitary tumor, familial hypocalciuric hypercalcemia, and multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 (P less than 0.05). Parathyroid mitogenic activity in the plasma of patients with familial multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 persisted for up to four years after total parathyroidectomy. The plasma also had far more mitogenic activity in cultures of parathyroid cells than did optimal concentrations of known growth factors or of any parathyroid secretagogue. This mitogenic activity had an apparent molecular weight of 50,000 to 55,000. We conclude that primary hyperparathyroidism in familial multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 may have a humoral cause

On Barbs and Labels in Reactive Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Filippo Bonchi

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Reactive systems (RSs represent a meta-framework aimed at deriving behavioral congruences for those computational formalisms whose operational semantics is provided by reduction rules. RSs proved a flexible specification device, yet so far most of the efforts dealing with their behavioural semantics focused on idem pushouts (IPOs and saturated (also known as dynamic bisimulations. In this paper we introduce a novel, intermediate behavioural equivalence: L-bisimilarity, which is able to recast both its IPO and saturated counterparts. The equivalence is parametric with respect to a set L of RSs labels, and it is shown that under mild conditions on L it is indeed a congruence. Furthermore, L-bisimilarity can also recast the notion of barbed semantics for RSs, proposed by the same authors in a previous paper. In order to provide a suitable test-bed, we instantiate our proposal by addressing the semantics of (asynchronous CCS and of the calculus of mobile ambients.

EG-VEGF: a key endocrine factor in placental development.

Science.gov (United States)

Brouillet, Sophie; Hoffmann, Pascale; Feige, Jean-Jacques; Alfaidy, Nadia

2012-10-01

Endocrine gland-derived vascular endothelial growth factor (EG-VEGF), also named prokineticin 1, is the canonical member of the prokineticin family. Numerous reports suggest a direct involvement of this peptide in normal and pathological reproductive processes. Recent advances propose EG-VEGF as a key endocrine factor that controls many aspects of placental development and suggest its involvement in the development of preeclampsia (PE), the most threatening pathology of human pregnancy. This review describes the finely tuned action and regulation of EG-VEGF throughout human pregnancy, argues for its clinical relevance as a potential diagnostic marker of the onset of PE, and discusses future research directions for therapeutic targeting of EG-VEGF. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The relative analysis of clinical endocrine features and pathological types of pituitary microadenomas].

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Qing; Zhang, Hua-qiu; Wang, He-ping; Guo, Dong-sheng; Lei, Ting; Li, Ling

2010-06-15

To study the relationship between the clinical presentation, endocrinal findings and pathological types in patients with pituitary microadenomas, so as to improve the accuracy of clinical diagnosis and choose the best therapy strategy before the operation. From January 2007 to June 2009, the clinical data of 94 patients who were surgically removed pituitary microadenomas were obtained, including the clinical presentation, endocrinal findings and pathological diagnosis. The analysis was accomplished with Chi-square test. Hormonal symptoms were found in 86 patients (91.5%), it occurred more frequently in immunopositive patients (85/92, 92.4%) than in immunonegative patients (1/2, 50.0%) (P gigantism or acromegaly in growth hormone (GH) positive group. The coincidence of endocrinal findings and immunohistochemistry diagnosis was 69.0%; 87.7% patients had high level of blood PRL in PRL positive group and 21.9% patients had high level of blood GH in GH positive group. There is an obvious relationship between the clinical presentation, endocrinal findings and pathological diagnosis in patients with pituitary microadenomas, which may contribute to the clinical diagnosis and treatment of pituitary secreting microadenomas.

In silico tools to aid risk assessment of endocrine disrupting chemicals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobs, M.N.

2004-01-01

In silico or computational tools could be used more effectively in endocrine disruptor risk assessment for prescreening potential endocrine disruptors, improving experimental in vitro screening assay design and facilitating more thorough data analyses. The in silico tools reviewed here are three-fold and include the use of: (1) nuclear receptor (NR) crystal structures and homology models to examine potential modes of ligand binding by different representative compounds; (2) multivariate principal component analyses (PCA) techniques to select best predicted cell lines for endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) risk assessment purposes; (3) NR quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) that can be constructed from varied biological data sources, using multivariate partial least squares (PLS) techniques and specific descriptors. The cytosolic and NR examples discussed here include the Ah receptor (AhR), the human oestrogen receptor α (hERα) and the human pregnane X receptor (PXR). The varied biological data sets can be compared to give a more integrated dimension to receptor cross talk mechanisms, with further support from molecular modelling studies

Temperamental reactivity and negative emotionality in uncooperative children referred to specialized paediatric dentistry compared to children in ordinary dental care.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnrup, Kristina; Broberg, Anders G; Berggren, Ulf; Bodin, Lennart

2007-11-01

Current treatment of children with dental behaviour management problems (DBMP) is based on the presupposition that their difficulties are caused by dental fear, but is this always the case? The aim of this study was to study temperamental reactivity, negative emotionality, and other personal characteristics in relation to DBMP in 8- to 12-year-old children. Forty-six children referred because of DBMP (study group) and 110 children in ordinary dental care (reference group) participated. The EASI tempramental survey assessed temperamental reactivity and negative emotionality, the Child Behaviour Questionnaire internalizing and externalizing behaviour problems, and the Children's Fear Survey Schedule general and dental fears. Cluster analyses and tree-based modelling were used for data analysis. Among the five clusters identified, one could be characterized as 'balanced temperament'. Thirty-five per cent of the reference group compared to only 7% of the study group belonged to this cluster. Negative emotionality was the most important sorting variable. Children referred because of DBMP differed from children in ordinary dental care, not only in dental fear level, but also in personal characteristics. Few of the referred children were characterized by a balanced temperament profile. It is important to consider the dual impact of emotion dysregulation and emotional reactivity in the development of DBMP.

[Vitamin D and endocrine diseases].

Science.gov (United States)

Schuch, Natielen Jacques; Garcia, Vivian Cristina; Martini, Ligia Araújo

2009-07-01

Vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency has been worldwide reported in all age groups in recent years. It has been considered a Public Health matter since decreased levels of vitamin D has been related to several chronic diseases, as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), obesity and hypertension. Glucose intolerance and insulin secretion has been observed during vitamin D deficiency, both in animals and humans resulting in T2DM. The supposed mechanism underlying these findings is presence of vitamin D receptor in several tissues and cells, including pancreatic beta-cells, adipocyte and muscle cells. In obese individuals, the impaired vitamin D endocrine system, characterized by high levels of PTH and 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) could induce a negative feedback for the hepatic synthesis of 25(OH)D and also contribute to a higher intracellular calcium, which in turn secrete less insulin and deteriorate insulin sensitivity. In hypertension, vitamin D could act on renin-angiotensin system and also in vascular function. Administration of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) could decreases renin gene expression and inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. However, prospective and intervention human studies that clearly demonstrates the benefits of vitamin D status adequacy in the prevention and treatment of endocrine metabolic diseases are lacking. Further research still necessary to assure the maximum benefit of vitamin D in such situations.

Evidence of endocrine alteration in the red mullet, Mullus barbatus from the NW Mediterranean

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin-Skilton, Rebeca; Lavado, Ramon; Thibaut, Remi; Minier, Christophe; Porte, Cinta

2006-01-01

Red mullet (Mullus barbatus) were collected from different sampling sites (NW Mediterranean) in spring and autumn, with the aim of assessing potential alterations of the endocrine system. Alkylphenols were measured in fish bile as an indicator of estrogenic exposure. Key enzymatic activities involved in both synthesis (ovarian 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases and P450 aromatase) and metabolism of steroids were assessed together with histological alterations of the gonads. During the spring sampling, delayed gamete maturation, intersexuality, fibrosis, and depressed ovarian P450 aromatase activity were observed in organisms from the most polluted sites. During the autumn sampling, those effects were less evident, indicating that fish might be more susceptible to endocrine disrupting chemicals during the reproductive period. Nonetheless, enhanced glucuronidation of testosterone and estradiol was observed. Overall, this work provides first evidences of significant alterations in the endocrine system of red mullet from highly impacted areas in the NW Mediterranean. - Red mullet may be more susceptible to endocrine disruptors during the reproductive period

Evidence of endocrine alteration in the red mullet, Mullus barbatus from the NW Mediterranean

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martin-Skilton, Rebeca [Department of Environmental Chemistry, IIQAB-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Lavado, Ramon [Department of Environmental Chemistry, IIQAB-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Thibaut, Remi [Department of Environmental Chemistry, IIQAB-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18, 08034 Barcelona (Spain); Minier, Christophe [Laboratoire d' Ecotoxicologie, Universite du Havre, 25 rue Philippe Lebon, B.P. 540, F-76058 Le Havre (France); Porte, Cinta [Department of Environmental Chemistry, IIQAB-CSIC, Jordi Girona 18, 08034 Barcelona (Spain)]. E-mail: cpvqam@cid.csic.es

2006-05-15

Red mullet (Mullus barbatus) were collected from different sampling sites (NW Mediterranean) in spring and autumn, with the aim of assessing potential alterations of the endocrine system. Alkylphenols were measured in fish bile as an indicator of estrogenic exposure. Key enzymatic activities involved in both synthesis (ovarian 17{beta}-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases and P450 aromatase) and metabolism of steroids were assessed together with histological alterations of the gonads. During the spring sampling, delayed gamete maturation, intersexuality, fibrosis, and depressed ovarian P450 aromatase activity were observed in organisms from the most polluted sites. During the autumn sampling, those effects were less evident, indicating that fish might be more susceptible to endocrine disrupting chemicals during the reproductive period. Nonetheless, enhanced glucuronidation of testosterone and estradiol was observed. Overall, this work provides first evidences of significant alterations in the endocrine system of red mullet from highly impacted areas in the NW Mediterranean. - Red mullet may be more susceptible to endocrine disruptors during the reproductive period.

Binge eating behaviours and food cravings in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeanes, Y M; Reeves, S; Gibson, E L; Piggott, C; May, V A; Hart, K H

2017-02-01

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine condition in women, is often anecdotally associated with binge eating behaviours and food cravings; however there is a paucity of research. This study aimed to report the prevalence of binge eating and food cravings and their relation to obesity risk in women with PCOS. Participants completed an online survey including the Bulimia Investigatory Test, Edinburgh, Food Cravings-Trait Questionnaire and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire revised-18. The study included obese (n = 340), overweight (n = 70) and lean (n = 45) women with PCOS and lean healthy women (n = 40). Sixty percent of obese women with PCOS were categorised with binge-eating behaviour, with 39% presenting with clinically significant behaviour. Obese women with PCOS presented with high mean food cravings-trait scores (131.6 ± 28.9) that were significantly greater compared with lean (114.0 ± 34.9) and overweight women with PCOS (120.1 ± 29.5; p women with PCOS (F = 130.4; p lean healthy women, lean women with PCOS exhibited significantly higher binge eating symptom scores (10.9 ± 7.8 versus 7.4 ± 6.0; p women with PCOS exhibit binge eating behaviours. We recommend screening women with PCOS for binge eating behaviours to help inform the choice of weight management approach for this clinical population. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Construction and application of a bovine immune-endocrine cDNA microarray.

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, Wenjing; Mallard, Bonnie; Karrow, Niel; Bridle, Byram

2004-09-01

A variety of commercial DNA arrays specific for humans and rodents are widely available; however, microarrays containing well-characterized genes to study pathway-specific gene expression are not as accessible for domestic animals, such as cattle, sheep and pigs. Therefore, a small-scale application-targeted bovine immune-endocrine cDNA array was developed to evaluate genetic pathways involved in the immune-endocrine axis of cattle during periods of altered homeostasis provoked by physiological or environmental stressors, such as infection, vaccination or disease. For this purpose, 167 cDNA sequences corresponding to immune, endocrine and inflammatory response genes were collected and categorized. Positive controls included 5 housekeeping genes (glyceraldehydes-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase, ribosomal protein L19, beta-actin, beta2-microglobulin) and bovine genomic DNA. Negative controls were a bacterial gene (Rhodococcus equi 17-kDa virulence-associated protein) and a partial sequence of the plasmid pACYC177. In addition, RNA extracted from un-stimulated, as well as superantigen (Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin-A, S. aureus Cowan Pansorbin Cells) and mitogen-stimulated (LPS, ConA) bovine blood leukocytes was mixed, reverse transcribed and PCR amplified using gene-specific primers. The endocrine-associated genes were amplified from cDNA derived from un-stimulated bovine hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal and thyroid gland tissues. The array was constructed in 4 repeating grids of 180 duplicated spots by coupling the PCR amplified 213-630 bp gene fragments onto poly-l-lysine coated glass slides. The bovine immune-endocrine arrays were standardized and preliminary gene expression profiles generated using Cy3 and Cy5 labelled cDNA from un-stimulated and ConA (5 microg/ml) stimulated PBMC of 4 healthy Holstein cows (2-4 replicate arrays/cow) in a time course study. Mononuclear cell-derived cytokine and chemokine (IL-2, IL-1alpha

Endocrine disruption: In silico interactions between phthalate plasticizers and corticosteroid binding globulin.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheikh, Ishfaq A; Beg, Mohd A

2017-12-01

Endocrine disruption is a phenomenon when a man-made or natural compound interferes with normal hormone function in human or animal body systems. Endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) have assumed considerable importance as a result of industrial activity, mass production of synthetic chemicals and environmental pollution. Phthalate plasticizers are a group of chemicals used widely and diversely in industry especially in the plastic industry, and many of the phthalate compounds have endocrine-disrupting properties. Increasing evidence indicates that steroid nuclear receptors and steroid binding proteins are the main targets of endocrine disruption. Corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG) is a steroid binding protein that binds and transports cortisol in the blood circulation and is a potential target for endocrine disruption. An imbalance of cortisol in the body leads to many health problems. Induced fit docking of nine important and environmentally relevant phthalate plasticizers (DMP, BBP, DBP, DIBP, DnHP, DEHP, DINP, DnOP, DIDP) showed interactions with 10-19 amino acid residues of CBG. Comparison of the interacting residues of CBG with phthalate ligands and cortisol showed an overlapping of the majority (53-82%) of residues for each phthalate. Five of nine phthalate compounds and cortisol shared a hydrogen bonding interaction with the Arg-252 residue of CBG. Long-chain phthalates, such as DEHP, DINP, DnOP and DIDP displayed a higher binding affinity and formed a number of interactions with CBG in comparison to short-chain phthalates. The similarity in structural binding characteristics of phthalate compounds and native ligand cortisol suggested potential competitive conflicts in CBG-cortisol binding function and possible disruption of cortisol and progesterone homeostasis. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Biological analysis of endocrine disrupting compounds in Tunisian sewage treatment plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minif, W.; Dagnino, S.; Pillon, A.; Escande, A.; Fenet, E.; Gomez, E.; Casellas, C.; Duchesne, M. J.; Cavailles, V.

