Endocrinology Flashcards
What’s the difference between endocrine and exocrine?
endocrine- glands pour secretions into bloodstream
exocrine- glands pour secretions though a duct to site of action
What happens to TSH if you remove the thyroid/ thyroid is under active?
TSH will increase/ be elevated
What happens to TSH if you have an overactive thyroid?
TSH decreased
What happens to FSH and LH after menopause?
increases
What are the diseases of the pituitary?
benign pituitary adenoma
craniopharygioma
trauma
apoplexy/ sheehans (bleeding)
sarcoid/ TB
How big is the pituitary?
1cm in diameter
How do pituitary tumours present?
- PRESSIRE OF LOCAL STRUCTURE
bitemporal hemianopia (double vision)
headache
CSF leakage - PRESSURE ON NORMAL PITUITARY
hypopituitarism - FUNCTIONING TUMOUR
prolactinoma
acromegaly and gigantism
Cushing’s disease
What is Cushing’s disease?
too much cortisol
What is acromegaly?
too much growth hormone
How do you tell the difference between CSF leakage from nose and snot?
CSF has glucose in it
How does somebody with a hypopituitary present?
pale
no body hair
central obesity
What happens if you have excess GH as a child? Why only in a child?
gigantism
tumour on pituitary presses on it and causes hypothyroidism meaning that the child won’t go through puberty (no testosterone secretion, etc)
How does acromegaly present?
big hands
big jaw
excess sweating
big heart
What is galactorrhea?
a milky nipple discharge unrelated to the normal milk production of breast-feeding
Can both men and women get prolactinomas?
Yes
Symptoms of prolactinomas?
galactorrhea
infertility
loss of libido
visual field defect
How quickly does acromegaly progress?
slow onset
Symptoms of Cushing’s?
main symptoms is weight gain, ulcers, stretch marks, easy bruising
What does an orchidometer measure?
testicular volume in mL
What is normal pre-pubertal testicular volume?
1-3 mL
What is normal testicular volume for an adult male?
15-25mL
What is thelarche?
breast development signalling first visible change of puberty
What induces thelarche?
oestrogen
How long do thelarche last?
3 years approx
What are you looking for on a pelvic ultrasound?
check for mullerian structures
morphology of uterus
morphology of ovaries
What are mullerian structures?
structures found in the female fetus that eventually develop into a woman’s reproductive organs
What causes growth of pubic and axillary hair in girls?
adrenal androgens and ovarian androgens
What is adrenarche?
maturation of adrenal glands, zona reticularis is formed
What happens if adrenarche happens in children?
mild advanced bone age
axillary hair
oily skin
mild acne
body odour
Which children most commonly experience adrenarche?
obese children
What is the name for early puberty?
precocious puberty
What are the types of precocious puberty?
true precocious puberty
precocious pseudopuberty
What is the gender distribution of true precocious puberty?
90% female
10% male
Why is it alarming if a male child has true precocious puberty?
he is likely to have a brain tumour
How do you differentiate between diagnosis of true precocious puberty and precocious pseudopuberty?
GnRH (LHRH) test
inject GnRH
If amount of of FSH and LH rises - true precocious puberty
If amount of TSH and LH stays the same - precocious pseudopuberty
What is the treatment for precocious puberty?
GnRH superagonist to suppress pulsatility of GnRH secretion
In what percentage of children does delayed puberty occur?
3% of children
What are the effects of delayed puberty?
psychological problems
defects in reproduction
reduced peak bone mass
delay in acquisition of sex characteristics
What’s the average size for an adult penis?
12-14cm
What is CDGP?
constitutional delay of growth and puberty
What is the most common cause of delayed puberty?
CDGP
What are the hormones of the anterior pituitary?
adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH)
thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)
luteinising hormone (LH)
follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH)
prolactin (PRL)
growth hormone (GH)
melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH)
What are the hormones of the posterior pituitary?
anti-diuretic hormones (ADH)
oxytocin
What are the possible co-morbidities associated with acromegaly?
arthritis
headache
arthritis
insulin-resistant diabetes
sleep apnoea
hypertension
heart disease
How does acromegaly affect life expectancy?
reduces average life expectancy by approx 10 years
What is the difference in the way water-soluble and fat-soluble hormones interact with the cell?
water-soluble hormones bind to a surface receptor, fat-soluble hormones diffuse into the cell
Whats the difference in half-life of water-soluble and fat soluble hormones?
water-soluble: short half life
fat-soluble: long half life
Whats the difference in transport of water-soluble and fat soluble hormones?
water-soluble: unbound
fat-soluble: protein bound
Whats the difference in clearance of water-soluble and fat soluble hormones?
water-soluble: fast
fat-soluble: slow
What is the difference in the water peptides/ monoamine hormones are stored vs steroids?
peptides/ monoamines- stored in vesicles
steroids- synthesised on demand
What is paracrine?
cellular secretions/ signals that act on adjacent cells
What is autocrine?
cellular signals/ secretions that feedback on the same cell that created the hormones
How big are peptide hormones?
variable- 3 to 180 amino acids
What type of hormone is insulin?
peptide
How does insulin exert its effect?
- insulin binds to receptor
- causes phosphorylation of intracellular tyrosine residues associated with the receptor
- this offsets the tyrosine kinase signal transduction pathway inside cell
- leads to decreased plasma glucose
By what mechanisms does the action of insulin decrease blood glucose?
