Endocrinology News and Research

Latest Endocrinology News and Research

Byproduct of cholesterol interferes with the beneficial effects of estrogen on the heart

A new study possibly offers a biological reason why hormone replacement therapy (HRT) fails to protect some postmenopausal women from heart disease.

17 Sep 2007

Confused about what to eat to remain healthy?...join the club!

It seems you are in good company as many people are unaware how to follow a healthy, balanced diet.

17 Sep 2007

Zebrafish shed light on human mitochondrial diseases

Zebrafish can now be used to study COX deficiencies in humans, a discovery that gives scientists an unprecedented window to view the earliest stages of mitochondrial impairments that lead to potentially fatal metabolic disorders, according to researchers at the University of Oregon.

13 Sep 2007

Metabolic syndrome increases risk of developing kidney stones

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that patients suffering from the metabolic syndrome - a cluster of conditions that increases the risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes - also have a propensity to develop highly acidic urine, which increases the risk of developing kidney stones.

13 Sep 2007

Hispanics' hypertension better controlled with equal access to care

With equal access to medical care and medication, Hispanic men and women have as good or greater chance as non-Hispanics of controlling their high blood pressure, researchers reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

13 Sep 2007

Heart patients be warned! don't skip your medications

Although it might take some effort to find out why some patients skip taking their medicine, a new study finds that heart patients who most frequently miss a dose are more than twice as likely to suffer heart attack, stroke and death.

13 Sep 2007

Women undergoing IVF to donate eggs for stem cell research in return for reduced treatment costs

The Medical Research Council (MRC) is to fund a research proposal from a team at the North East England Stem Cell Institute (NESCI) for a project to find ways of improving the efficiency of therapeutic cloning - a technique which would allow scientists to create patient-specific stem cells and develop regenerative therapies for many debilitating conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease.

13 Sep 2007

New understanding of immune infertility

Most of us have never heard of immune infertility, yet it prevents many prospective parents from conceiving. Immune infertility is one of 80 autoimmune disorders, a group that includes better-known diseases like Multiple Sclerosis and Type 1 Diabetes.

13 Sep 2007

Research identifies how insulin-producing islet cells from pigs may cure diabetes

Within three years, insulin-producing islet cells from pigs may be used in clinical trials on a path to finally cure insulin dependant diabetes.

13 Sep 2007

Pocket guidelines for assessment and management of cardiovascular risk

A new book of pocket-charts that will help health workers to identify people at risk of heart attacks and strokes and save lives by prescribing the most appropriate treatment is published today by the World Health Organization (WHO). The charts can be adapted for use in any setting, in any country, with any patient.

12 Sep 2007

Under-11's not taking enough exercise

Less than three per cent of UK 11-year-olds are taking enough exercise, suggests research published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood.

12 Sep 2007

Researchers question safety of Avandia and it's longterm use

Researchers in the U.S. say the long-term use of a medication used in patients with type 2 Diabetes and people with glucose intolerance, increases the risk for heart failure and heart attacks.

12 Sep 2007

Drug spending caps cause some seniors to quit taking key medicines

Many seniors quit taking drugs for chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure when they exceed their drug plan's yearly spending limits, according to a RAND Corporation study.

12 Sep 2007

Rochester receives $1.2 million to battle rare childhood disease

"For an orphan disease like Batten, which has such a clear-cut course of deterioration and no present cure, this grant is transformative both for these families and for us, as clinicians and researchers."

12 Sep 2007

National effort to preserve, restore fertility in women with cancer

The Oregon National Primate Research Center and the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine have been named to a national team of institutions hoping to preserve or restore fertility in women battling cancer.

12 Sep 2007

New instrumentation to help fight obesity and diabetes

World-first equipment, made exclusively for UQ scientists, will determine how to produce food which is better for us, but still tastes good.

12 Sep 2007

Long-term use of rosiglitazone (Avandia) increases heart attack risk by more than 40 percent

An analysis of four studies involving more than 14,000 patients found that long-term use of the diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) increased the risk of heart attack by 42 percent and doubled the risk of heart failure, according to a new report from researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and colleagues.

12 Sep 2007

Glycemic control medication appears to have favorable effect regarding risk of cardiovascular events

A meta-analysis of previous research suggests that use of pioglitazone, a glycemic control medication for patients with type 2 diabetes, significantly reduces the risk of heart attack, stroke and death, but increases the risk for serious heart failure, according to an article in the September 12 issue of JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association.

12 Sep 2007

GlaxoSmithKline responds to Journal of the American Medical Association articles

GlaxoSmithKline believes that conclusions drawn from the most recent meta-analyses published by Drs. Nissen et. al. and Furberg et. al. in the Journal of the American Medical Association do not confirm a difference in the safety profile of Avandia (rosiglitazone) and Actos (pioglitazone).

12 Sep 2007

Embryonic stem cell strategy advanced with UCSF finding

UCSF scientists are reporting what they say is a significant improvement in the technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to their embryonic state, a process that transforms the cells, in essence, into embryonic stem cells.

12 Sep 2007