2009-01-01

The endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are frequently found in sewage treatment plant (STPs) works. Natural and synthetic hormones have been identified as the major contributors to the estrogenic activity in sewage. Dosing and identification of EDCs are certainly of great interest and can lead to the improvement of chemicals treatments. With reporter cell lines developed in the laboratory and allowing the detection of nuclear receptor activities, we characterized the endocrine disrupting profile of water, particulate matter and sludge from three Tunisian sewage, treatment plants (STPs). (Author)

Biological analysis of endocrine disrupting compounds in Tunisian sewage treatment plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minif, W.; Dagnino, S.; Pillon, A.; Escande, A.; Fenet, E.; Gomez, E.; Casellas, C.; Duchesne, M. J.; Cavailles, V.

2009-07-01

The endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) are frequently found in sewage treatment plant (STPs) works. Natural and synthetic hormones have been identified as the major contributors to the estrogenic activity in sewage. Dosing and identification of EDCs are certainly of great interest and can lead to the improvement of chemicals treatments. With reporter cell lines developed in the laboratory and allowing the detection of nuclear receptor activities, we characterized the endocrine disrupting profile of water, particulate matter and sludge from three Tunisian sewage, treatment plants (STPs). (Author)

Requirements Engineering for Reactive Systems: Coloured Petri Nets for an Elevator Controller

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Jens Bæk; Fernandes, Joao Miguel; Tjell, Simon

2007-01-01

This paper presents a model-based approach to requirements engineering for reactive systems; we use an elevator controller as case study. We identify and justify two key properties that a model which we construct must have, namely: (1) controller-and-environment-partitioned, which means...... constituting a description of both the controller and the environment, and distinguishing between these two domains and between desired and assumed behaviour; (2) use case-based, which means constructed on the basis of a given use case diagram and reproducing the behaviour described in accompanying scenario...... descriptions. For the case study, we build an executable model in the formal modelling language Coloured Petri Nets. We demonstrate how this model is useful for requirements engineering, since it provides a solid basis for addressing behavioural issues early in the development process, for example regarding...

Current limitations and recommendations to improve testing for the environmental assessment of endocrine active substances

Science.gov (United States)

Coady, Katherine K.; Biever, Ronald C.; Denslow, Nancy D.; Gross, Melanie; Guiney, Patrick D.; Holbech, Henrik; Karouna-Renier, Natalie K.; Katsiadaki, Ioanna; Krueger, Hank; Levine, Steven L.; Maack, Gerd; Williams, Mike; Wolf, Jeffrey C.; Ankley, Gerald T.

2017-01-01

In the present study, existing regulatory frameworks and test systems for assessing potential endocrine active chemicals are described, and associated challenges are discussed, along with proposed approaches to address these challenges. Regulatory frameworks vary somewhat across geographies, but all basically evaluate whether a chemical possesses endocrine activity and whether this activity can result in adverse outcomes either to humans or to the environment. Current test systems include in silico, in vitro, and in vivo techniques focused on detecting potential endocrine activity, and in vivo tests that collect apical data to detect possible adverse effects. These test systems are currently designed to robustly assess endocrine activity and/or adverse effects in the estrogen, androgen, and thyroid hormone signaling pathways; however, there are some limitations of current test systems for evaluating endocrine hazard and risk. These limitations include a lack of certainty regarding: 1) adequately sensitive species and life stages; 2) mechanistic endpoints that are diagnostic for endocrine pathways of concern; and 3) the linkage between mechanistic responses and apical, adverse outcomes. Furthermore, some existing test methods are resource intensive with regard to time, cost, and use of animals. However, based on recent experiences, there are opportunities to improve approaches to and guidance for existing test methods and to reduce uncertainty. For example, in vitro high-throughput screening could be used to prioritize chemicals for testing and provide insights as to the most appropriate assays for characterizing hazard and risk. Other recommendations include adding endpoints for elucidating connections between mechanistic effects and adverse outcomes, identifying potentially sensitive taxa for which test methods currently do not exist, and addressing key endocrine pathways of possible concern in addition to those associated with estrogen, androgen, and thyroid

Endocrinology and hormone therapy in breast cancer: Endocrine therapy in premenopausal women

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pritchard, Kathleen

2005-01-01

Endocrine therapy remains important in premenopausal women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer. Ovarian ablation, used alone, is effective in delaying recurrence and increasing survival in such women. When added to chemotherapy, it is less clear that it is effective perhaps because of the endocrine ablative effect of chemotherapy. Trials comparing ovarian ablation with or without tamoxifen to CMF-type chemotherapy suggest that the endocrine therapy is equivalent to or better than this chemotherapy in women whose tumors have estrogen and/or progesterone receptor. Tamoxifen is also effective in preventing recurrence and prolonging survival in the adjuvant setting in premenopausal women. While most of the available data deals with tamoxifen given alone, it appears to have a similar beneficial effect when added to chemotherapy in the premenopausal adjuvant setting. Adjuvant aromatase inhibitors should not be used in premenopausal women

Growth and endocrine disorders in thalassemia: The international network on endocrine complications in thalassemia (I-CET position statement and guidelines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vincenzo De Sanctis

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The current management of thalassemia includes regular transfusion programs and chelation therapy. It is important that physicians be aware that endocrine abnormalities frequently develop mainly in those patients with significant iron overload due to poor compliance to treatment, particularly after the age of 10 years. Since the quality of life of thalassemia patients is a fundamental aim, it is vital to monitor carefully their growth and pubertal development in order to detect abnormalities and to initiate appropriate and early treatment. Abnormalities should be identified and treatment initiated in consultation with a pediatric or an adult endocrinologist and managed accordingly. Appropriate management shall put in consideration many factors such as age, severity of iron overload, presence of chronic liver disease, thrombophilia status, and the presence of psychological problems. All these issues must be discussed by the physician in charge of the patient′s care, the endocrinologist and the patient himself. Because any progress in research in the field of early diagnosis and management of growth disorders and endocrine complications in thalassemia should be passed on to and applied adequately to all those suffering from the disease, on the 8 May 2009 in Ferrara, the International Network on Endocrine Complications in Thalassemia (I-CET was founded in order to transmit the latest information on these disorders to the treating physicians. The I-CET position statement outlined in this document applies to patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia major to help physicians to anticipate, diagnose, and manage these complications properly.

Endocrine Function in Aquatic Invertebrates and Evidence for Disruption by Environmental Pollutants

OpenAIRE

Pinder, L. C. V.; Pottinger, T. G.; Billinghurst, Z.; Depledge, M. H.

1999-01-01

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Objectives 1. This report addresses five primary objectives:- (i) to summarize the key elements of invertebrate endocrine systems; (ii) to assess whether existing test systems are adequate for the detection of endocrine disruption in invertebrates, what new tests might be required, which species of invertebrates are most appropriate for such tests, what end-points should be measured and whether the same organisms can be used for both laboratory and environme...

Endocrine and metabolic disorders associated with human immune deficiency virus infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Unachukwu, C N; Uchenna, D I; Young, E E

2009-01-01

Many reports have described endocrine and metabolic disorders in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. This article reviewed various reports in the literature in order to increase the awareness and thus the need for early intervention when necessary. Data were obtained from MEDLINE, Google search and otherjournals on 'HIV, Endocrinopathies/Metabolic Disorders' from 1985 till 2007. Studies related to HIV associated endocrinopathies and metabolic disorders in the last two decades were reviewed. Information on epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of the target organ endocrinopathies and metabolic disorders in HIV/AIDS were extracted from relevant literature. Endocrine and metabolic disturbances occur in the course of HIV infection. Pathogenesis includes direct infection of endocrine glands by HIV or opportunistic organisms, infiltration by neoplasms and side effects of drugs. Adrenal insufficiency is the commonest HIV endocrinopathy with cytomegalovirus adrenalitis occurring in 40-88% of cases. Thyroid dysfunction may occur as euthyroid sick syndrome or sub-clinical hypothyroidism. Hypogonadotrophic dysfunction accounts for 75% of HIV-associated hypogonadism, with prolonged amenorrhoea being three times more likely in the women. Pancreatic dysfunction may result in hypoglycaemia or diabetes mellitus (DM). Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) especially protease inhibitors has been noted to result in insulin resistance and lipodystrophy. Virtually every endocrine organ is involved in the course of HIV infection. Detailed endocrinological and metabolic evaluation and appropriate treatment is necessary in the optimal management of patients with HIV infection in our environment.

Environmental analysis of endocrine disrupting effects from hydrocarbon contaminants in the ecosystem. 1997 annual progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-01-01

'The overall objective of the basic research grant is to characterize the potential of common hydrocarbon contaminants in ecosystems to act as endocrine disruptors. The three major lines of research include (1) a biotechnology based screening system to identify potential hormone mimics and antagonists; (2) an animal screening system to identify biomarkers of endocrine effects. and (3) a literature review to identify compounds at a variety of DOE sites that need to be examined for endocrine disrupting effects. By relating results obtained from this research project to contamination problems at various DOE sites. CBR will provide data and information on endocrine disrupting contaminants to DOE for consideration in risk analyses for determining clean-up levels and priorities needed at the sites.'

Electrocardiographic changes in the most frequent endocrine disorders associated with cardiovascular diseases. Review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Costache, Irina Iuliana; Ungureanu, Maria Christina; Iliescu, D; Petriş, A; Botnariu, Gina

2015-01-01

Car- diovascular abnormalities associated with endocrine diseases are often frequent and due to complex relationships between endocrine glands (with internal secretion) and cardiovascular system (heart and vessels). Certain hormones secreted by the endocrine glands (particularly the thyroid and pituitary gland) excesses or deficiencies, are involved in morphogenesis, growth processes and activity regulation of cardiovascular system, most often in connection with the autonomic nervous system. There are also a lot of electrocardiographic changes caused by hormonal disorders that requires differential diagnosis and represents the source of erroneous diagnosis. Endocrine pathology occurred later than a heart disease, may worse heart function. Ignoring the cardiovascular events that may occur in the evolution of endo- crine diseases, may induce increased mortality due to cardiovascular complications.

Generalized evaluation of the endocrine system using the results of radiodiagnostic studies in vitro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaprudnova, S.N.; Tkacheva, G.A.; Narkevich, B.Ya.

1984-01-01

The paper is concerned with a comparative analysis of 3 different decision rules to give a summary evaluation of endocrine system function. The application of the rules to the evaluation of the hormonal status of patients with gastric cancer has shown that the index of the state of the endocrine system gets deteriorated compared to the normal one, however it greatly improves in clinically effective treatment. From the view-point of the quality of classifiers for an in vitro study of the endocrine status the best of the proposed classifiers is the determination of Euclidean distance from normal in the multidimensional space of the diagnostic signs

Behavioural stress responses predict environmental perception in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax).

Science.gov (United States)

Millot, Sandie; Cerqueira, Marco; Castanheira, Maria-Filipa; Overli, Oyvind; Oliveira, Rui F; Martins, Catarina I M

2014-01-01

Individual variation in the response to environmental challenges depends partly on innate reaction norms, partly on experience-based cognitive/emotional evaluations that individuals make of the situation. The goal of this study was to investigate whether pre-existing differences in behaviour predict the outcome of such assessment of environmental cues, using a conditioned place preference/avoidance (CPP/CPA) paradigm. A comparative vertebrate model (European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax) was used, and ninety juvenile individuals were initially screened for behavioural reactivity using a net restraining test. Thereafter each individual was tested in a choice tank using net chasing as aversive stimulus or exposure to familiar conspecifics as appetitive stimulus in the preferred or non preferred side respectively (called hereafter stimulation side). Locomotor behaviour (i.e. time spent, distance travelled and swimming speed in each tank side) of each individual was recorded and analysed with video software. The results showed that fish which were previously exposed to appetitive stimulus increased significantly the time spent on the stimulation side, while aversive stimulus led to a strong decrease in time spent on the stimulation side. Moreover, this study showed clearly that proactive fish were characterised by a stronger preference for the social stimulus and when placed in a putative aversive environment showed a lower physiological stress responses than reactive fish. In conclusion, this study showed for the first time in sea bass, that the CPP/CPA paradigm can be used to assess the valence (positive vs. negative) that fish attribute to different stimuli and that individual behavioural traits is predictive of how stimuli are perceived and thus of the magnitude of preference or avoidance behaviour.

Contribution of the ultrasonography for pancreatic endocrine tumors diagnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vezozzo, D.C.P.; Cerri, G.G.; Siqueira, S.S.C.; Cauledori, I.; Alves, V.A.F.; Magalhaes, A.

1990-01-01

The authors present a review of 12 cases of endocrine pancreatic tumors. All patients were submitted to preoperative sonography and five of these to intra-operative sonography as well. Correlation with pathological findings was obtained in all patients. Correct localization of the lesions was obtained in seven of 12 patients by pre- and intra-operative sonography studies. False-positive results were observed in two patients and a technically inadequate sonographic examination with false-negative results were seen in the remaining three cases. Intra-operative sonography contributed in 100% of cases in order to localize at least one of the lesions detected pathologically, thus been very usefull to surgical management. Intra-operative sonography should be used as a routine procedure in the evaluation of endocrine pancreatic tumors. (author)

Intrinsic char reactivity of plastic waste (PET) during CO2 gasification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gil, M.V.; Fermoso, J.; Pevida, C.; Pis, J.J.; Rubiera, F.

2010-01-01

Char reactivity has a strong influence on the gasification process, since char gasification is the slowest step in the process. A sample of waste PET was devolatilised in a vertical quartz reactor and the resulting char was partially gasified under a CO 2 atmosphere at 925 C in order to obtain samples with different degrees of conversion. The reactivity of the char in CO 2 was determined by isothermal thermogravimetric analysis at different temperatures in a kinetically controlled regime and its reactive behaviour was evaluated by means of the random pore model (RPM). The texture of the char was characterised by means of N 2 and CO 2 adsorption isotherms. The results did not reveal any variation in char reactivity during conversion, whereas the micropore surface area was affected during the gasification process. It was found that the intrinsic reaction rate of the char can be satisfactorily calculated by normalizing the reaction rate by the narrow micropore surface area calculated from the CO 2 adsorption isotherms. It can be concluded therefore that the surface area available for the gasification process is the area corresponding to the narrow microporosity. (author)

Preliminary study of the role of gastrointestinal endocrine cells in the maintenance of villous structure following X-irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wyatt, M.G.; Hume, S.P.; Carr, K.E.; Marigold, J.C.

