Sidonia and Nicu de Barcsy:a famous mother with post-partum hirsutism after giving birth to a famous son with idiopathic short stature

At the end of the 19th century, an 18-year-old lady gave birth to a well-proportioned, though very small, son. After delivery, the mother developed a full-grown beard, whereas the son always remained of small stature. The mother developed diabetes mellitus and died, aged 59, from a complicated severe cold. The son died at the age of 91 because of chronic kidney disease. The differential diagnosis in the son is isolated growth hormone deficiency. The mother might have suffered luteoma of pregnancy, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), or Sertoli–Leydig cell tumor(s). The two cases are apparently coincidental/not related in pathophysiology. Learning points • Hirsutism occurring directly postpartum can have several causes. • Patients with isolated growth hormone deficiency can live a long life without the substitution of growth hormone. • Coincidence does not necessarily imply correlation. • In the past, patients with endocrine disorders like severe hirsutism or small stature were employed at circuses and fairs to entertain the audience as curiosities.</p

Enterohepatic circulation of triiodothyronine

The major factor regulating thyroid function is thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), a glycoprotein released by the thyrotropic cells of the pituitary gland. Determinants of the TSH secretion rate are inhibition by thyroxine (T 4), 3, 3', 5-triiodothyronine (T3), dopamine, glucocorticoids and somatostatin, and stimulation by TSH-releasing hormone (TRH), (nor)adrenaline and perhaps neurotensin [156]. In the control of thyroid hormone bioavailability, an important role is also played by iodothyronine transport into cells, enzymatic deiodination and conjugation. Several groups have studied the enterohepatic metabolic pathways of iodothyronines. It has been generally accepted that these pathways have no more than a passive function in the elimination of the hormone. However, if enterohepatic circulation (EHC) of iodothyronines occurs, the intestinal tract may constitute an important pool of exchangeable hormone. Until recently, only few and inconclusive data existed concerning this EHC. In our studies we have attempted to document the possible existence of an EHC of thyroid hormone and the role it may play in regulating overall hormone metabolism and excretion in the rat. Especially, we wanted to assess the importance of the intestinal microflora for this process. We have studied the biliary clearance of T3 and its conjugates, the hydrolysis of iodothyronine conjugates by intestinal bacteria and intestinal contents, and the metabolism of T3 and its conjugates in conventional (CV) and intestine-decontaminated (ID) rats. It is the purpose of this thesis to discuss the role of the EHC of iodothyronines in thyroid hormone metabolism, with special emphasis on the results of my own studies of this subject, described in detail in the appendix papers

Van Docter Bernardo naar Endocriene Weesaandoeningen

Rede, uitgesproken ter gelegenheid van het aanvaarden van het ambt van bijzonder hoogleraar met als leeropdracht Endocriene oncologie aan het Erasmus MC, faculteit van de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam op 24 november 201

One hundred years after the discovery of insulin and glucagon:the history of tumors and hyperplasias that hypersecrete these hormones

One century ago, in 1922, Frederick G Banting, Charles H Best, James B Collip and John J R Macleod first published their experiments resulting in the isolation of a hypoglycemic factor, named insulin, from a solution extract from a dog’s pancreas. One year later, in 1923, a hyperglycemic factor named glucagon was isolated by Charles P Kimball and John R Murlin. In the following years, it could be demonstrated that pancreatic islet alpha- and beta-cell neoplasms and hyperplasias could inappropriately secrete excessive amounts of these two hormones. This review is a sequel to the discovery of insulin and glucagon and introduces the history of this fascinating group of neuroendocrine neoplasms and hyperplasias of the pancreas.</p

Adaptive Choice of Reproductive Microhabitat and Its Potential for Sexual Conflict in Túngara Frogs

Reproductive habitat selection—deciding where to mate and where to raise offspring—is a critical component of successful reproduction. Parents selecting sites to signal to or search for mates may, e.g., experience strong predation pressure, whereas their offspring may have to compete for food. Here we assessed how the presence of vegetation cover affects site selection for signaling and oviposition by Túngara Frogs (Engystomops pustulosus) and how this choice influences reproductive output in terms of tadpole survival and growth. We found males to call more often from artificial puddles covered with vegetation compared to open puddles in a large-scale field experiment. A follow-up mesocosm experiment revealed the pattern observed in the field to be the result of an active choice and not caused by selective predation. We found that the presence of foam nests was not related to vegetation cover, suggesting that some females actively move away from male call sites. Finally, we found tadpoles to grow heavier in vegetated compared to open puddles in a small-scale experiment. Our data show that male frogs prefer to display from vegetated sites, most likely to reduce risk of predation by eavesdropping predators, such as frog-eating bats. Alternatively, males prefer to call from vegetated sites to improve their offspring development and survival, although choice of breeding site appears to be largely under control of females. Call site choice thus appears to provide some adaptive benefits to males in terms of survival, whereas oviposition choice does not provide females with better developmental conditions for their offspring. Active avoidance of sites with calling males may, however, reduce tadpole competition, but future studies should reveal to what extend puddle quality is weighted against competition in female breeding choices. Our findings reveal that breeding site choice differs across the important life-history stages of mating and oviposition, and we argue that this can have important consequences for any conflict between the sexes.</p

On the Putative Detection of z>0 X-ray Absorption Features in the Spectrum of Markarian 421

In a series of papers, Nicastro et al. have reported the detection of z>0 OVII absorption features in the spectrum of Mrk421 obtained with the Chandra Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrometer (LETGS). We evaluate this result in the context of a high quality spectrum of the same source obtained with the Reflection Grating Spectrometer (RGS) on XMM-Newton. The data comprise over 955ks of usable exposure time and more than 26000 counts per 50 milliAngstrom at 21.6 Angstroms. We concentrate on the spectrally clean region (21.3 < lambda < 22.5 Angstroms) where sharp features due to the astrophysically abundant OVII may reveal an intervening, warm--hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). We do not confirm detection of any of the intervening systems claimed to date. Rather, we detect only three unsurprising, astrophysically expected features down to the Log(N_i)~14.6 (3 sigma) sensitivity level. Each of the two purported WHIM features is rejected with a statistical confidence that exceeds that reported for its initial detection. While we can not rule out the existence of fainter, WHIM related features in these spectra, we suggest that previous discovery claims were premature. A more recent paper by Williams et al. claims to have demonstrated that the RGS data we analyze here do not have the resolution or statistical quality required to confirm or deny the LETGS detections. We show that our careful analysis resolves the issues encountered by Williams et al. and recovers the full resolution and statistical quality of the RGS data. We highlight the differences between our analysis and those published by Williams et al. as this may explain our disparate conclusions.Comment: 19 pages/7 figures/4 tables. 060424 submitted to ApJ 060522 re-submitted following ApJ reques