- translocation of glut-4 transporter to plasma membrane and influx of glucose
- glycogen synthesis in the liver
-glycolysis - fatty acid synthesis in liver and adipose tissue
What are catecholamines?
type of neurohormone
What are the catecholamines and where are they secreted from?
adrenaline and noradrenaline: adrenal medulla
dopamine: hypothalamus
What are the catecholamines and where are they secreted from?
adrenaline and noradrenaline: adrenal medulla
dopamine: hypothalamus
What receptors do adrenaline and noradrenaline act upon?
adrenoreceptors
What are the two lodothyronines?
tyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3)
What are the two lodothyronines?
tyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3)
Where is T4 produced?
thyroid gland
Where is T3 produced?
20% of T3 in circulation is secreted directly by thyroid gland, other 80% is T4 that has been converted to T3 after it leaves the thyroid gland
What enzyme converts T4 to T3?
iodothyronine deiodinase
What are the two classes of steroid hormones?
corticosteroids
sex (gonadal) steroids
What are the classes of corticosteroids?
glucocorticoids
mineralocorticoids
What are the classes of sex steroid?
androgens
oestrogens
progestogens
What are steroid hormones derived from?
cholesterol
How is cholesterol converted to each steroid hormone?
- cholesterol converted to pregnenolone
- pregnenolone converted to progesterone
- progesterone converted to cortisol in the adrenal glands
- progesterone converted to androstenedione then to testosterone in the ovaries or testes
- testosterone converted to estradiol in the ovaries
How are steroid hormones transported around the body?
vitamine D binding protein
Where is glucose stored?
liver
What do muscles use for fuel?
free fatty acids
What happens if glucose gets too high?
- inhibition of glucagon secretion
- stimulation of insulin release
Where is insulin and glucagon secreted?
islets of langerhans in the pancreas
insulin- beta cells
glucagon- alpha cells
Why is it getting more difficult to differentiate between T1 and T2 diabetes?
Because of increased levels of obesity, T2DM is being diagnosed in younger patients including children
What are microvascular complications of T1DM?
In UK, 30% of T1DM patients will develop diabetic nephropathy
Nephropathy tends to lead to retinopathy and severe neuropathy which massively affects quality of life
What is nephropathy?
deterioration of kidney function
can end up in kidney failure (end stage renal disease)
Define type 1 diabetes mellitus
autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells leading to complete insulin deficiency
When do T1DM usually present?
age 5-15
What percentage of diabetes is T1DM?
10%
What is glycosuria?
sugar in the urine
What are the risk factors for T1DM?
Northern European
Autoimmune disease
Family History
What are the signs and symptoms of T1DM?
- “classic triad”: polydipsia, polyruria, weightloss (BMI < 25)
- short history of severe symptoms
- possibly presents with ketosis
What is the name for extreme thirstiness?
polydipsia
What is the name for frequent urination?
polyuria
How is T1DM diagnosed?
Either:
- fasting glucose >= 7.0 mmol/L
- random glucose >= 11.0 mmol/L
- HbA1c >= 6.5% (48 mmol/mol)
What is important to remember about diagnosing diabetes using HbA1c?
a value less that 6.5% DOES NOT exclude diabetes as this test is not as sensitive as fasting samples in detecting diabetes
What is the treatment for T1DM?
insulin, short or long acting
How long does short and long acting insulin work for?
short: 4-6 hrs
long: 12-24 hrs
Which antibodies can you check for in T1DM?
Anti GAD
pancreatic islet cell Ab
islet antigen-2 Ab
ZnT8
Why does T2DM occur?
patients gradually become insulin resistant AND/OR beta cells fail to secrete enough insulin
non-insulin dependent and progresses from impaired glucose tolerance
What causes T2DM?
- reduced insulin secretion/ increased insulin resistance
- gestational diabetes
- steroids
- Cushing’s
- chronic pancreatitis
What are the risk factors of T2DM?
- lifestyle: obesity, inactivity, calorie and alcohol excess
- higher prevalence in asian men
- > 40yrs age
- hypertension
What are the signs and symptoms of T2DM?
polydipsia
polyuria
glycosuria
central obesity
slower onset
blurred vision
What are the investigations for T2DM?
Exactly the same as type 1:
Either:
- fasting glucose >= 7.0 mmol/L
- random glucose >= 11.0 mmol/L
- HbA1c >= 6.5% (48 mmol/mol)
Describe first line management of T2DM
1st line- lifestyle changes
- dietary advice (high complex carbs, low fat)
- smoking cessation
- decrease alcohol intake
- encourage exercise
- regular blood glucose and HbA1c monitoring
Describe second line management of T2DM
2nd line- medication
- METFORMIN (e.g. biguanide)
- If HbA1c remains high then DUAL THERAPY with metformin:
- DPP4 inhibitor
- Sulphonylurea (e.g. gliclazide)
- pioglitazone - If still high = TRIPLE THERAPY with metformin
- Insulin
How does metformin work and what type of patients suit it best?
increases sensitivity to insulin, decreases hepatic gluconeogenesis
first choice in overweight patients as it can cause a slight weight decrease
How does sulphonylurea treat T2DM?
increases insulin secretion
What are the notable side effects of metformin?
gastrointestinal upset
lactic acidosis
Why is sulphonylurea becoming less popular as a 2nd line treatment for T2DM?
causes weight gain
What are the notable side effects of sulphonylurea?
hypoglycaemia
weight gain
hyponatraemia