1987-01-01

The mechanism of gastrointestinal villous damage following ionizing irradiation is complex. Various compartments within the gastrointestinal tract have in turn been considered important for the maintenance of normal villous structure. To date, however, evidence for a single overriding regulator of epithelial well-being is lacking. In this study, the role of the gastro-intestinal (enteroendocrine) cells is explored and comparison made between endocrine cell number and villous structure. Experiments were organized using both control and irradiated groups of mice. Two time points (1 and 3 days) and three radiation doses (6, 10 and 18Gy) were employed. A simple method for endocrine cell identification and subsequent quantification is described. Endocrine cell number was then compared with villous surface detail, as seen with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results indicated a decrease in the endocrine cell number at all three radiation doses. Whereas at low doses endocrine cell recovery occurred between 1 and 3 days, at medium and high doses further decline was noticed. A similar pattern was seen when considering villous surface structure. It is suggested that both scanning electron microscopy and endocrine cell number provide a more sensitive indicator of gastrointestinal radiation damage than do current crypt counting techniques. In addition, a link between endocrine cell number and villous structure is proposed

Wolf Search Algorithm for Solving Optimal Reactive Power Dispatch Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kanagasabai Lenin

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a new bio-inspired heuristic optimization algorithm called the Wolf Search Algorithm (WSA for solving the multi-objective reactive power dispatch problem. Wolf Search algorithm is a new bio – inspired heuristic algorithm which based on wolf preying behaviour. The way wolves search for food and survive by avoiding their enemies has been imitated to formulate the algorithm for solving the reactive power dispatches. And the speciality  of wolf is  possessing  both individual local searching ability and autonomous flocking movement and this special property has been utilized to formulate the search algorithm .The proposed (WSA algorithm has been tested on standard IEEE 30 bus test system and simulation results shows clearly about the good performance of the proposed algorithm .

Emotion Reactivity Is Increased 4-6 Weeks Postpartum in Healthy Women: A Longitudinal fMRI Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malin Gingnell

Full Text Available Marked endocrine alterations occur after delivery. Most women cope well with these changes, but the postpartum period is associated with an increased risk of depressive episodes. Previous studies of emotion processing have focused on maternal-infant bonding or postpartum depression (PPD, and longitudinal studies of the neural correlates of emotion processing throughout the postpartum period in healthy women are lacking. In this study, 13 women, without signs of post partum depression, underwent fMRI with an emotional face matching task and completed the MADRS-S, STAI-S, and EPDS within 48 h (early postpartum and 4-6 weeks after delivery (late postpartum. Also, data from a previous study including 15 naturally cycling controls assessed in the luteal and follicular phase of the menstrual cycle was used. Women had lower reactivity in insula, middle frontal gyrus (MFG, and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG in the early as compared to the late postpartum assessment. Insular reactivity was positively correlated with anxiety in the early postpartum period and with depressive symptoms late postpartum. Reactivity in insula and IFG were greater in postpartum women than in non-pregnant control subjects. Brain reactivity was not correlated with serum estradiol or progesterone levels. Increased reactivity in the insula, IFG, and MFG may reflect normal postpartum adaptation, but correlation with self-rated symptoms of depression and anxiety in these otherwise healthy postpartum women, may also suggest that these changes place susceptible women at increased risk of PPD. These findings contribute to our understanding of the neurobiological aspects of the postpartum period, which might shed light on the mechanisms underlying affective puerperal disorders, such as PPD.

Muscle as an endocrine organ: focus on muscle-derived interleukin-6

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Febbraio, M.A.; Pedersen, Bente Klarlund

2008-01-01

Skeletal muscle has recently been identified as an endocrine organ. It has, therefore, been suggested that cytokines and other peptides that are produced, expressed, and released by muscle fibers and exert paracrine, autocrine, or endocrine effects should be classified as "myokines." Recent...... period when insulin action is enhanced but, on the other hand, IL-6 has been associated with obesity and reduced insulin action. This review focuses on the myokine IL-6, its regulation by exercise, its signaling pathways in skeletal muscle, and its role in metabolism in both health and disease...

Explore the Possibility of Early Clinical Diagnosis of Endocrine Ophthalmopathy Based on Eye Symptoms of Hyperthyroidism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. G. Likhvantseva

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: to study the possibility of early clinical diagnosis of endocrine ophthalmopathy based on ocular symptoms of hyperthyroidism. Patients and methods: we analyzed the prevalence of ocular symptoms of hyperthyroidism in 139 patients (278 orbits with newly diagnosed endocrine ophthalmopathy (group 1, developed on the background of diffuse toxic goiter. The comparison group consisted of 80 patients (160 orbits with newly diagnosed diffuse toxic goiter with no radiographic evidence of endocrine ophthalmopathy (group 2. All patients were examined by an ophthalmologist and endocrinologist. We analyzed the prevalence of ocular symptoms of hyperthyroidism (symptom Dalrymple’, Mobius’, Zenger’, and combinations thereof, often encountered in diffuse toxic goiter, flowing with endocrine ophthalmopathy, and/or lack thereof - in the group of “thyrotoxic exophthalmos”. We took into account the frequency distribution of these clinical signs, and their combinations. We analyzed the clinical sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis based on the three most common symptoms, and their combinations, associated both with thyrotoxicosis and with endocrine ophthalmopathy. Results: Dalrymple’ symptom, is more common in thyrotoxic exophthalmos than with endocrine ophthalmopathy (compared to 100.0% versus 61.9 %, p<0,001. This suggests that Dalrymple’ symptom leads to over diagnosis aspect endocrine ophthalmopathy. It is obvious that it can be used to recognize and thyrotoxic exophthalmos hyperthyroidism, but you cann’t credibly claim based on orbit about the presence of the disease. In this aspect, the greatest practical interest to provide a comparative assessment of the frequency of detection of symptoms of Mobius’ and Zenger’ and their combinations in a population of endocrine ophthalmopathy and in the group of thyrotoxic exophthalmos. Significantly more symptoms Zenger’ and Mobius’ developed with endocrine ophthalmopathy (66,2% and 81

[Synergistic effect of cell kinetics-directed chemo-endocrine therapy on experimental mammary tumors].

Science.gov (United States)

Ueki, H

1987-11-01

We tried to demonstrate that the cell kinetics-directed chemoendocrine therapy is more effective on hormone dependent breast cancer than empirical combination of the endocrine therapy and chemotherapy. Cell kinetics of each tumor was measured by flow cytometric analysis. Estrogen dependent human breast cancer cell line MCF-7 was used in vitro. In vivo, androgen dependent SC-115 carcinoma was transplanted to DDS mice. In vitro, tamoxifen was administered as the endocrine therapy. In vivo, we carried out testectomy on DDS mice. Effect of the endocrine therapy on the cell kinetics of the tumor was thought to be G1-S depression. High density 5FU was administered as the chemotherapeutic agents, whose content was 1 microgram/ml in vitro and 40 mg/kg in vivo. 5FU brought temporary decrease of cells in S phase. Only anteceding 5FU administration had synergistic effect in combination of 5FU and the endocrine therapy. 5FU was convinced to act more effectively on cells in S phase, so it was shown that cell kinetics-directed schedule was superior to the empirical treatment schedule in chemoendocrine therapy.

Evaluation of non-genomic, clinical risk and survival results in endocrine-sensitive, HER-2 negative, node negative breast cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Baena Cañada, José M; Gámez Casado, Salvador; Rodríguez Pérez, Lourdes; Quílez Cutillas, Alicia; Cortés Carmona, Cristina; Rosado Varela, Petra; Estalella Mendoza, Sara; Ramírez Daffós, Patricia; Benítez Rodríguez, Encarnación

2018-02-28

In endocrine-sensitive, HER-2 negative, node negative breast cancer, the presence of a low genomic risk allows treatment with adjuvant endocrine therapy alone, obtaining excellent survival rates. The justification for this study is to show that excellent survival rates are also obtained by treating with adjuvant hormone therapy alone, based on clinical risk assessment. A descriptive, observational and retrospective study was performed between 2006 and 2016 with endocrine-sensitive, HER-2 negative, node negative breast cancer, greater than 1cm or between 0.6 and 1cm with unfavourable features. Retrospective review of health records. Mortality data of the National Registry of Deaths. A total of 203 patients were evaluable for survival. One hundred and twenty-three (60.50%) were treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy alone, 77 (37.90%) with chemotherapy and endocrine therapy, one (0.50%) with chemotherapy alone and 2 (1%) were not treated. The overall survival rate at 5 years was 97% (95% confidence interval [CI] 94-100). Distant recurrence-free interval was 94% (95% CI 90-98). In the subgroup of patients treated with endocrine therapy alone, overall survival and distant recurrence-free interval rates at 5 years were 98% (95% CI 95-100) and 97% (95% CI 93-100), respectively. Patients with endocrine-sensitive, HER-2-negative, node negative breast cancer treated with endocrine therapy alone according to their clinical risk have similar survival outcomes as those treated with endocrine therapy according to their genomic risk. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

WNT4 mediates estrogen receptor signaling and endocrine resistance in invasive lobular carcinoma cell lines.

Science.gov (United States)

Sikora, Matthew J; Jacobsen, Britta M; Levine, Kevin; Chen, Jian; Davidson, Nancy E; Lee, Adrian V; Alexander, Caroline M; Oesterreich, Steffi

2016-09-20

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) of the breast typically presents with clinical biomarkers consistent with a favorable response to endocrine therapies, and over 90 % of ILC cases express the estrogen receptor (ER). However, a subset of ILC cases may be resistant to endocrine therapies, suggesting that ER biology is unique in ILC. Using ILC cell lines, we previously demonstrated that ER regulates a distinct gene expression program in ILC cells, and we hypothesized that these ER-driven pathways modulate the endocrine response in ILC. One potential novel pathway is via the Wnt ligand WNT4, a critical signaling molecule in mammary gland development regulated by the progesterone receptor. The ILC cell lines MDA-MB-134-VI, SUM44PE, and BCK4 were used to assess WNT4 gene expression and regulation, as well as the role of WNT4 in estrogen-regulated proliferation. To assess these mechanisms in the context of endocrine resistance, we developed novel ILC endocrine-resistant long-term estrogen-deprived (ILC-LTED) models. ILC and ILC-LTED cell lines were used to identify upstream regulators and downstream signaling effectors of WNT4 signaling. ILC cells co-opted WNT4 signaling by placing it under direct ER control. We observed that ER regulation of WNT4 correlated with use of an ER binding site at the WNT4 locus, specifically in ILC cells. Further, WNT4 was required for endocrine response in ILC cells, as WNT4 knockdown blocked estrogen-induced proliferation. ILC-LTED cells remained dependent on WNT4 for proliferation, by either maintaining ER function and WNT4 regulation or uncoupling WNT4 from ER and upregulating WNT4 expression. In the latter case, WNT4 expression was driven by activated nuclear factor kappa-B signaling in ILC-LTED cells. In ILC and ILC-LTED cells, WNT4 led to suppression of CDKN1A/p21, which is critical for ILC cell proliferation. CDKN1A knockdown partially reversed the effects of WNT4 knockdown. WNT4 drives a novel signaling pathway in ILC cells, with a

Mechanisms governing the reactivation-dependent destabilization of memories and their role in extinction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charlotte Rachael Flavell

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The extinction of learned associations has traditionally been considered to involve new learning, which competes with the original memory for control over behaviour. However, a recent resurgence of interest in reactivation-dependent amnesia has revealed that the retrieval of fear-related memory (with what is essentially a brief extinction session can result in it’s destabilization. This review discusses some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that are involved in the destabilization of a memory following it’s reactivation and/or extinction, and investigates the evidence that extinction may involve both new learning as well as a partial destabilization-induced erasure of the original memory trace.

Sleep and Quality of Life in Endocrine Diseases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Quik, Elise; Verster, Joris; PandiPerumal, S.R.; Streiner, D.L.

2008-01-01

Summary It is well established that a close relationship exists between sleep and hormones of the hypothalamic–pituitary axis. Sleep has an electrophysiological component and an endocrine component, i.e., the distinct patterns of hormone secretion. Both the electrophysiological and the hormonal

European Union's strategy on endocrine disrupting chemicals and the current position of Slovenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Perharič, Lucija; Fatur, Tanja; Drofenik, Jernej

2016-06-01

In view of the European Union regulations 1107/2009 and 528/2012, which say that basic substances in plant protection and biocidal products marketed in the European Union (EU) should not have an inherent capacity to cause endocrine disruption, an initiative was started to define scientific criteria for the identification of endocrine disruptors (EDs). The objectives of the EU strategy on EDs are to protect human health and the environment, to assure the functioning of the market, and to provide clear and coherent criteria for the identification of EDs that could have broad application in the EU legislation. Policy issues were to be addressed by the Ad-hoc group of Commission Services, EU Agencies and Member States established in 2010, whereas the scientific issues were to be addressed by the Endocrine Disruptors Expert Advisory Group (ED EAG), established in 2011. The ED EAG adopted the 2002 World Health Organization (WHO) definition of endocrine disruptor and agreed that for its identification it is necessary to produce convincing evidence of a biologically plausible causal link between an adverse effect and endocrine disrupting mode of action. In 2014, the European Commission proposed four ED identification criteria options and three regulatory options, which are now being assessed for socio-economic, environmental, and health impact. Slovenia supports the establishing of identification criteria and favours option 4, according to which ED identification should be based on the WHO definition with the addition of potency as an element of hazard characterisation. As for regulatory options, Slovenia favours the risk-based rather than hazard-based regulation.

Chronology of endocrine differentiation and beta-cell neogenesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Miyatsuka, Takeshi

2016-01-01

Diabetes is a chronic and incurable disease, which results from absolute or relative insulin insufficiency. Therefore, pancreatic beta cells, which are the only type of cell that expresses insulin, is considered to be a potential target for the cure of diabetes. Although the findings regarding beta-cell neogenesis during pancreas development have been exploited to induce insulin-producing cells from non-beta cells, there are still many hurdles towards generating fully functional beta cells that can produce high levels of insulin and respond to physiological signals. To overcome these problems, a solid understanding of pancreas development and beta-cell formation is required, and several mouse models have been developed to reveal the unique features of each endocrine cell type at distinct developmental time points. Here I review our understanding of pancreas development and endocrine differentiation focusing on recent progresses in improving temporal cell labeling in vivo.

