Endocrinology News and Research

Latest Endocrinology News and Research

Strong association between high levels of hyaluronic acid and severe osteoarthritis

A chronic degenerative joint disease, osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of pain and disability among older Americans. OA of the knee affects up to 6 percent of the older population, while OA of the hip affects about another 3 percent. While treatments vary, there is hope that early intervention – before joint destruction can be clearly seen and measured on an X-ray image-will improve outcomes.

7 Jan 2005

First program to apply RNA interference (RNAi) technology to asthma

Sirna Therapeutics, Inc. has announced the first program to apply RNA interference (RNAi) technology to asthma, a highly prevalent, chronic disease accounting for an estimated $13 billion in healthcare costs in the United States, a number which is forecast to grow considerably by the end of the decade.

7 Jan 2005

New guidelines for treating diabetes

Every year, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) issues Clinical Practice Recommendations, a series of updated recommendations to help health care providers treat people with diabetes using the most current research available.

7 Jan 2005

Adults with pre-diabetes can lose up to 3 percent of their body weight using diet

Adults with pre-diabetes can lose up to 3 percent of their body weight using diet, exercise and behavioral strategies, according to a systematic review of studies that analyzed weight-loss strategies for pre-diabetics.

6 Jan 2005

Processes shed light on how DNA recombination mechanisms are related

Peter W. Atkinson, a University of California, Riverside professor of entomology and member of the university’s Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, is part of a team that has linked the movement of small pieces of DNA, known as transposable elements, to a process called V(D)J recombination that produces the genetic diversity responsible for the production of antibodies.

6 Jan 2005

Metabolic syndrome linked to carbohydrate-rich diet

Metabolic Syndrome, a health condition characterized by obesity, high cholesterol levels, elevated blood pressure and pre-diabetes, presently affects nearly 47 million Americans.

5 Jan 2005

Stem cells could reveal secrets of illness in later life

Mums to be have known for some time that what they eat when pregnant affects their unborn child but now scientists believe that the diet of our mothers during pregnancy may even affect our predisposition to illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure in late life.

5 Jan 2005

Sticking to one diet plan key to losing weight

A comparison of four popular diet plans finds that the key to losing weight may not be which diet plan a person picks, but sticking with the plan that is chosen, according to a study in the January 5 issue of JAMA.

5 Jan 2005

Angioplasty may replace bypass for more patients who are also receiving a new heart valve

The death rate during combination surgery to bypass clogged coronary arteries and simultaneously replace a heart valve in very sick patients can be as high as one in five, but a review of records of very sick patients who underwent balloon angioplasty, followed by heart valve replacement surgery, found only one death among 26 patients.

4 Jan 2005

3 or more alcoholic drinks increases risk of ischemic stroke by 45%

A new study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has found that heavy drinkers -- men who consume an average of three or more alcoholic beverages per day -- are nearly 45 percent more likely to suffer an ischemic stroke compared with nondrinkers.

4 Jan 2005

Higher risk of kidney infection among women with a history of incontinence and diabetes

Researchers at Seattle-based Group Health Cooperative and the University of Washington (UW) report that some of the same factors that put women at risk for simple, lower urinary tract infections (UTIs) - as well as some unexpected factors - also make them susceptible to more serious kidney infections.

4 Jan 2005

Microsoft launches MSN Health & Fitness

The Microsoft network of Internet services today launched MSN Health & Fitness, a comprehensive online destination for people looking to improve their well-being with up-to-date and easy-to-access information.

4 Jan 2005

Link between fast food, weight gain, and insulin resistance

Researchers have shown a correlation between fast food, weight gain, and insulin resistance in what appears to be the first long-term study on this subject.

3 Jan 2005

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-age women

The polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder among reproductive-age women, produces a wide variety of body changes with both physical and emotional implications for sufferers.

3 Jan 2005

Pegaptanib (Macugen) is an effective treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration

Results from two concurrent, prospective, double-blind, multi-center clinical trials show that pegaptanib (Macugen), an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapy, is an effective treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to a paper in the Dec. 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Macugen was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 17.

30 Dec 2004

Link between body-mass index and oral-contraceptive failure

Overweight and obese women who take oral contraceptives are 60 percent to 70 percent more likely to get pregnant while on the birth-control pill, respectively, than women of lower weight, according to new findings from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center that will be published in the January issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

30 Dec 2004

Moderate physical exercise can stave off metabolic syndrome in people age 55 to 75

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have determined that in people age 55 to 75, a moderate program of physical exercise can significantly offset the potentially deadly mix of risk factors for heart disease and diabetes known as the metabolic syndrome.

30 Dec 2004

Significant advance in understanding the human genome

An Oregon Health & Science University-led development of a technique for identifying control elements that drive the expression of genes in brain cells could unleash the disease-fighting potential of the much-hailed human genome.

28 Dec 2004

World Health Organization's new global report on iodine deficiency

The number of countries where iodine deficiency is a public health problem has halved over the past decade, says the World Health Organization (WHO) in a new global report on iodine status.

26 Dec 2004

Spinal cord injury and obesity

Researchers at the University of Michigan Health System are looking at how people with spinal cord injury burn calories and how that is affected by their muscle mass and body weight. The goal is to make better recommendations to people with spinal cord injury, but the research will also translate into greater understanding of obesity in the general population as well.

26 Dec 2004