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Featured researches published by Eleni Kousta.


Clinical Endocrinology | 2000

The prevalence of polycystic ovaries in women with a history of gestational diabetes

Eleni Kousta; Ester Cela; Natasha J. Lawrence; Anna Penny; Barbara A. Millauer; Davinia White; Helen Wilson; Stephen Robinson; Desmond G. Johnston; Mark McCarthy; Stephen Franks

Women with a history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) both demonstrate abnormalities in insulin action and secretion, and both are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. To determine whether these similarities reflect a common pathophysiological basis, we examined the prevalence of ultrasound‐based polycystic ovarian morphology in a large multiethnic group of women with a history of GDM and a group of women who had normal glucose tolerance during pregnancy.


Clinical Endocrinology | 2003

Insulin resistance and beta-cell dysfunction in normoglycaemic European women with a history of gestational diabetes.

Eleni Kousta; Natasha J. Lawrence; Ian F. Godsland; Anna Penny; Victor Anyaoku; Barbara A. Millauer; Ester Cela; Desmond G. Johnston; Stephen Robinson; Mark I. McCarthy

objective Women with previous gestational diabetes (GDM) are at increased risk of subsequent type 2 diabetes. To characterize early metabolic abnormalities associated with this increased risk, we studied normoglycaemic women with a history of GDM.


Diabetologia | 2006

The impact of ethnicity on glucose regulation and the metabolic syndrome following gestational diabetes.

Eleni Kousta; Z. Efstathiadou; Natasha J. Lawrence; J. A. R. Jeffs; Ian F. Godsland; S. C. Barrett; C. J. Doré; Anna Penny; Victor Anyaoku; Barbara A. Millauer; E. Cela; Stephen Robinson; Mark I. McCarthy; Desmond G. Johnston

Aims/hypothesisWe assessed the impact of ethnic origin on metabolism in women following gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).Materials and methodsGlucose regulation and other features of the metabolic syndrome were studied at 20.0 (18.2–22.1) months (geometric mean [95% CI]) post-partum in women with previous GDM (185 European, 103 Asian-Indian, 80 African-Caribbean). They were compared with the same features in 482 normal control subjects who had normal glucose regulation during and following pregnancy.ResultsImpaired glucose regulation or diabetes by WHO criteria were present in 37% of women with previous GDM (diabetes in 17%), especially in those of African-Caribbean and Asian-Indian origin (50 and 44%, respectively vs 28% in European, p=0.009). BMI, waist circumference, diastolic blood pressure, fasting triglyceride and insulin levels, and insulin resistance by homeostatic model assessment (HOMA), were increased following GDM (p<0.001 for all, vs control subjects). Where glucose regulation was normal following GDM, basal insulin secretion (by HOMA) was high (p<0.001 vs control subjects). Irrespective of glucose regulation in pregnancy, Asian-Indian origin was associated with high triglyceride and low HDL cholesterol levels, and African-Caribbean with increased waist circumference, blood pressure, and insulin levels, together with insulin resistance and low triglyceride concentrations. Nonetheless, the GDM-associated features were consistent within each ethnic group. The metabolic syndrome by International Diabetes Federation criteria was present in 37% of women with previous GDM, especially in non-Europeans (Asian-Indian 49%, African-Caribbean 43%, European 28%, p=0.001), and in 10% of controls.Conclusions/interpretationFollowing GDM, abnormal glucose regulation and the metabolic syndrome are common, especially in non-European women, indicating a need for diabetes and cardiovascular disease prevention strategies.


Diabetic Medicine | 2000

Women with a history of gestational diabetes of European and South Asian origin are shorter than women with normal glucose tolerance in pregnancy

Eleni Kousta; Natasha J. Lawrence; A. Penny; B. A. Millauer; Stephen Robinson; Desmond G. Johnston; Mark I. McCarthy

SUMMARY


British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology | 2001

Prevalence and features of pancreatic islet cell autoimmunity in women with gestational diabetes from different ethnic groups

Eleni Kousta; N.J. Lawrence; V. Anyaoku; Desmond G. Johnston; Mark I. McCarthy

Objective To assess the prevalence and characteristics of islet cell autoimmunity amongst women with gestational diabetes selected from South Asian and Afro‐Caribbean as well as European populations.


Clinical Endocrinology | 1998

The circadian rhythm of leptin is preserved in growth hormone deficient hypopituitary adults

Eleni Kousta; Alexandra Chrisoulidou; Natasha J. Lawrence; Kamal A. S. Al-Shoumer; Kim H. Parker; Mark I. McCarthy; Desmond G. Johnston

Leptin acts as a satiety factor in regulating food intake and body homeostasis, but its regulation is not well defined. Specific leptin receptors have been found in the brain and it has been hypothesized that leptin production by adipose tissue is under neuroendocrine control. A circadian rhythm has been demonstrated with highest leptin levels between midnight and early morning hours. The possibility that hypopituitarism (or pituitary surgery ± radiotherapy) abolishes this leptin rhythm was investigated by measuring serum leptin levels during a 24‐h period in patients with impaired pituitary function.


Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism | 2009

Pleiotropic Genetic Syndromes with Developmental Abnormalities Associated with Obesity

Eleni Kousta; Charalambos Hadjiathanasiou; George Tolis; Asteroula Papathanasiou

Childhood obesity is a common and complex problem that may persist in adulthood. It may present as a component of genetic syndromes associated with dysmorphic features, developmental abnormalities, mental retardation and/or learning disabilities and often neuroendocrine dysfunction. Although the chromosomal abnormalities of these rare syndromes are already known, the specific genetic and pathophysiological mechanisms leading to the distinct phenotypes and obesity still remain unclarified. New exciting genetic pathways contributing to syndrome phenotype and leading to obesity have recently been identified. Prader-Willi syndrome is caused by loss of expression of the C/D box HBII-84 cluster of snoRNAs. Dysfunction of the primary cilium, thought to have important signalling functions, may contribute to disease phenotype and obesity in Bardet-Biedl, Alstrom and Carpenter syndromes. In this mini-review current knowledge of clinical and genetic characteristics is summarized as well as the pathogenesis of these syndromes with special emphasis on the pathogenesis of obesity.


Diabetes | 1998

Prohormone Convertase 1 in Obesity, Gestational Diabetes Mellitus, and NIDDM: No Evidence for a Major Susceptibility Role

Kamini Kalidas; Eleanor Dow; P. J. Saker; Nicholas J. Wareham; David J. Halsall; Robert S. Jackson; Siew-Pheng Chan; S. V. Gelding; M. Walker; Eleni Kousta; Desmond G. Johnston; Stephen O'Rahilly; Mark McCarthy

Improved understanding of the primary molecular events underlying NIDDM and obesity is essential if more effective therapies are to be devised. Individual susceptibility to these interrelated conditions is under genetic influence (1), and clues to the identity of the major aetiological genes may come from physiological studies that pinpoint candidate pathways. A characteristic feature of NIDDM and certain prediabetic states, such as gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), is a marked increase in the proportion of circulating insulin precursor molecules (proinsulin and split proinsulin intermediates) (2,3). Release of disproportionate amounts of these biologically inactive precursors may contribute to the relative insulin deficiency apparent in GDM and NIDDM (2). The processing of proinsulin to mature insulin is catalyzed by prohormone convertase (PC) enzymes active in (3-cell granules. PCI (also named PC3) cleaves intact proinsulin to produce 32,33 split proinsulin. PC2 and carboxypeptidase E (CPE) catalyze subsequent reactions (4). Functional defects in any of these candidate genes could contribute to the NIDDM phenotype. Furthermore, recent studies indicate a role for these loci in the determination of obesity. Mutations in the Cpe gene resulting in absent enzyme activity in islets and pituitary underlie the phenotype of the fat/fat mouse (5). More recently, Jackson et al. (6) reported on a family segregating two distinctPCi mutations. The mother was a compound heterozygote who had presented with childhood obesity, GDM, and a variety of


Clinical Endocrinology | 2002

Elevation of soluble E-selectin levels following gestational diabetes is restricted to women with persistent abnormalities of glucose regulation

Natasha J. Lawrence; Eleni Kousta; Anna Penny; Barbara Millauer; Stephen Robinson; Desmond G. Johnston; Mark I. McCarthy

objective Increased levels of the soluble adhesion molecule sE‐selectin have been reported in normoglycaemic women with previous gestational diabetes but not in other groups at increased risk of future type 2 diabetes. To explore the basis for these discrepant findings, we studied the relationship between sE‐selectin and glucose regulation in a large group of women with previous gestational diabetes.


Lipids in Health and Disease | 2013

Ethnic variation in the activity of lipid desaturases and their relationships with cardiovascular risk factors in control women and an at-risk group with previous gestational diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study

Robert Gray; Eleni Kousta; Mark I. McCarthy; Ian F. Godsland; Soundarajan Venkatesan; V. Anyaoku; Desmond G. Johnston

BackgroundLipid desaturase enzymes mediate the metabolism of fatty acids to long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and their activities are related to metabolic risk factors for Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and coronary heart disease (CHD). There are marked ethnic differences in risks of CHD and T2DM but little is known about ethnic differences in desaturase activities.MethodsSamples from a study of CVD risk in women with previous gestational diabetes were analysed for percentage fatty acids in plasma free fatty acid, triglyceride, cholesterol ester and phospholipid pools for 89 white European, 53 African Caribbean and 56 Asian Indian women. The fatty acid desaturase activities, stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD, calculated separately for C16 and C18 fatty acids), delta 6 desaturase (D6D) and delta 5 desaturase (D5D) were estimated from precursor-to-product ratios and their relationships with adiposity, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol and insulin sensitivity explored. Ethnic differences in desaturase activities independent of ethnic variation in risk factor correlates of desaturase activities were then identified.ResultsThere was significant ethnic variation in age, BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, serum triglycerides and HDL cholesterol concentrations and insulin resistance. Desaturase activities showed significant correlations, independent of ethnicity, with BMI, waist circumference, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol. Independent of ethnic variation in BMI, waist circumference, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol, SCD-16 activity, calculated from each of the four lipid pools measured, was 18–35 percent higher in white Europeans than in African Caribbeans or Asian Indians (all p < 0.001). Similar, though less consistent differences were apparent for SCD-18 activity. Also independently of risk factor variation, but specifically when calculated from the cholesterol ester and phospholipid, pools, D6D activity was significantly lower in Asian Indians, and D5D activity higher in African Caribbeans.ConclusionsSignificant ethnic differences exist in desaturase activities, independently of ethnic variation in other risk factors. These characteristics did not accord with higher risk of T2DM among African Caribbeans and Asian Indians nor with lower risk of CHD among African Caribbeans but did accord with the higher risk of CHD in Asian Indians.

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