Preoperative localization of endocrine pancreatic tumours by intra-arterial dynamic computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahlstroem, H.; Magnusson, A.; Grama, D.; Eriksson, B.; Oeberg, K.; Loerelius, L.E.; Akademiska Sjukhuset, Uppsala; Akademiska Sjukhuset, Uppsala

1990-01-01

Eleven patients with biochemically confirmed endocrine pancreatic tumours were examined with intra-arterial (i.a.) dynamic computed tomography (CT) and angiography preoperatively. Seven of the patients suffered from the multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN-1) syndrome. All patients were operated upon and surgical palpation and ultrasound were the peroperative localization methods. Of the 33 tumours which were found at histopathologic analysis of the resected specimens in the 11 patients, 7 tumours in 7 patients were correctly localized by both i.a. dynamic CT and angiography. Six patients with MEN-1 syndrome had multiple tumours and this group of patients together had 28 tumours, of which 5 (18%) were localized preoperatively by both CT and angiography. I.a. dynamic CT, with the technique used by us, does not seem to improve the localization of endocrine pancreatic tumours, especially in the rare group of MEN-1 patients, as compared with angiography. (orig.)

Endocrine disrupting compounds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bøgh, I B; Christensen, P; Dantzer, V

2001-01-01

of alkylphenols, these are disseminated in the environment with sewage sludge, and domestic animals and humans are likely to be exposed via the food chain. Using the pig as an in vivo model, we studied the effect of intrauterine exposure to tertiary octylphenol (OP) on essential reproductive parameters over 3......With the growing concern that environmental chemicals might impair human and animal fertility, it is important to investigate the possible influence of these substances on sexual differentiation and genital development of mammals. Many of these substances are suspected to interfere with endocrine...... processes, and exposure during critical periods of prenatal development might affect reproductive performance over several generations. Alkylphenols and their metabolites are lipophilic substances exerting apparent estrogenic action in in vitro and in vivo testing systems. With the widespread industrial use...

Hormones and endocrine disruptors in human seminal plasma.

Science.gov (United States)

Hampl, R; Kubatova, J; Heracek, J; Sobotka, V; Starka, L

2013-07-01

Seminal plasma represents a unique environment for maturation, nutrition, and protection of male germ cells from damaging agents. It contains an array of organic as well as inorganic chemicals, encompassing a number of biologically and immunologically active compounds, including hormones. Seminal plasma contains also various pollutants transferred from outer environment known as endocrine disruptors. They interfere with hormones at the receptor level, act as inhibitors of their biosynthesis, and affect hormone regulation.In this minireview, the main groups of hormones detected in seminal plasma are summarized. Seminal gonadal steroids were investigated mostly with aim to use them as biomarkers of impaired spermatogenesis (sperm count, motility, morphology). Concentrations of hormones in the seminal plasma often differ considerably from the blood plasma levels in dependence on their origin. In some instances (dihydrotestosterone, estradiol), their informative value is higher than determination in blood.Out of peptide hormones detected in seminal plasma, peptides of transforming growth factor beta family, especially antimullerian hormone, and oligopeptides related to thyrotropin releasing hormone have the high informative value, while assessment of seminal gonadotropins and prolactin does not bring advantage over determination in blood.Though there is a large body of information about the endocrine disruptors' impact on male reproduction, especially with their potential role in decline of male reproductive functions within the last decades, there are only scarce reports on their presence in seminal plasma. Herein, the main groups of endocrine disruptors found in seminal plasma are reviewed, and the use of their determination for investigation of fertility disorders is discussed.

Direct and indirect endocrine disruption : aromatase and estrogen receptor-mediated processes in breast cancer development

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heneweer, Marjoke

2005-01-01

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been defined by the World Health Organization as: “exogenous substances or mixtures that alters function(s) of the endocrine system and causes adverse health effects in an intact organism, or its progeny, or (sub)populations”. Synthetic, as well as,

A randomized trial comparing radical prostatectomy plus endocrine therapy versus external beam radiotherapy plus endocrine therapy for locally advanced prostate cancer. Results at median follow-up of 102 months

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akakura, Koichiro; Suzuki, Hiroyoshi; Ichikawa, Tomohiko

2006-01-01

The background of this study was to investigate the optimal treatment of locally advanced prostate cancer, a prospective randomized trial was conducted to compare radical prostatectomy plus endocrine therapy versus external beam radiotherapy plus endocrine therapy. One hundred patients with T2b-3N0M0 prostate cancer were enrolled and 95 were evaluated. Of 95 cases, 46 underwent radical prostatectomy with pelvic lymph node dissection and 49 were treated with external beam radiation by linear accelerator with 40-50 Gy to the whole pelvis and 20-Gy boost to the prostatic area. For all patients, endocrine therapy was initiated 8 weeks before surgery or radiotherapy and continued thereafter. The long-term outcome and morbidity were examined. Median follow-up period was 102 months. At 10 years overall survival rates in the surgery group were better than the radiation group (76.2% versus 71.1% for biochemical progression-free rates; P=0.25, 83.5% versus 66.1% for clinical progression-free rates; P=0.14, 85.7% versus 77.1% for cause-specific survival rates; P=0.06, and 67.9% versus 60.9% for overall survival rates; P=0.30), although none of them reached statistical significance. Erectile dysfunction was recognized in almost all patients as a result of continuous endocrine therapy. Incontinence requiring more than one pad per day was observed more frequently in the surgery group than the radiation group (P<0.01). For the treatment of patients with locally advanced prostate cancer, when combined with endocrine therapy, either radical prostatectomy or external beam radiotherapy demonstrated favorable long-term outcomes. The radiation dose of 60-70 Gy might not be enough for the local treatment of locally advanced prostate cancer. (author)

Drug residues and endocrine disruptors in drinking water: risk for humans?

Science.gov (United States)

Touraud, Evelyne; Roig, Benoit; Sumpter, John P; Coetsier, Clémence

2011-11-01

The presence of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors in the environment raises many questions about risk to the environment and human health. Environmental exposure has been largely studied, providing to date a realistic picture of the degree of contamination of the environment by pharmaceuticals and hormones. Conversely, little information is available regarding human exposure. NSAIDS, carbamazepine, iodinated contrast media, β-blockers, antibiotics have been detected in drinking water, mostly in the range of ng/L. it is questioned if such concentrations may affect human health. Currently, no consensus among the scientific community exists on what risk, if any, pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors pose to human health. Future European research will focus, on one hand, on genotoxic and cytotoxic anti-cancer drugs and, on the other hand, on the induction of genetic resistance by antibiotics. This review does not aim to give a comprehensive overview of human health risk of drug residues and endocrine disruptors in drinking water but rather highlight important topics of discussion. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

The survival analysis on localized prostate cancer treated with neoadjuvant endocrine therapy followed by intensity modulated radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Hong; Li Gaofeng; Wu Qinhong; Li Xuenan; Zhong Qiuzi; Xu Yonggang

2010-01-01

Objective: To retrospectively investigate clinical outcomes and prognostic factors in localized prostate cancer treated with neoadjuvant endocrine therapy followed by intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Methods: Between March 2003 and October 2008, 54 localized prostate cancer treated by IMRT were recruited. All patients had received endocrine therapy before IMRT. The endocrine therapy included surgical castration or medical castration in combination with antiandrogens. The target of IMRT was the prostate and seminal vesicles with or without pelvis. The biochemical failure was defined according to the phoenix definition. By using the risk grouping standard proposed by D'Amico, patients were divided into three groups: low-risk group (n = 5), intermediate-risk group (n = 12), and high-risk group (n = 37). Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate the overall survival rate. Prognostic factors were analyzed by univariate and multiple Cox regression analysis. Results: The follow-up rate was 98%. The number of patients under follow-up was 39 at 3 years and 25 at 5 years. Potential prognostic factors, including risk groups, mode of endocrine therapy, time of endocrine therapy, phoenix grouping before IMRT, the prostate specific antigen doubling time (PSADT) before radiotherapy, PSA value before IMRT, interval of endocrine therapy and IMRT, irradiation region, and irradiation dose were analyzed by survival analysis. In univariate analysis, time of endocrine therapy (75 % vs 95 %, χ 2 = 6. 45, P = 0. 011), phoenix grouping before IMRT (87% vs 96%, χ 2 = 4. 36, P = 0. 037), interval of endocrine therapy and IMRT (80% vs 95%, χ 2 = 11.60, P= 0. 001), irradiation dose (75% vs 91%, χ 2 =5.92, P= 0. 015) were statistically significant prognostic factors for 3 - year overall survival , and risk groups (85 vs 53 vs 29, χ 2 = 6. 40, P =0. 041) and PSADT before IMRT (62 vs 120, U =24. 50, P =0. 003) were significant factors for the median survival time. In the multiple Cox

P2X receptor channels in endocrine glands

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Stojilkovic, S. S.; Zemková, Hana

2013-01-01

Roč. 2, č. 4 (2013), s. 173-180 ISSN 2190-460X R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GBP304/12/G069 Institutional support: RVO:67985823 Keywords : ATP * purinergic P2X receptor channels * pituitary * endocrine glands Subject RIV: ED - Physiology

Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program: Tier I Screening Battery

Science.gov (United States)

In response to emerging concerns that environmental chemicals may have adverse effects on human health by altering the function of the endocrine system,' the Food Quality Protection Act and subsequent amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act and Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic A...

Sarcopenia and Age-Related Endocrine Function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kunihiro Sakuma

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Sarcopenia, the age-related loss of skeletal muscle, is characterized by a deterioration of muscle quantity and quality leading to a gradual slowing of movement, a decline in strength and power, and an increased risk of fall-related injuries. Since sarcopenia is largely attributed to various molecular mediators affecting fiber size, mitochondrial homeostasis, and apoptosis, numerous targets exist for drug discovery. In this paper, we summarize the current understanding of the endocrine contribution to sarcopenia and provide an update on hormonal intervention to try to improve endocrine defects. Myostatin inhibition seems to be the most interesting strategy for attenuating sarcopenia other than resistance training with amino acid supplementation. Testosterone supplementation in large amounts and at low frequency improves muscle defects with aging but has several side effects. Although IGF-I is a potent regulator of muscle mass, its therapeutic use has not had a positive effect probably due to local IGF-I resistance. Treatment with ghrelin may ameliorate the muscle atrophy elicited by age-dependent decreases in growth hormone. Ghrelin is an interesting candidate because it is orally active, avoiding the need for injections. A more comprehensive knowledge of vitamin-D-related mechanisms is needed to utilize this nutrient to prevent sarcopenia.

The reactivity meter and core reactivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siltanen, P.

1999-01-01

This paper discussed in depth the point kinetic equations and the characteristics of the point kinetic reactivity meter, particularly for large negative reactivities. From a given input signal representing the neutron flux seen by a detector, the meter computes a value of reactivity in dollars (ρ/β), based on inverse point kinetics. The prompt jump point of view is emphasised. (Author)

Association of HPA axis-related genetic variation with stress reactivity and aggressive behaviour in pigs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muráni Eduard

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Stress, elicited for example by aggressive interactions, has negative effects on various biological functions including immune defence, reproduction, growth, and, in livestock, on product quality. Stress response and aggressiveness are mutually interrelated and show large interindividual variation, partly attributable to genetic factors. In the pig little is known about the molecular-genetic background of the variation in stress responsiveness and aggressiveness. To identify candidate genes we analyzed association of DNA markers in each of ten genes (CRH g.233C>T, CRHR1 c.*866_867insA, CRHBP c.51G>A, POMC c.293_298del, MC2R c.306T>G, NR3C1 c.*2122A>G, AVP c.207A>G, AVPR1B c.1084A>G, UCN g.1329T>C, CRHR2 c.*13T>C related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA axis, one of the main stress-response systems, with various stress- and aggression-related parameters at slaughter. These parameters were: physiological measures of the stress response (plasma concentrations of cortisol, creatine kinase, glucose, and lactate, adrenal weight (which is a parameter reflecting activity of the central branch of the HPA axis over time and aggressive behaviour (measured by means of lesion scoring in the context of psychosocial stress of mixing individuals with different aggressive temperament. Results The SNP NR3C1 c.*2122A>G showed association with cortisol concentration (p = 0.024, adrenal weight (p = 0.003 and aggressive behaviour (front lesion score, p = 0.012; total lesion score p = 0.045. The SNP AVPR1B c.1084A>G showed a highly significant association with aggressive behaviour (middle lesion score, p = 0.007; total lesion score p = 0.003. The SNP UCN g.1329T>C showed association with adrenal weight (p = 0.019 and aggressive behaviour (front lesion score, p = 0.029. The SNP CRH g.233C>T showed a significant association with glucose concentration (p = 0.002, and the polymorphisms POMC c.293_298del and MC2R c.306T>G with adrenal

Female reproductive disorders: the roles of endocrine-disrupting compounds and developmental timing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Crain, D.A.; Janssen, S.J.; Edwards, T.M.

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the possible role of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) on female reproductive disorders emphasizing developmental plasticity and the complexity of endocrine-dependent ontogeny of reproductive organs. Declining conception rates and the high incidence of female reproducti...... reproductive dysfunction together with tools to assess the specific exposures and methods to block their effects. This review of the EDC literature as it relates to female health provides an important platform on which women's health can be improved Udgivelsesdato: 2008/10...

Developments concerning reactivity accidents in PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gouffon, A.

1987-11-01

After placing the development work on reactivity accidents in the various actions decided upon further to the Chernobyl accident, this note describes the first results obtained and the further developments. As a general rule, the Chernobyl accident has not provided, from a strictly technical viewpoint, any fundamentally new material which had previouly been unknown. Analysis have made it possible to more clearly establish the safety importance of certain operating rules, in particular concerning handling whithin coolant system pumps. They have not show the need to modify the design of the french PWR.s. This development work must be continued to gain a fuller understanding of the behaviour of fuel, specially after irradiation and power cycling

Physiology of the endocrine pancreas.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelking, L R

1997-11-01

The endocrine pancreas is composed of nests of cells called the islets of Langerhans, which comprise only about 20% of pancreatic cell mass and secrete insulin, glucagon, somatostatin, and pancreatic polypeptide. Insulin is anabolic, increasing storage of glucose, fatty acids and amino acids, while glucagon namely stimulates hepatic glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis, and ketogenesis. Somatostatin acts as a paracrine agent to inhibit both insulin and glucagon release, and, therefore, to modulate their output. This article explores factors controlling release of these hormones, as well as the way in which they affect fuel metabolism in the whole animal.

