Endocrinology News and Research

Latest Endocrinology News and Research

UIC surgeons first to use robot for living-donor kidney-pancreas transplant

Surgeons at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago are the first in the world to use robotic surgery to successfully remove a kidney and pancreas from a living-donor as part of a successful transplantation.

19 Jan 2006

New findings about messenger molecule raise hopes for new drug

Uppsala University scientists have developed a new method for measuring the concentration of the messenger substance for cells, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), in individual living cells.

18 Jan 2006

Increased attention should be paid to incontinence

It's a topic that is discussed so infrequently - for reasons that are easy to understand - that it may seem it isn't much of a problem. But new research shows that fecal incontinence is prevalent among U.S. women, especially those in older age groups

18 Jan 2006

Growth hormone helps children with sleep apnea

Growth hormone helps hundreds of children with a rare disorder that causes them to gorge on food, but for some, starting treatment can worsen a dangerous nighttime breathing problem, University of Florida researchers have found.

18 Jan 2006

Uptake of obesity surgery devices to rise as obese population increases

Today, obesity is considered a disease of epidemic proportions. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that obesity has risen by nearly 10-40 per cent in most European countries over the past decade.

18 Jan 2006

Anti-Obesity diet drug from cannabis works!

For those whose New Year's resolution was to yet again try to lose those extra kilos help may be at hand in the form of a new wonder drug derived from cannabis.

17 Jan 2006

Molecular disruption of hypothalamic nutrient sensing induces obesity

In their latest finding on the brain's role in controlling appetite and weight, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have shown that reducing levels of fatty acids in the hypothalamus causes rats to overeat and become obese. Their results suggest that restoring fatty-acid levels in the brain may be a promising way to treat obesity.

16 Jan 2006

Diabetes gene found in 40% of population

Researchers in Iceland say they have identified a single genetic change which could predispose close to 40 percent of the population to type-2 diabetes.

16 Jan 2006

Hedgehog protein plays a role in regulating fat and bone

A protein that guides the early development of creatures as diverse as fruit flies and humans also plays a role in regulating fat and bone formation in adult organisms, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered.

10 Jan 2006

Obesity in middle age raises heart disease and diabetes risk

Obesity in middle age - even without established cardiovascular disease risk factors such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol levels - greatly increases risk of hospitalization for and death from heart disease and diabetes in older age, according to a study in the Jan. 11 issue of the JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association.

10 Jan 2006

Brain plays a major role in the ability of insulin therapy to lower blood sugar in animals with diabetes

"Our findings suggest that, in individuals with diabetes, the ability of insulin to lower blood sugar involves the brain," said senior author of the study, Michael Schwartz of the University of Washington at Seattle. "This effect is not trivial; the brain makes a substantial contribution to insulin response."

10 Jan 2006

Carbohydrates improve insulin control

It is commonly believed that carbohydrates, particularly sugar, are a cause of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. However, such thinking has been challenged following the publication of a thorough appraisal of the evidence, in the latest edition of Nutrition Research Reviews.

10 Jan 2006

Study finds short-term lifestyle changes improve health even without major weight loss

Obese and overweight individuals suffering metabolic syndrome and Type 2 diabetes showed significant health improvements after only three weeks of diet and moderate exercise even though the participants remained overweight.

10 Jan 2006

Sydney researchers explain how stress makes you sick

Garvan Institute scientists have discovered how a hormone, known as neuropeptide Y (NPY), can prevent our immune system functioning properly, paving the way for two new major opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

10 Jan 2006

Loyola to study for first time IV medication for osteopenia and inflammatory bowel diseases

Researchers at the Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Disease Center and the Division of Gastroenterology at Loyola University Health System are studying a once-yearly, 15-minute infusion of an intravenous (IV) medication in patients with osteopenia (low bone mass) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) that, if proven effective, may be considered the standard of treatment.

10 Jan 2006

HHS awards $56.9 million to tackle health disparities

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced the awarding of $56.9 million by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD).

10 Jan 2006

rhTSH combined with radiation therapy successfully destroys remaining thyroid tissue

A multicenter international study, including Johns Hopkins, has found that after surgery for thyroid cancer, giving genetically engineered human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rhTSH) before radioiodine treatment avoids the previous need to stop thyroid replacement therapy and the miserable side effects that go with it.

9 Jan 2006