ANNUAL REVIEW master Final3a - St Vincent's University Hospital

St. Vincent’s Healthcare Group Limited - Annual Review 2007
Education & Research
E. Ryan, J. Hegarty, C. O’Farrelly. GMCSF may modulate the response to IFN-alpha in Chronic Hepatitis C
Virus (HCV) infection. Keystone Viral Immunity Conference Jan 20-25 2008 – Colorado.
M. O’ Brien, M. Exley, D. O’ Donoghue, J. E. Hegarty, C. O’ Farrelly. Alternative splicing of CD1d in colorectal
cancer: implications for tumour surveillance. Irish Society of Gastroenterology Nov 29, 30 2007 – Clontarf
Castle, Dublin
K.S. Nanda, E. J. Ryan, L. Gallagher, M. Mc Kenna, B. Murray, C. O’ Farrelly, & J. Hegarty. Does chronic
Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) infection contribute to bone disease by disrupting the OPG/RANKL/TRAIL
pathway? Irish Society of Gastroenterology April 19-20 2007 – Killarney, Kerry
Endocrinology & Diabetes Mellitus
Consultants: Professor T.J. McKenna, Dr Malachi McKenna,
Dr Donal O’Shea,
Dr Ronan Canavan
Lecturers: Department of Medicine, U.C.D.: Dr Gianluca Tamagno Dr Deirdre Blake.
Specialist Registrars: Dr Eoin Noctor, Dr Conall Dennedy
Registrars: Dr Tomás Ahern, Dr G Goawetse
Research Registrar: Dr Jean O’Connell, Dr Mohammed Bashir,
Dr Tom Cawood
Endocrine Laboratory, Principal Biochemist: Dr. Tom Smith
Research-Graduate Students:
Lucille Kavanagh
Research Projects
Macroprolactin (Lucille Kavanagh, Prof TJ McKenna and Dr Tom Smith)
Lucille Kavanagh is supported by a grant from the Health Research Board to support her elucidation of the
nature of macroprolactin. Prolactin is a hormone which comes from the pituitary gland. High levels of
prolactin is the underlying cause in approximately 25% of patients who present with failure of ovulation. This
affects approximately 1-2% of all women. Our studies have highlighted the fact that the laboratory finding
of approximately 10-20% of measurements indicating high levels or prolactin may be misleading. This is due
to the presence of macroprolactin. Macroprolactin is a form of prolactin which, although measured in the
assays, is not active in patients. This department has previously published extensively on laboratory
techniques which may eliminate macroprolactin and also on the clinical consequences of failure to undertake
routine screening for macroprolactin. While routine screening is generally undertaken in Ireland as a
consequence of this laboratory’s research and in 80% of laboratories in the United Kingdom and to a lesser
extent in Europe, screening is the exception rather than the rule in the United States. Further publications
from this laboratory in the leading American laboratory and clinical journals is attempting to address this
situation. The renowned Mayo Clinic laboratories have recently announced the provision of a service which
screens for macroprolactin. In launching the service, the Mayo Laboratories Communique cited six scientific
articles, four of which were from this department.
Return to Contents
38