Chromogranin A is present in and released by fish endocrine tissue

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deftos, L.J.; Bjoernsson, B.T.; Burton, D.W.; O'Connor, D.T.; Copp, D.H.

1987-01-01

Chromogranin A (CgA) is a protein that is present in many mammalian endocrine cells and co-secreted with their resident hormones. The authors have demonstrated the presence of CgA by immunohistology in the ultimobranchial glands and corpuscles of Stannius of rainbow trout. CgA was also detected by radioimmunoassay in the medium of incubated coho salmon ultimobranchial glands. Their observations demonstrate the presence of CgA in endocrine glands of evolutionarily divergent species. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that CgA participates in the secretory process of a wide variety of hormones. 18 references, 1 figure, 1 table

Haemato-biochemical and endocrine profiling of north western ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study was aimed to provide baseline data regarding haemato-biochemical and endocrine profiling of Gaddi sheep found in north western Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh, India. Each random sample was collected from 45 Gaddi sheep reared in government sheep breeding farm Tal, Hamirpur, India, during ...

Endocrine Hypertension | Elamin | Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences

African Journals Online (AJOL)

acromegaly, thyrotoxicosis, hypothyroidism, and hyperparathyroidism. Endocrine hypertension is noted in both adults and children but it is more relevant for children where it comes second to renal hypertension, the common cause of hypertension in that age group. Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 3 (3) 2008: pp.

CCAR1 is required for Ngn3-mediated endocrine differentiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Chung-Kuang; Lai, Yi-Chyi; Lin, Yung-Fu; Chen, Hau-Ren; Chiang, Ming-Ko

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► We identify CCAR1 to directly interact with Ngn3. ► CCAR1 is co-localized with Ngn3 in the nucleus. ► CCAR1 cooperates with Ngn3 in activating NeuroD expression. ► CCAR1 is required for Ngn3-mediated PANC-1 transdifferentiation. -- Abstract: Neurogenin3 (Ngn3) is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor that specifies pancreatic endocrine cell fates during pancreas development. It can also initiate a transdifferentiation program when expressed in pancreatic exocrine and ductal cells. However, how Ngn3 initiates a transcriptional cascade to achieve endocrine differentiation is still poorly understood. Here, we show that cell cycle and apoptosis regulator 1 (CCAR1), which is a transcriptional coactivator for nuclear receptors, also interacts with Ngn3. The association between Ngn3 and CCAR1 was verified by pull-down assays and co-immunoprecipitation analyses. Using gene reporter assays, we found that CCAR1 is essential for Ngn3 to activate the expression of the reporter genes containing the NeuroD promoter. Moreover, down-regulation of endogenous CCAR1 in the PANC-1 pancreatic ductal cell line inhibits the transdifferentiation program initiated by Ngn3. CCAR1 is, therefore, a novel partner of Ngn3 in mediating endocrine differentiation.

Co-gasification of bituminous coal and hydrochar derived from municipal solid waste: Reactivity and synergy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Juntao; Guo, Qinghua; He, Qing; Ding, Lu; Yoshikawa, Kunio; Yu, Guangsuo

2017-09-01

In this work, the influences of gasification temperature and blended ratio on co-gasification reactivity and synergy of Shenfu bituminous coal (SF) and municipal solid waste-derived hydrochar (HTC) were investigated using TGA. Additionally, active alkaline and alkaline earth metal (AAEM) transformation during co-gasification was quantitatively analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer for correlating synergy on co-gasification reactivity. The results showed that higher char gasification reactivity existed at higher HTC char proportion and gasification temperature, and the main synergy behaviour on co-gasification reactivity was performed as synergistic effect. Enhanced synergistic effect at lower temperature was mainly resulted from more obviously inhibiting the primary AAEM (i.e. active Ca) transformation, and weak synergistic effect still existed at higher temperature since more active K with prominent catalysis was retained. Furthermore, more active HTC-derived AAEM remaining in SF sample during co-gasification would lead to enhanced synergistic effect as HTC char proportion increased. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The influence of spatial effects on the measurement results of reactivity in 'fast disturbances' of core parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsyganov, S.V.; Shishkov, L.K.

2001-01-01

The analysis of methods for the determination of reactivity revealed an essential influence of spatial effect on the measurement precision. Using of reverse point kinetic equation for reactivity meter is assumed that the average neutron flux weigh with the importance function is known at every moment of the transient. In fact, reactivity meter represent behaviour of the neutron flux only of the part of the core, so measured value of reactivity can differ from really reactivity. Three-dimensional dynamic model of the core allow to evaluate such difference. It is supposed to evaluate correction factor for the neutron flux measured at the place where ion chamber situated with the three-dimensional model NOSTRA of the WWER core. On the basis of such algorithm we propose to build module allowing the influence of spatial effects on the results of the reactivity meter to be eliminated at real time regime. This code will be incorporated into the core monitoring system 'BLOK' (SCORPIO type) which is being developed for the Kola and Rostov NPP. The report illustrates utilization of such algorithm (Authors)

Calcite surface structure and reactivity: molecular dynamics simulations and macroscopic surface modelling of the calcite-water interface

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wolthers, M.; Di Tommaso, D.; Du, Z.; de Leeuw, N.H.

2012-01-01

Calcite–water interactions are important not only in carbon sequestration and the global carbon cycle, but also in contaminant behaviour in calcite-bearing host rock and in many industrial applications. Here we quantify the effect of variations in surface structure on calcite surface reactivity.

An overview of estrogen-associated endocrine disruption in fishes: evidence of effects on reproductive and immune physiology

Science.gov (United States)

Iwanowicz, L.R.; Blazer, V.S.

2011-01-01

Simply and perhaps intuitively defined, endocrine disruption is the abnormal modulation of normal hormonal physiology by exogenous chemicals. In fish, endocrine disruption of the reproductive system has been observed worldwide in numerous species and is known to affect both males and females. Observations of biologically relevant endocrine disruption most commonly occurs near waste water treatment plant outfalls, pulp and paper mills, and areas of high organic loading sometimes associated with agricultural practices. Estrogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EEDCs) have received an overwhelmingly disproportionate amount of scientific attention compared to other EDCs in recent years. In male fishes, exposure to EEDCs can lead to the induction of testicular oocytes (intersex), measurable plasma vitellogenin protein, altered sex steroid profiles, abnormal spawning behavior, skewed population sex ratios, and lessened reproductive success. Interestingly, contemporary research purports that EDCs modulate aspects of non-reproductive physiology including immune function. Here we present an overview of endocrine disruption in fishes associated with estrogenic compounds, implications of this phenomenon, and examples of EDC related research findings by our group in the Potomac River Watershed, USA.

Endocrine tumor of the digestive tract - clinical case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szwedziak, K.; Olejniczak, W.; Brichkovkiy, V.

2008-01-01

Introduction: Endocrine tumors of the digestive tract (ETDT) are neoplasms which stem from the APUD (amine precursors uptake and decarboxylation) cells. There are neuroendocrine pancreatic and gastroenteral carcinoid tumors which stand for 2% of digestive tract tumors, 0,5% of all human malignant neoplasms. All of them have secretion granulations in the cytoplasm. That is why a number of immune histochemic techniques is used in search for biogenic amines and hormones such as gastrin, CCK, GIP, VIP, motilin, glucagon, GRP, PP, GHRH and the others. In the majority of cases neuroendocrine tumors of the rectum are described as dysfunctional, which means that specific clinical symptoms are not connected with their hormonal overproduction. Material and methods: We describe a case of fifty seven years old male patient admitted to the Department of General and Transplant Surgery for the diagnosis and treatment of the rectal tumor. Per rectum examination revealed hard tumor. The pathologic examination of the biopsy taken from the lesion and CT scanning confirmed the presence of endocrine tumor of the digestive tract. Results: Anterior resection of the rectum was performed, the postoperative course was uneventful. At present patient is subjected to complementary treatment with the use of somatostatin analogue of the prolonged action. Conclusion: The endocrine tumors of the rectum are extremely rare, they occur in this localization in 0,26-0,52 out of 100.000 all rectal tumors. Diagnosis is usually made upon the microscopic examination and the immune histochemic reactions. (author)

VAV3 mediates resistance to breast cancer endocrine therapy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

H. Aguilar (Helena); A. Urruticoechea (Ander); P. Halonen (Pasi); K. Kiyotani (Kazuma); T. Mushiroda (Taisei); X. Barril (Xavier); J. Serra-Musach (Jordi); A.B.M.M.K. Islam (Abul); L. Caizzi (Livia); L. Di Croce (Luciano); E. Nevedomskaya (Ekaterina); W. Zwart (Wilbert); J. Bostner (Josefine); E. Karlsson (Elin); G. Pérez Tenorio (Gizeh); T. Fornander (Tommy); D.C. Sgroi (Dennis); R. Garcia-Mata (Rafael); M.P.H.M. Jansen (Maurice); N. García (Nadia); N. Bonifaci (Núria); F. Climent (Fina); E. Soler (Eric); A. Rodríguez-Vida (Alejo); M. Gil (Miguel); J. Brunet (Joan); G. Martrat (Griselda); L. Gómez-Baldó (Laia); A.I. Extremera (Ana); J. Figueras; J. Balart (Josep); R. Clarke (Robert); K.L. Burnstein (Kerry); K.E. Carlson (Kathryn); J.A. Katzenellenbogen (John); M. Vizoso (Miguel); M. Esteller (Manel); A. Villanueva (Alberto); A.B. Rodríguez-Peña (Ana); X.R. Bustelo (Xosé); Y. Nakamura (Yusuke); H. Zembutsu (Hitoshi); O. Stål (Olle); R.L. Beijersbergen (Roderick); M.A. Pujana (Miguel)

2014-01-01

textabstractIntroduction: Endocrine therapies targeting cell proliferation and survival mediated by estrogen receptor α (ERα) are among the most effective systemic treatments for ERα-positive breast cancer. However, most tumors initially responsive to these therapies acquire resistance through

REMOVAL OF ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR CHEMICALS DURING DRINKING WATER TREATMENT

Science.gov (United States)

A group of chemicals, known as endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) have been identified as having the potential to cause adverse health effects in humans and wildlife. Among this group DDT, PCBs, endosulfan, methoxychlor, diethylphthalate, diethylhexylphthalate, and bisphenol A ...

Frequency and Risk Factors of Endocrine Complications in Turkish Children and Adolescents with Sickle Cell Anemia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samim Özen

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: To define frequency and risk factors of abnormalities in growth, puberty, thyroid function, and bone and carbohydrate metabolisms in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD. Materials and Methods: Endocrine problems including short stature, puberty and thyroid disorders, and carbohydrate and bone metabolisms in 50 Turkish children and adolescents with SCD were evaluated. Relationships among sex, disease type, blood transfusions, exchange and exacerbation frequency, ferritin levels, and endocrine pathologies were investigated. Results: The mean age of the study group was 13.1±2.9 years. Weights and heights of 12 participants (24% were below -2 standard deviations and 4 participants (8% had malnutrition. Mean difference (±standard deviation between bone and chronological age of patients was -1.73±1.86 years. Fifty percent of patients had at least one endocrine abnormality other than vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency. Hypergonadotropic hypogonadism in 3 patients (6%, hypogonadotropic hypogonadism in 1 female patient (2%, and small testicular volume in respect to age in 3 male patients (8.5% were seen. Growth hormone deficiency was detected in 1 (2% female patient, and hypothyroidism was diagnosed in 3 patients (6%; 1 central case, 2 cases of primary hypothyroidism. At vertebral level, 5 patients (11.1% had osteopenia and 1 patient (2.2% had osteoporosis, while 5 patients (11.1% had osteopenia at femur neck level. The most common endocrine abnormality was vitamin D deficiency. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D was deficient in 63.2% and insufficient in 18.4% of patients. Sex, disease type, blood transfusion frequency, exacerbation frequency, and ferritin levels were not related to endocrine pathologies. As the age was increased, standard deviation scores of femur neck bone mineral density was decreased (r =-0.56; p<0.05. Vitamin D was lower in patients whose weights and/or heights were below -2 standard deviations from the mean

Possible endocrine disrupting effects of parabens and their metabolites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boberg, Julie; Taxvig, Camilla; Christiansen, Sofie

2010-01-01

Parabens are preservatives used in a wide range of cosmetic products, including products for children, and some are permitted in foods. However, there is concern for endocrine disrupting effects. This paper critically discusses the conclusions of recent reviews and original research papers...... and provides an overview of studies on toxicokinetics. After dermal uptake, parabens are hydrolyzed and conjugated and excreted in urine. Despite high total dermal uptake of paraben and metabolites,little intact paraben can be recovered in blood and urine. Paraben metabolites may play a role in the endocrine...... disruption seen in experimental animals and studies are needed to determine human levels of parabens and metabolites. Overall, the estrogenic burden of parabens and their metabolites in blood may exceed the action of endogenous estradiol in childhood and the safety margin for propylparaben is very low when...

Endocrine tumors associated with the vagusnerve

OpenAIRE

Varoquaux, Arthur; Kebebew, Electron; Sebag, Fréderic; Wolf, Katherine; Henry, Jean-François; Pacak, Karel; Taïeb, David

2016-01-01

The vagus nerve (cranial nerve X) is the main nerve of the parasympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system. Vagal paragangliomas (VPGLs) are a prime example of an endocrine tumor associated with the vagus nerve. This rare, neural-crest tumor constitutes the second most common site of hereditary head and neck paragangliomas (HNPGLs), most often in relation to mutations in the succinate dehydrogenase subunit D (SDHD) gene. The treatment paradigm for VPGL has progressively shifted from ...

ENDOCRINE PANCREATIC FUNCTION IN ACUTE PANCREATITIS

OpenAIRE

P. V. Novokhatny

2014-01-01

Introduction Among the organs of internal secretion pancreas has a special place thanks to active exocrine function and a wide range of physiological actions of produced hormones. Violations of endocrine pancreas arises in 6.5-38 % of patients with acute pancreatitis. However, there is still no clear understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms of hormonal dysfunction of the pancreas in acute pancreatitis, there is no uniform algorithms for its correction. Aim of the research was to study...

