Jeremy Chao
York College
The first of these diseases will be Functional
thyroid disease as it is considered by Christina
Maser et. al 2006 as a "true incidence of
gastrointestinal manifestation of patients with
function abnormalities" (p. 3174).
Gastrointestinal motor dysfunction is said to be
manifested by altered intestinal motility.
The reported frequencies of
gastrointestinal symptoms
in hyperthyroid patients
vary between 30% and
50%.
Hyperthyroidism
experiences
•frequent bowel
movements.
•diarrhea.
•malabsorption with
steatorrhea.
•epigastric pain and
fullness.
•nausea and vomiting.
TESTING FOR FUNCTIONAL THYROID
DISEASE
 Clinical symptoms through Observation
 Drooling,
 Nasal regurgitation
 Weak phonation.
 There is more accuracy in tracking the disease at a molecular level.
 Tracked Changes are noted by
 Changes of the altering hormone receptors
 The dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.
 Myoelectrical enteric activity.
 Changes on the tissue level would require a specialized method of testing.
 The process of electrogastrography is the recording of
electric signals that travel through the stomach muscles
and control muscle contractions.
 This method produces a graph that may determine that
there is normal function happening within the GI Tract
and if otherwise there would several abnormalities that
show within the graph.
 Diagnosis through electrography and its application it is
understood the disease is an overproduction of
polysaccharides to the point of toxicity.
 This according to Maser et. al is responsible for
interstitial edema in the skin, heart muscle, skeletal
muscle, and in the gastric smooth muscles, as this
becomes a predisposition to abnormalities of gastric
myoelectric activity and dysmotility in hypothyroid
patients.
 Another disease of the endocrine system is Cushing’s syndrome.
 Causes the body to produce too much of the hormone cortisol over a
long period of time.
 Cortisol within the body is responsible for maintaining blood pressure,
regulating blood glucose, and reducing inflammation.
 Symptoms include
 Weight gain
 Round face
 Weak muscles.
The syndrome can cause
Heart attack.
Stroke.
Blood clots in the legs and lungs.
Bone loss and fractures.
High blood pressure.
 Diagnosis is based on your medical history, a physical exam,
and lab tests.
 Doctors run a follow-up test to find out if excess cortisol is
caused by Cushing’s syndrome or has a different cause.
 No one test is perfect, so doctors usually do two of the
following tests to confirm a diagnosis.
 This includes a 24-hour urinary free-cortisol test where in
this test, you will collect your urine over a 24-hour period
and your health care professional will send your urine
sample to a lab to test cortisol levels.
 Higher than normal cortisol levels suggest Cushing’s
syndrome.

Further testing includes late night salivary cortisol test where the test
measures the amount of cortisol in your saliva in the late evening.
 Normally, cortisol production drops just after we fall asleep.


According to the NIH additional testing includes “low-dose dexamethasone
suppression test (LDDST)
 Individuals take a low dose of dexamethasone, a type of glucocorticoid,
usually around 11:00 p.m.


In Cushing’s syndrome, cortisol levels don’t drop.
A health care professional will draw blood the following morning,
usually around 8 a.m.
Sometimes doctors use another type of LDDST test, in which you take
dexamethasone every 6 hours for 48 hours.
 The blood is drawn 6 hours after the last dose.

Normally, cortisol levels in the blood drop after taking dexamethasone.

Cortisol levels that don’t drop suggest Cushing’s syndrome.” (p.2).
Additional test include imaging test that range from CT scans and MRI’s
which may indicate tumors that may occur with Cushing’s syndrome.
ISLET CELL TUMORS OF THE PANCREAS
DEVELOPMENT OF MASSES IN GI TRACT
Islet cell tumors of the pancreas
though rare can be of the most
dangerous diseases and mass
developments within the body.
They show signs of malignancy,
and their presentation shows
respect to both patterns of
inheritance and functionality.
Clinical physical finding of patients with
endocrine tumors include complaints of
•abdominal pain.
•nausea.
•debilitating diarrhea.
That weakness is alarming, but
the physical diagnosis should not
be the sole precursor for
determining a disease of this this
extent.
Once a definitive diagnosis is made based on
serum markers, localization often necessitates
multiple imaging modalities.
Ultrasound is often the first test utilized, but
has low sensitivity, up to 31%.
Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) technologies have
improved sensitivity for small lesions, up to
40%-70%.
In cases where conventional imaging fails to
adequately localize the lesion, invasive
testing, such as intra-arterial stimulation and
venous sampling, provides additional data.
A Southern blot is a
method used in
molecular biology for
detection of a specific
DNA sequence in DNA
samples.
Southern
blotting combines
transfer of
electrophoresisseparated DNA
fragments to a filter
membrane and
subsequent fragment
detection by probe
hybridization.
Electrophoresis is the separation
of charged molecules.
This allows for the
determination of disease
and normality based on
gene sequence.
The technique is used for
a number of widespread
diseases.
 This goes to show the necessity in
testing for endocrine disorders at a
genetic level with the use of
technology which goes beyond
clinical observational diagnosis.
 The root of endocrine disorders
needs to be found through various
methods of testing.
 Include print and electronic sources in alphabetical order Cushing's Syndrome.
(2018, May 01). Retrieved from https://www.niddk.nih.gov/healthinformation/endocrine-diseases/cushings-syndrome
 Hollander, D. (1997). Environmental Effects on Reproductive Health: The Endocrine
Disruption Hypothesis. Family Planning Perspectives, 29(2), 82-89.
doi:10.2307/2953367
 Maser, C., Toset, A., & Roman, S. (2014). Gastrointestinal manifestations of
endocrine disease. World journal of gastroenterology, 12(20), 3174–3179.
doi:10.3748/wjg.v12.i20.3174
 Riddell, Robert, and Dhanpat Jain. Gastrointestinal Pathology and Its Clinical
Implications, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central.