Recurrent severe hyperandrogenism during pregnancy: a case report.

This report describes the case of a 28 year old woman with virilisation occurring in two successive pregnancies. Recurrent maternal virilisation is rare (seven previous reports) and this case is unique in its severity. Differential diagnoses include ovarian disease and fetal aromatase deficiency.

Effects of transvenous pacing on cardiac troponin release.

Cardiac troponins are invaluable tools for the detection of minimal myocardial injury. No study to date has analyzed the effect of permanent cardiac pacing on minimal myocardial injury detection by cardiac troponin I (cTnI) measurement. We investigated 76 clinically stable patients (mean age 75 years, range 31-93 years, 59% men) listed for elective endocardial permanent pacemaker insertion.

Thyroid and sympathetic influences on plasma leptin in hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism.

Objectives: To determine the dependence of plasma leptin concentrations upon circulating noradrenaline (NA) and thyroid hormones (TH) in humans.

Design: Cross-sectional study in 40 newly diagnosed untreated patients with primary thyroid disease, and 69 lean and obese euthyroid control subjects.

Measurements: Plasma leptin, NA, free T3 (fT3) and TSH in the fasting state.

ACTH and cortisol release following intravenous desmopressin: a dose-response study.

Objective: Desmopressin (DDAVP) is a synthetic analogue of AVP, the companion regulator of corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) in the control of ACTH synthesis and release from the pituitary corticotrophs. The body of evidence from human studies suggests that DDAVP alone, unlike AVP, does not bring about ACTH release, although recent evidence suggests idiosyncracies of response in healthy subjects. We examined whether DDAVP exerted any consistent effect on ACTH and cortisol release, and also if this occurred in a dose-dependant manner.

The effect of naloxone on adrenocorticotropin and cortisol release: evidence for a reduced response in depression.

Background: Endogenous opioid peptides inhibit the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis by influencing the release of hypothalamic corticotropin releasing factors. This study examines whether increased activity of the HPA axis in major depression is associated with reduced opioid tone.

Methods: We measured the adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) and cortisol responses to an intravenous bolus of naloxone 0.