[Outstanding problems of normal and pathological morphology of the diffuse endocrine system].

Science.gov (United States)

Iaglov, V V; Iaglova, N V

2011-01-01

The diffuse endocrine system (DES)--a mosaic-cellular endoepithelial gland--is the biggest part of the human endocrine system. Scientists used to consider cells of DES as neuroectodermal. According to modem data cells of DES are different cytogenetic types because they develop from the different embryonic blastophyllum. So that any hormone-active tumors originated from DES of the digestive, respiratory and urogenital system shouldn't be considered as neuroendocrinal tumors. The basic problems of DES morphology and pathology are the creation of scientifically substantiated histogenetic classification of DES tumors.

Towards an internationally harmonized test method for reproductive and developmental effects of endocrine disrupters in marine copepods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kusk, Kresten Ole; Wollenberger, Leah

2007-01-01

with marine copepods (Acartia tonsa, Nitocra spinipes, Tisbe battagliai, and Amphiascus tenuiremis). The present paper gives an overview on the endocrine system of crustaceans with special emphasis on development and reproduction, which are targets for endocrine disruption, and reviews available methods......New and updated methods to detect and characterize endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are urgently needed for the purpose of environmental risk assessment since these substances are often not detected using existing chronic toxicity tests. Numerous reports on the effects of EDCs on crustacean...... development and reproduction have been published and the development of life-cycle tests with crustaceans has been prioritized within the OECD work program for endocrine disrupter testing and assessment. As a result, Sweden, and Denmark initiated a proposal for development of a full life-cycle test...

Endocrine Disruptor Degradation by Photocatalytic Pilot Plant Unit.

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Spáčilová, Lucie; Morozová, Magdalena; Mašín, P.; Maléterová, Ywetta; Kaštánek, František; Dytrych, Pavel; Ezechiáš, Martin; Křesinová, Zdena; Šolcová, Olga

2016-01-01

Roč. 3, č. 4 (2016), s. 4613-4620 ISSN 2458-9403 R&D Projects: GA TA ČR TA04020700 Grant - others:NATO(US) SPS984398 Institutional support: RVO:67985858 ; RVO:61388971 Keywords : endocrine disruptor * titanium dioxide * photocatalysis Subject RIV: CI - Industrial Chemistry, Chemical Engineering; EE - Microbiology, Virology (MBU-M)

Foaming behaviour of polymer-surfactant solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cervantes-MartInez, Alfredo; Maldonado, Amir

2007-01-01

We study the effect of a non-ionic amphiphilic polymer (PEG-100 stearate also called Myrj 59) on the foaming behaviour of aqueous solutions of an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate or SDS). The SDS concentration was kept fixed while the Myrj 59 concentration was varied. Measurements of foamability, surface tension and electrical conductivity were carried out. The results show two opposite effects depending on the polymer concentration: foamability is higher when the Myrj 59 concentration is low; however, it decreases considerably when the polymer concentration is increased. This behaviour is due to the polymer adsorption at the air/liquid interface at lower polymer concentrations, and to the formation of a polymer-surfactant complex in the bulk at higher concentrations. The results are confirmed by surface tension and electrical conductivity measurements, which are interpreted in terms of the microstructure of the polymer-surfactant solutions. The observed behaviour is due to the amphiphilic nature of the studied polymer. The increased hydrophobicity of Myrj 59, compared to that of water-soluble polymers like PEG or PEO, increases its 'reactivity' towards SDS, i.e. the strength of its interaction with this anionic surfactant. Our results show that hydrophobically modified polymers have potential applications as additives in order to control the foaming properties of surfactant solutions

An in vitro investigation of endocrine disrupting effects of the mycotoxin alternariol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frizzell, Caroline; Ndossi, Doreen; Kalayou, Shewit; Eriksen, Gunnar S.; Verhaegen, Steven; Sørlie, Morten; Elliott, Christopher T.; Ropstad, Erik; Connolly, Lisa

2013-01-01

Alternariol (AOH) is a mycotoxin commonly produced by Alternaria alternata on a wide range of foods. Few studies to date have been performed to evaluate the effects of AOH on endocrine activity. The present study makes use of in vitro mammalian cellular based assays and gene expression to investigate the ability of AOH to act as an endocrine disruptor by various modes of action. Reporter gene assays (RGAs), incorporating natural steroid hormone receptors for oestrogens, androgens, progestagens and glucocorticoids were used to identify endocrine disruption at the level of nuclear receptor transcriptional activity, and the H295R steroidogenesis assay was used to assess endocrine disruption at the level of gene expression and steroid hormone production. AOH exhibited a weak oestrogenic response when tested in the oestrogen responsive RGA and binding of progesterone to the progestagen receptor was shown to be synergistically increased in the presence of AOH. H295R cells when exposed to 0.1–1000 ng/ml AOH, did not cause a significant change in testosterone and cortisol hormones but exposure to 1000 ng/ml (3.87 μM) AOH resulted in a significant increase in estradiol and progesterone production. In the gene expression study following exposure to 1000 ng/ml (3.87 μM) AOH, only one gene NR0B1 was down-regulated, whereas expression of mRNA for CYP1A1, MC2R, HSD3B2, CYP17, CYP21, CYP11B2 and CYP19 was up-regulated. Expression of the other genes investigated did not change significantly. In conclusion AOH is a weak oestrogenic mycotoxin that also has the ability to interfere with the steroidogenesis pathway. - Highlights: • Alternariol was investigated for endocrine disrupting activity. • Reporter gene assays and the H295R steroidogenesis assay have been used. • An oestrogenic effect of alternariol was observed. • This can lead to an increase in expression of the progesterone receptor. • Alternariol is capable of modulating hormone production and gene expression

An in vitro investigation of endocrine disrupting effects of the mycotoxin alternariol

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Frizzell, Caroline [Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen' s University Belfast, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom); Ndossi, Doreen [Section of Experimental Biomedicine, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Oslo (Norway); Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro (Tanzania, United Republic of); Kalayou, Shewit [Section of Experimental Biomedicine, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Oslo (Norway); Mekelle University College of Veterinary Medicine, Mekelle (Ethiopia); Eriksen, Gunnar S. [Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Oslo (Norway); Verhaegen, Steven [Section of Experimental Biomedicine, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Oslo (Norway); Sørlie, Morten [Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås (Norway); Elliott, Christopher T. [Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen' s University Belfast, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom); Ropstad, Erik [Section of Experimental Biomedicine, Norwegian School of Veterinary Science, Oslo (Norway); Connolly, Lisa, E-mail: l.connolly@qub.ac.uk [Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen' s University Belfast, Northern Ireland (United Kingdom)

2013-08-15

Alternariol (AOH) is a mycotoxin commonly produced by Alternaria alternata on a wide range of foods. Few studies to date have been performed to evaluate the effects of AOH on endocrine activity. The present study makes use of in vitro mammalian cellular based assays and gene expression to investigate the ability of AOH to act as an endocrine disruptor by various modes of action. Reporter gene assays (RGAs), incorporating natural steroid hormone receptors for oestrogens, androgens, progestagens and glucocorticoids were used to identify endocrine disruption at the level of nuclear receptor transcriptional activity, and the H295R steroidogenesis assay was used to assess endocrine disruption at the level of gene expression and steroid hormone production. AOH exhibited a weak oestrogenic response when tested in the oestrogen responsive RGA and binding of progesterone to the progestagen receptor was shown to be synergistically increased in the presence of AOH. H295R cells when exposed to 0.1–1000 ng/ml AOH, did not cause a significant change in testosterone and cortisol hormones but exposure to 1000 ng/ml (3.87 μM) AOH resulted in a significant increase in estradiol and progesterone production. In the gene expression study following exposure to 1000 ng/ml (3.87 μM) AOH, only one gene NR0B1 was down-regulated, whereas expression of mRNA for CYP1A1, MC2R, HSD3B2, CYP17, CYP21, CYP11B2 and CYP19 was up-regulated. Expression of the other genes investigated did not change significantly. In conclusion AOH is a weak oestrogenic mycotoxin that also has the ability to interfere with the steroidogenesis pathway. - Highlights: • Alternariol was investigated for endocrine disrupting activity. • Reporter gene assays and the H295R steroidogenesis assay have been used. • An oestrogenic effect of alternariol was observed. • This can lead to an increase in expression of the progesterone receptor. • Alternariol is capable of modulating hormone production and gene expression.

Molasses as a possible cause of an ''endocrine disruptive syndrome'' in calves

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M.S. Masgoret

2009-09-01

Full Text Available During the mid 1990s a potentially serious, chronic syndrome was reported in well-managed beef and dairy herds from unrelated parts of South Africa. Farmers reported that it manifested as various combinations of decreased production, decreased weaning masses, apparent immune breakdown in previously immunocompetent animals, increased reproductive disorders, various mineral imbalances in non-deficient areas and goitre, noticeable as enlarged thyroid glands. The farmers associated this syndrome with certain batches of sugar cane molasses and molasses-based products. The syndrome was reminiscent of an ''endocrine disruptive syndrome''. The objective of this study was to evaluate the suspected endocrine disruptive effect of molasses included in cattle feed. Using existing in vitro assays, four batches of molasses syrup were screened for possible inclusion in a calf feeding trial. Two batches were selected for the trial. Thirty-two, 4- to 6-week-old, weaned Holstein bull calves were included in the single phase, three treatment, parallel design experiment. In two of the groups of calves, two different batches of molasses were included in their rations respectively. The control group was fed a ration to which no molasses was added, but which was balanced for energy and mineral content. The mass gain of the calves was recorded over the 6-month study period. The calves were clinically examined every week and clinical pathology parameters, immune responses and endocrine effects were regularly evaluated. Even though endocrine disrupting effects were detected with the in vitro screening assays, these could not be reproduced in the calves in the experiment. The two batches of molasses utilized in the calf feeding trial did not induce major differences in any of the parameters measured, with the exception of a lower mass gain in one of the molasses-fed groups (Group 1, which tended towards significance. The results of the study indicate that the two batches

Direct action of endocrine disrupting chemicals on human sperm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schiffer, Christian; Müller, Astrid; Egeberg, Dorte L

2014-01-01

Synthetic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), omnipresent in food, household, and personal care products, have been implicated in adverse trends in human reproduction, including infertility and increasing demand for assisted reproduction. Here, we study the action of 96 ubiquitous EDCs on huma...

Statistical Data on 2556 Cases of Endocrine Glands Disorders in Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. BAHADORI

1967-01-01

Full Text Available This paper is a statistical and analytical review of endocrine glands disorders, seen in the Department of Pathology, Tehran University Medical School, and is based on approximately 40,000 surgical specimens and 2,500 autopsy cases. Of 42,500 combined routine surgical and autopsy cases reviewed, we had 2,556 cases of endocrine disorders of which there: thyroid 1,125 cases, ovary 970, testis 268, adrenal gland 170, pancreas 156, parathyroid 24 and pituitary gland 23. Principal lesions of each gland have been discussed, and in some cases attempt has been made to analyse and compare the clinical symptoms with the pathological findings.

Statistical behaviour of adaptive multilevel splitting algorithms in simple models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rolland, Joran; Simonnet, Eric

2015-01-01

Adaptive multilevel splitting algorithms have been introduced rather recently for estimating tail distributions in a fast and efficient way. In particular, they can be used for computing the so-called reactive trajectories corresponding to direct transitions from one metastable state to another. The algorithm is based on successive selection–mutation steps performed on the system in a controlled way. It has two intrinsic parameters, the number of particles/trajectories and the reaction coordinate used for discriminating good or bad trajectories. We investigate first the convergence in law of the algorithm as a function of the timestep for several simple stochastic models. Second, we consider the average duration of reactive trajectories for which no theoretical predictions exist. The most important aspect of this work concerns some systems with two degrees of freedom. They are studied in detail as a function of the reaction coordinate in the asymptotic regime where the number of trajectories goes to infinity. We show that during phase transitions, the statistics of the algorithm deviate significatively from known theoretical results when using non-optimal reaction coordinates. In this case, the variance of the algorithm is peaking at the transition and the convergence of the algorithm can be much slower than the usual expected central limit behaviour. The duration of trajectories is affected as well. Moreover, reactive trajectories do not correspond to the most probable ones. Such behaviour disappears when using the optimal reaction coordinate called committor as predicted by the theory. We finally investigate a three-state Markov chain which reproduces this phenomenon and show logarithmic convergence of the trajectory durations

Association between plasma metabolites and gene expression profiles in five porcine endocrine tissues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bassols Anna

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Endocrine tissues play a fundamental role in maintaining homeostasis of plasma metabolites such as non-esterified fatty acids and glucose, the levels of which reflect the energy balance or the health status of animals. However, the relationship between the transcriptome of endocrine tissues and plasma metabolites has been poorly studied. Methods We determined the blood levels of 12 plasma metabolites in 27 pigs belonging to five breeds, each breed consisting of both females and males. The transcriptome of five endocrine tissues i.e. hypothalamus, adenohypophysis, thyroid gland, gonads and backfat tissues from 16 out of the 27 pigs was also determined. Sex and breed effects on the 12 plasma metabolites were investigated and associations between genes expressed in the five endocrine tissues and the 12 plasma metabolites measured were analyzed. A probeset was defined as a quantitative trait transcript (QTT when its association with a particular metabolic trait achieved a nominal P value Results A larger than expected number of QTT was found for non-esterified fatty acids and alanine aminotransferase in at least two tissues. The associations were highly tissue-specific. The QTT within the tissues were divided into co-expression network modules enriched for genes in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes or gene ontology categories that are related to the physiological functions of the corresponding tissues. We also explored a multi-tissue co-expression network using QTT for non-esterified fatty acids from the five tissues and found that a module, enriched in hypothalamus QTT, was positioned at the centre of the entire multi-tissue network. Conclusions These results emphasize the relationships between endocrine tissues and plasma metabolites in terms of gene expression. Highly tissue-specific association patterns suggest that candidate genes or gene pathways should be investigated in the context of specific tissues.

Conserved genetic pathways controlling the development of the diffuse endocrine system in vertebrates and Drosophila.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartenstein, Volker; Takashima, Shigeo; Adams, Katrina L

2010-05-01

The midgut epithelium is formed by absorptive enterocytes, secretory cells and endocrine cells. Each of these lineages is derived from the pluripotent progenitors that constitute the embryonic endoderm; the mature midgut retains pools of self-renewing stem cells that continue to produce all lineages. Recent findings in vertebrates and Drosophila shed light on the genetic mechanism that specifies the fate of the different lineages. A pivotal role is played by the Notch signaling pathway that, in a manner that appears to be very similar to the way in which Notch signaling selects neural progenitors within the neurectoderm, distinguishes the fate of secretory/endocrine cells and enterocytes. Proneural genes encoding bHLH transcription factors are expressed and required in prospective endocrine cells; activation of the Notch pathways restricts the number of these cells and promotes enterocyte development. In this review we compare the development of the intestinal endocrine cells in vertebrates and insects and summarize recent findings dealing with genetic pathways controlling this cell type. Copyright 2009. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Endocrinal investigations on Sudanese malnourished children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, N.; Mohammed, F. S.; Bushra, M. M.; Babiker, A. H.; Hisham, M.

2004-01-01

Malnutrition showed a high incidence among Sudanese children under five years of age. It affects directly the endocrine system of such children. In this the thyroid gland selected as a very important endocrine organ to be studied in 49 malnourished children under five years. Other 20 well- nourished children were selected to act as a control subjects . Both study and control groups were match for age and sex. The patients were seen and assessed for the disease in different hospital in Khartoum by consultant pediatrician. Thyroid function (thyroxineT4 and Triiodothyronine) was tested with a sensitive radioimmunoassay (RIA) technique. Some other biochemical parameters (hemoglobin Hb % total protein) were also investigated for the two groups (Patients and control) to confirm malnutrition. The means of the investigated parameters of the patients were compared with those of control group. The results showed 20 % of the malnourished children was complained of sever hypothyroidism (T4<25μmol/I) and (T3<0.3μmol/I) considering the normal range (55-142μmol/I) and (0.8-3μmol/I) respectively. The difference was highly significant together. The patients group showed low level in the two parameters, which indicate malnutrition. The the thyroid function in the malnourished children was severely affected by malnutrition, and such a test is strongly recommended to be a routine investigation for malnourished children. ( Author)

Comparison of the behaviour of two core designs for ASTRID in case of severe accidents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bertrand, F., E-mail: frederic.bertrand@cea.fr [CEA, DEN, DER, F-13108 Saint Paul-lez-Durance (France); Marie, N.; Prulhière, G.; Lecerf, J. [CEA, DEN, DER, F-13108 Saint Paul-lez-Durance (France); Seiler, J.M. [CEA, DEN, DTN, F-38054 Grenoble (France)

2016-02-15

Highlights: • Low void worth CFV and SFRv2 cores are compared for ASTRID pre-conceptual design. • Severe accident behaviour is assessed with a simplified calculation approach and tools. • Mitigation to limit reactivity inserted by core compaction is easier for CFV than for SFRv2 core. • When facing arbitrary reactivity ramps, CFV core would lead to lower energy release than SFRv2 core. • Time scale for core degradation is one order of magnitude larger for CFV than for SFRv2. - Abstract: The present paper is dedicated to the studies carried out during the first stage of the pre-conceptual design of the French demonstrator of fourth generation SFR reactors (ASTRID) in order to compare the behaviour of two envisaged core concepts under severe accident transients. Among the two studied core concepts, whose powers are 1500 MWth, the first one is a classical homogeneous core (called SFRv2) with large pin diameter whose the sodium overall voiding reactivity effect is 5 $. The second concept is an axially heterogeneous core (called CFV) whose global void reactivity effect is negative (−1.2 $ at the end of cycle at the equilibrium). The comparison of the cores relies on two typical accident families: a reactivity insertion (unprotected transient overpower, UTOP) and an overall loss of core cooling (unprotected loss of flow, ULOF). In the first part of the comparison, the primary phase of an UTOP is studied in order to assess typical features of the transient behaviour: power and reactivity evolutions, material heating and melting/vaporization and mechanical energy release due to fuel vapor expansion. The second part of the comparison deals with the calculation of the reactivity potential for degraded states (molten pools) representative of the secondary phase of a mild UTOP and of a strong UTOP (strong or mild qualifies the reactivity ramp inserted). According to the reactivity potential, the amount of fuel to extract from the core and the amount of absorber

Endocrine consequences of irradiation and cancer chemotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shalet, S.M.; Beardwell, C.

1981-01-01

A brief review is presented of endocrine dysfunction as a long-term effect of radiotherapy and cancer chemotherapy, with particular reference to children, and to Hodgkin's disease. The hypothalamus and pituitary, growth hormone and thyroid stimulating hormone, thyroid and parathyroid, and gonads are discussed. Suggestions are made for long-term measures to be taken, such as measuring growth rates, L-thyroxine replacement, sperm storage, etc. (U.K.)

Endocrine Disease in Aged Horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Durham, Andy E

2016-08-01

Aging horses may be at particular risk of endocrine disease. Two major equine endocrinopathies, pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction and equine metabolic syndrome, are commonly encountered in an aging population and may present with several recognizable signs, including laminitis. Investigation, treatment, and management of these diseases are discussed. Additionally, aging may be associated with development of rarer endocrinopathic problems, often associated with neoplasia, including diabetes mellitus and other confounders of glucose homeostasis, as well as thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal diseases. Brief details of the recognition and management of these conditions are presented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Well differentiated endocrine carcinomas of the pancreas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Čolović Radoje

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. For the difference from poorly differentiated, well differentiated endocrine carcinomas of the pancreas are the tumours in whom with aggressive surgery and chemotherapy fair results can be achieved. Objective. The aim of the study was to point out the importance of such treatment. Methods. Over a 6-year period eight patients (seven female and one male of average age 51 years (ranging from 23 to 71 years were operated on for well differentiated endocrine carcinoma: six of the head and two of the tail of the pancreas. There were two functional and six nonfunctional tumours. Pain in the upper part of the abdomen in seven, mild loss in weight in two, strong heartburn in two, obstructive jaundice in three, diarrhoea in one, sudden massive bleeding from gastric varicosities due to prehepatic portal hypertension caused by pancreatic head tumour in one, and bruise in one patient were registered preoperatively. US and CT in all, angiography in one, octreoscan in two and PET scan in one patient were performed. Whipple’s procedure was performed in six and distal pancreatectomy in two patients, as well as systemic lymphadenectomy in all and excision of liver secondary tumours in two patients. In the patient with massive gastric bleeding a total gastrectomy was performed first, followed by Whipple’s procedure a month later. Results. R0 resection was achieved in all patients. Lymph nodes metastases were found in six patients. Six patients were given chemotherapy. One patient died 3 years after surgery, seven are still alive, on average 2.5 years. A local recurrence after distal pancreatectomy that occurred 5 years after surgery was successfully reresected and the patient is on peptide-receptor radiotherapy. In other six patients there were no local recurence or distant metastases. Conclusion. With aggressive surgery and chemotherapy fair results can be achieved in well differentiated endocrine carcinomas of the pancreas.

Endocrine complications after busulphan and cyclophosphamide based hematopoietic stem cell transplant: A single tertiary care centre experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abhay Gundgurthi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Endocrine complications are common after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT. Although HSCT is performed at various centers in India, no study is available for endocrine dysfunctions among them. This study was carried out with the objective to evaluate endocrine dysfunction among patients undergone HSCT in the past. Materials and Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study in a 50 post-HSCT recipients (39 allogenic, 11 autologous. All relevant data were collected from patient′s records. Samples for hormonal estimation were collected and stimulation tests for cortisol and growth hormone were interpreted based on peak values achieved during insulin tolerance test. Results: The mean age of patients was 26.3 ± 16.9 years (range 4-74. Adrenal insufficiency (AI was present in 60%, hypergonadotropic hypogonadism (HH in 60%, growth hormone deficiency (GHD in 54%, hypothyroidism in 4%, hyperprolactinemia in 4%, new onset diabetes after transplant in 4%, and impaired fasting glucose in 6%. Multiple endocrine complications were common. GHD was present in 77% of children (n = 22 although height standard deviation score was not statistically different compared to those who didn′t have GHD. HH was present in 36% of children. In adults (n = 28, 36% had GHD, all females had HH, and 89% of males had HH. Germ cell dysfunction with compensated Leydig cell dysfunction was the most common pattern of HH in males. Fifteen patients had graft versus host disease (GVHD. GVHD had no bearing on development of endocrine deficiencies. AI was related to duration after and type of transplant, but was unrelated to steroid intake. Conclusions: Endocrine manifestations are common after HSCT; they can occur as early or late complications. All HSCT recipients should have endocrine evaluation as per prevailing guidelines.

Therapeutic effects of strontium-89 combined with endocrine therapy for treatment of bone metastasis in patients with prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Deming

2009-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the effects of strontium-89 ( 89 Sr) combined with endocrine therapy for the treatment of bone metastasis in patients with advanced prostate cancer. Methods: 45 cases of prostate cancer with bone metastasis were randomly divided into 2 groups: patients in study group (23 cases) were given 89 Sr combined with endocrine therapy while patients in control group (22 cases) were given endocrine therapy only. The effect on pain relief, the serum PSA level, hemogram and biochemical indicators of hepatic and renal function were observed. Results: The pain degree was not statistically significant between two groups before treatment (P>0.05) and was statistically significant after treatment (P 89 Sr radionuclide combined with endocrine therapy was more effective than endocrine therapy alone in relief of the pain from bone metastasis and reduction of metastasis size in patients with advaced prostatic cancer. (authors)

Analysis of Endocrine Disrupting Pesticides by Capillary GC with Mass Spectrometric Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Svetlana Hrouzková

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Endocrine disrupting chemicals, among them many pesticides, alter the normal functioning of the endocrine system of both wildlife and humans at very low concentration levels. Therefore, the importance of method development for their analysis in food and the environment is increasing. This also covers contributions in the field of ultra-trace analysis of multicomponent mixtures of organic pollutants in complex matrices. With this fact conventional capillary gas chromatography (CGC and fast CGC with mass spectrometric detection (MS has acquired a real importance in the analysis of endocrine disrupting pesticide (EDP residues. This paper provides an overview of GC methods, including sample preparation steps, for analysis of EDPs in a variety of matrices at ultra-trace concentration levels. Emphasis is put on separation method, mode of MS detection and ionization and obtained limits of detection and quantification. Analysis time is one of the most important aspects that should be considered in the choice of analytical methods for routine analysis. Therefore, the benefits of developed fast GC methods are important.

Electrophysiological indices of visual food cue-reactivity. Differences in obese, overweight and normal weight women.

Science.gov (United States)

Hume, David John; Howells, Fleur Margaret; Rauch, H G Laurie; Kroff, Jacolene; Lambert, Estelle Victoria

2015-02-01

Heightened food cue-reactivity in overweight and obese individuals has been related to aberrant functioning of neural circuitry implicated in motivational behaviours and reward-seeking. Here we explore the neurophysiology of visual food cue-reactivity in overweight and obese women, as compared with normal weight women, by assessing differences in cortical arousal and attentional processing elicited by food and neutral image inserts in a Stroop task with record of EEG spectral band power and ERP responses. Results show excess right frontal (F8) and left central (C3) relative beta band activity in overweight women during food task performance (indicative of pronounced early visual cue-reactivity) and blunted prefrontal (Fp1 and Fp2) theta band activity in obese women during office task performance (suggestive of executive dysfunction). Moreover, as compared to normal weight women, food images elicited greater right parietal (P4) ERP P200 amplitude in overweight women (denoting pronounced early attentional processing) and shorter right parietal (P4) ERP P300 latency in obese women (signifying enhanced and efficient maintained attentional processing). Differential measures of cortical arousal and attentional processing showed significant correlations with self-reported eating behaviour and body shape dissatisfaction, as well as with objectively assessed percent fat mass. The findings of the present study suggest that heightened food cue-reactivity can be neurophysiologically measured, that different neural circuits are implicated in the pathogenesis of overweight and obesity, and that EEG techniques may serve useful in the identification of endophenotypic markers associated with an increased risk of externally mediated food consumption. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of endocrine treatment on voiding and prostate size in men with prostate cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klarskov, Louise L; Klarskov, Peter; Mommsen, Søren

2012-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess and quantify changes in voiding parameters and prostate size in men with prostate cancer from before the start of endocrine treatment and during long-term follow-up.......The aim of this study was to assess and quantify changes in voiding parameters and prostate size in men with prostate cancer from before the start of endocrine treatment and during long-term follow-up....

Endocrine disorders as the following reactions and as the consequences by the low radiation doses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Talalaeva, G.V.; Mylarshchikov, A.V.; Zajkova, I.O.; Antropova, T.B.

2004-01-01

The present study reports about endocrine disorders as the accelerators of the modified variability in the cohorts of the Urals inhabitants. The retrospective analysis of the endocrine and reproductive health by the emergency workers of Chernobyl accident, victims of the Eastern Urals Radiation Track (EURT) and their descendants in the first and second generation was implemented. The hormonal status of the 524 juveniles including 88 townspeople of Ekaterinburg as a control group and 436 grandchildren of the EURT-victims as a basic group was studied. The authors' data about static and dynamic characteristics of the ecological endocrine standards was described. The blood serum level of the thyroid, hypothalamic and hypo-physical-gonadal hormones as the static parameters was used. The chronology of the sexual and physical ripening as the dynamic parameters was observed. The endocrine disorders as a reason to changing the speed of the biological time during the hebetic period of the ontogenesis was noted. The peculiarities of the hebetic vector by the control group subjects with different degree of the hebetic ripening disturbances and the peculiarity of such vector by the EURT-victims descendants were singled out and classified. We hypothesize that the modified variability can be considered across the frame of the successive non-Markov process. In this case the parents' endocrine disorders we can marked as a previous history of this process and the descendants' reproductive dysfunctions as a consequences of own. (author)

Critical behaviour of continuous phase transitions with infinitely many absorbing states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hua Dayin; Wang Lieyan; Chen Ting

2006-01-01

A lattice gas model is proposed for the A 2 + 2B 2 → 2B 2 A reaction system with particle diffusion. In the model, A 2 dissociates in the random dimer-filling mechanism and B 2 dissociation is in the end-on dimer-filling mechanism. A reactive window appears and the system exhibits a continuous phase transition from a reactive state to a covered state with infinitely many absorbing states. When the diffusion of particle A and AB is included, there are still infinitely many absorbing states for the continuous phase transition, but it is found that the critical behaviour changes from the directed percolation (DP) class to the pair contact process with diffusion (PCPD) class

Reactivity study on thermal cracking of vacuum residues

Science.gov (United States)

León, A. Y.; Díaz, S. D.; Rodríguez, R. C.; Laverde, D.

2016-02-01

This study focused on the process reactivity of thermal cracking of vacuum residues from crude oils mixtures. The thermal cracking experiments were carried out under a nitrogen atmosphere at 120psi between 430 to 500°C for 20 minutes. Temperature conditions were established considering the maximum fractional conversion reported in tests of thermogravimetry performed in the temperature range of 25 to 600°C, with a constant heating rate of 5°C/min and a nitrogen flow rate of 50ml/min. The obtained products were separated in to gases, distillates and coke. The results indicate that the behaviour of thermal reactivity over the chemical composition is most prominent for the vacuum residues with higher content of asphaltenes, aromatics, and resins. Finally some correlations were obtained in order to predict the weight percentage of products from its physical and chemical properties such as CCR, SARA (saturates, aromatics, resins, asphaltenes) and density. The results provide new knowledge of the effect of temperature and the properties of vacuum residues in thermal conversion processes.

Environmental Analysis of Endocrine Disrupting Effects from Hydrocarbon Contaminants in the Ecosystem - Final Report - 09/15/1996 - 09/14/2000

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McLachlan, John A.

2000-01-01

The three major components of the research included: (a) a biotechnology based screening system to identify potential hormone mimics and antagonists (b) an animal screening system to identify biomarkers of endocrine effects and (c) a literature review to identify compounds at various DOE sites that are potential endocrine disruptors. Species of particular interest in this study were those that can serve as sentinel species (e.g., amphibians) and thus provide early warning signals for more widespread impacts on an ecosystem and its wildlife and human inhabitants. The objective of this basic research is to characterize the potential of common hydrocarbon contaminants in ecosystems to act as endocrine disruptors. Although the endocrine disrupting effects of contaminants such as dioxin and PCBs have been well characterized in both animals and humans, little is known about the capacities of other hydrocarbon contaminants to act as endocrine disruptors. Results obtained from this research project have provided information on endocrine disrupting contaminants for consideration in DOE's risk analyses for determining clean-up levels and priorities at contaminated DOE sites

Environmental Analysis of Endocrine Disrupting Effects from Hydrocarbon Contaminants in the Ecosystem - Final Report - 09/15/1996 - 09/14/2000

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McLachlan, John A.

2000-09-14

The three major components of the research included: (a) a biotechnology based screening system to identify potential hormone mimics and antagonists (b) an animal screening system to identify biomarkers of endocrine effects and (c) a literature review to identify compounds at various DOE sites that are potential endocrine disruptors. Species of particular interest in this study were those that can serve as sentinel species (e.g., amphibians) and thus provide early warning signals for more widespread impacts on an ecosystem and its wildlife and human inhabitants. The objective of this basic research is to characterize the potential of common hydrocarbon contaminants in ecosystems to act as endocrine disruptors. Although the endocrine disrupting effects of contaminants such as dioxin and PCBs have been well characterized in both animals and humans, little is known about the capacities of other hydrocarbon contaminants to act as endocrine disruptors. Results obtained from this research project have provided information on endocrine disrupting contaminants for consideration in DOE's risk analyses for determining clean-up levels and priorities at contaminated DOE sites.

Active and reactive behaviour in human mobility: the influence of attraction points on pedestrians

Science.gov (United States)

Gutiérrez-Roig, M.; Sagarra, O.; Oltra, A.; Palmer, J. R. B.; Bartumeus, F.; Díaz-Guilera, A.; Perelló, J.

2016-07-01

Human mobility is becoming an accessible field of study, thanks to the progress and availability of tracking technologies as a common feature of smart phones. We describe an example of a scalable experiment exploiting these circumstances at a public, outdoor fair in Barcelona (Spain). Participants were tracked while wandering through an open space with activity stands attracting their attention. We develop a general modelling framework based on Langevin dynamics, which allows us to test the influence of two distinct types of ingredients on mobility: reactive or context-dependent factors, modelled by means of a force field generated by attraction points in a given spatial configuration and active or inherent factors, modelled from intrinsic movement patterns of the subjects. The additive and constructive framework model accounts for some observed features. Starting with the simplest model (purely random walkers) as a reference, we progressively introduce different ingredients such as persistence, memory and perceptual landscape, aiming to untangle active and reactive contributions and quantify their respective relevance. The proposed approach may help in anticipating the spatial distribution of citizens in alternative scenarios and in improving the design of public events based on a facts-based approach.

Active and reactive behaviour in human mobility: the influence of attraction points on pedestrians.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutiérrez-Roig, M; Sagarra, O; Oltra, A; Palmer, J R B; Bartumeus, F; Díaz-Guilera, A; Perelló, J

2016-07-01

Human mobility is becoming an accessible field of study, thanks to the progress and availability of tracking technologies as a common feature of smart phones. We describe an example of a scalable experiment exploiting these circumstances at a public, outdoor fair in Barcelona (Spain). Participants were tracked while wandering through an open space with activity stands attracting their attention. We develop a general modelling framework based on Langevin dynamics, which allows us to test the influence of two distinct types of ingredients on mobility: reactive or context-dependent factors, modelled by means of a force field generated by attraction points in a given spatial configuration and active or inherent factors, modelled from intrinsic movement patterns of the subjects. The additive and constructive framework model accounts for some observed features. Starting with the simplest model (purely random walkers) as a reference, we progressively introduce different ingredients such as persistence, memory and perceptual landscape, aiming to untangle active and reactive contributions and quantify their respective relevance. The proposed approach may help in anticipating the spatial distribution of citizens in alternative scenarios and in improving the design of public events based on a facts-based approach.

Perioperative management of endocrine insufficiency after total pancreatectomy for neoplasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Maker, Ajay V; Sheikh, Raashid; Bhagia, Vinita

2017-09-01

Indications for total pancreatectomy (TP) have increased, including for diffuse main duct intrapapillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas and malignancy; therefore, the need persists for surgeons to develop appropriate endocrine post-operative management strategies. The brittle diabetes after TP differs from type 1/2 diabetes in that patients have absolute deficiency of insulin and functional glucagon. This makes glucose management challenging, complicates recovery, and predisposes to hospital readmissions. This article aims to define the disease, describe the cause for its occurrence, review the anatomy of the endocrine pancreas, and explain how this condition differs from diabetes mellitus in the setting of post-operative management. The morbidity and mortality of post-TP endocrine insufficiency and practical treatment strategies are systematically reviewed from the literature. Finally, an evidence-based treatment algorithm is created for the practicing pancreatic surgeon and their care team of endocrinologists to aid in managing these complex patients. A PubMed, Science Citation Index/Social sciences Citation Index, and Cochrane Evidence-Based Medicine database search was undertaken along with extensive backward search of the references of published articles to identify studies evaluating endocrine morbidity and treatment after TP and to establish an evidence-based treatment strategy. Indications for TP and the etiology of pancreatogenic diabetes are reviewed. After TP, ~80% patients develop hypoglycemic episodes and 40% experience severe hypoglycemia, resulting in 0-8% mortality and 25-45% morbidity. Referral to a nutritionist and endocrinologist for patient education before surgery followed by surgical reevaluation to determine if the patient has the appropriate understanding, support, and resources preoperatively has significantly reduced morbidity and mortality. The use of modern recombinant long-acting insulin analogues, continuous subcutaneous insulin

Endocrine manifestations related to inherited metabolic diseases in adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vantyghem Marie-Christine

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Most inborn errors of metabolism (IEM are recessive, genetically transmitted diseases and are classified into 3 main groups according to their mechanisms: cellular intoxication, energy deficiency, and defects of complex molecules. They can be associated with endocrine manifestations, which may be complications from a previously diagnosed IEM of childhood onset. More rarely, endocrinopathies can signal an IEM in adulthood, which should be suspected when an endocrine disorder is associated with multisystemic involvement (neurological, muscular, hepatic features, etc.. IEM can affect all glands, but diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunction and hypogonadism are the most frequent disorders. A single IEM can present with multiple endocrine dysfunctions, especially those involving energy deficiency (respiratory chain defects, and metal (hemochromatosis and storage disorders (cystinosis. Non-autoimmune diabetes mellitus, thyroid dysfunction and/or goiter and sometimes hypoparathyroidism should steer the diagnosis towards a respiratory chain defect. Hypogonadotropic hypogonadism is frequent in haemochromatosis (often associated with diabetes, whereas primary hypogonadism is reported in Alström disease and cystinosis (both associated with diabetes, the latter also with thyroid dysfunction and galactosemia. Hypogonadism is also frequent in X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (with adrenal failure, congenital disorders of glycosylation, and Fabry and glycogen storage diseases (along with thyroid dysfunction in the first 3 and diabetes in the last. This is a new and growing field and is not yet very well recognized in adulthood despite its consequences on growth, bone metabolism and fertility. For this reason, physicians managing adult patients should be aware of these diagnoses.

GROWTH AND ENDOCRINE FUNCTION IN TUNISIAN THALASSEMIA MAJOR PATIENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naouel GUIRAT

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Beta-thalassemia major (TM is among prevalent hereditary disorders imposing high expenses on health-care system worldwide. The patient’s survival is dependent on lifetime blood transfusion which leads to iron overload and its toxicity on various organs including endocrine glands. This article provides an overview of  endocrine disorders in beta-TM patients. This single center investigation enrolled 28 beta-TM patients (16 males, 12 females  regularly transfused with packed red cell since early years of life. For each patient were determined: age, sex, number of transfusions received, history of splenectomy and anthropometric parameters. Evaluation for hormonal status including growth, gonadal, thyroid, adrenal cortex, and parathyroid glands was done for all patients. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to diagnose osteoporosis. Assessment of iron overload status was performed by measuring the serum ferritin concentration and the results of magnetic resonance imaging T2*. Growth retardation was found in 16 of the 28 studied patients (57 %.Thirteen among them had delayed puberty. Spontaneous puberty was achieved in 16 cases. Growth hormone (GH deficiency was found in 10 cases (35 %. Seventeen among the studied patients (60 % developed disorders of glucose homeostasis. Subclinical hypothyroidism was found in six patients (21 %. Intensive chelation therapy had allowed the reversibility of this complication in five cases. Adrenal Insufficiency was found in 9 cases (32%. Hypoparathyroidism has occurred in one case. Ten of the 28 studied patients had osteoporosis (35%. Twenty-three of the 28 studied patients (82% had at least one endocrine complication.

Alterations in polyadenylation and its implications for endocrine disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anders eRehfeld

2013-05-01

Full Text Available IntroductionPolyadenylation is the process in which the pre-mRNA is cleaved at the poly(A site and a poly(A tail is added - a process necessary for normal mRNA formation. Genes with multiple poly(A sites can undergo alternative polyadenylation, producing distinct mRNA isoforms with different 3’ untranslated regions (3’ UTRs and in some cases different coding regions. Two thirds of all human genes undergo alternative polyadenylation. The efficiency of the polyadenylation process regulates gene expression and alternative polyadenylation plays an important part in post-transcriptional regulation, as the 3’ UTR contains various cis-elements associated with post-transcriptional regulation, such as target sites for microRNAs and RNA-binding proteins.Implications of alterations in polyadenylation for endocrine diseaseAlterations in polyadenylation have been found to be causative of neonatal diabetes and IPEX (immune dysfunction, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked and to be associated with type I and II diabetes, pre-eclampsia, fragile X-associated premature ovarian insufficiency, ectopic Cushing syndrome and many cancer diseases, including several types of endocrine tumor diseases.PerspectivesRecent developments in high-throughput sequencing have made it possible to characterize polyadenylation genome-wide. Antisense elements inhibiting or enhancing specific poly(A site usage can induce desired alterations in polyadenylation, and thus hold the promise of new therapeutic approaches. SummaryThis review gives a detailed description of alterations in polyadenylation in endocrine disease, an overview of the current literature on polyadenylation and summarizes the clinical implications of the current state of research in this field.

[Effects of magnesium valproate on endocrine system and reproductive functions of female epileptics].

Science.gov (United States)

Xiang, Li; Ding, Jun-Qing; Huang, Xi-Shun

2011-08-09

To explore the effects of valproate (VPA) on endocrine system in adolescent and reproductive female patients with epilepsy. A total of 30 adolescent and reproductive female patients with a diagnosis of epilepsy at our hospital during July 2009 to March 2010 were recruited. All cases with magnesium VPA alone were included. The levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), prolactin (PRL), estradiol (E2), progesterone (P) and testosterone (T) were detected respectively at pre-therapy and 3, 6 and 12 months post-therapy. And the changes of menstruation and ovaries were recorded. The serum concentration of PRL was lower at 3 and 6 months post-therapy than that at pre-therapy. There was significant difference (P = 0.010 and 0.014). The serum concentration of E2 significantly decreased after a 3-month therapy of valproate (P endocrine system and hormonal levels, but also induce such endocrine dysfunction syndromes as menstrual suspension and polycystic ovary. It eventually causes polycystic ovary syndrome.

A path forward in the debate over health impacts of endocrine disrupting chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Zoeller, R Thomas; Bergman, Åke; Becher, Georg; Bjerregaard, Poul; Bornman, Riana; Brandt, Ingvar; Iguchi, Taisen; Jobling, Susan; Kidd, Karen A; Kortenkamp, Andreas; Skakkebaek, Niels E; Toppari, Jorma; Vandenberg, Laura N

2014-12-22

Several recent publications reflect debate on the issue of "endocrine disrupting chemicals" (EDCs), indicating that two seemingly mutually exclusive perspectives are being articulated separately and independently. Considering this, a group of scientists with expertise in basic science, medicine and risk assessment reviewed the various aspects of the debate to identify the most significant areas of dispute and to propose a path forward. We identified four areas of debate. The first is about the definitions for terms such as "endocrine disrupting chemical", "adverse effects", and "endocrine system". The second is focused on elements of hormone action including "potency", "endpoints", "timing", "dose" and "thresholds". The third addresses the information needed to establish sufficient evidence of harm. Finally, the fourth focuses on the need to develop and the characteristics of transparent, systematic methods to review the EDC literature. Herein we identify areas of general consensus and propose resolutions for these four areas that would allow the field to move beyond the current and, in our opinion, ineffective debate.

Immune System: An Emerging Player in Mediating Effects of Endocrine Disruptors on Metabolic Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Bansal, Amita; Henao-Mejia, Jorge; Simmons, Rebecca A