Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

Eating nuts daily could help control type 2 diabetes and prevent complications

Eating nuts every day could help control Type 2 diabetes and prevent its complications, according to new research from St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto.

13 Jul 2011

Men more likely to succumb to cancer

According to a new analysis of 36 different types of tumors and blood cancers that affect both sexes, men are more likely than women to get and die of cancer. The report shows that leukemia and cancers of the colon and rectum, pancreas, and liver killed about one and a half to two times as many men as women in the U.S. over a 30-year period. Lung cancer killed nearly two and a half times as many men during that time. According to the American Cancer Society men have about a 1 in 2 chance of developing cancer at some point in their lives, compared with women, who have a 1 in 3 chance.

13 Jul 2011

New insights into how cancer cells can maintain resistance to chemotherapy

Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) have conducted a study which reveals new insights into how cancer cells can maintain a resistance to chemotherapy resulting in cancer relapse.

12 Jul 2011

African-Americans with glaucoma have higher oxygen levels than Caucasians

Measuring oxygen during eye surgery, investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered a reason that may explain why African-Americans have a higher risk of glaucoma than Caucasians.

12 Jul 2011

Study may help explain why antipsychotic drugs can promote overeating, weight gain

Research to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, may explain why some antipsychotic drugs can promote overeating, weight gain, and insulin resistance.

12 Jul 2011

Molasses supplementation may reduce obesity in humans

Experimental results to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, suggests that dietary supplementation with molasses extract may provide a novel approach for weight management in humans.

12 Jul 2011

Study confirms link between phthalates and thyroid hormone levels in humans

A link between chemicals called phthalates and thyroid hormone levels was confirmed by the University of Michigan in the first large-scale and nationally representative study of phthalates and BPA in relation to thyroid function in humans.

12 Jul 2011

Alnylam seeks CTA clearance to initiate ALN-PCS Phase I clinical trial for severe hypercholesterolemia

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has filed a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate a Phase I clinical trial with ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of severe hypercholesterolemia.

11 Jul 2011

Novartis Afinitor Phase III trial on tuberous sclerosis meets primary endpoint

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today Phase III trial results that showed more than one-third of patients taking Afinitor tablets experienced a 50% or greater reduction in the size of their subependymal giant cell astrocytomas, non-cancerous brain tumors associated with tuberous sclerosis complex.

8 Jul 2011

Cortisol hormone controls bile acid recycling process

Nature sees to it that we do not have "too much choler" in our body. A delicately equilibrated regulation system ensures that there is always exactly the right amount of bile in the gallbladder. When we are hungry, our body releases a hormone called cortisol, which is a glucocorticoid. Hepatic cells receive this hormone signal through their cortisol receptors and respond by filling the gallbladder with bile in preparation of the imminent food intake.

8 Jul 2011

Exenatide tQT clinical trial meets pre-specified primary endpoint

Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Eli Lilly and Company and Alkermes, Inc. today announced results from a thorough QT (tQT) study that assessed the potential of exenatide to increase the QT interval across a wide range of plasma concentrations.

8 Jul 2011

Study provides information about trends in obesity, public health implications

Researchers out of Arizona State University recently published an article in the American Journal of Public Health titled "Shared Norms and Their Explanation for the Social Clustering of Obesity". It looked at why obesity seems to be common in some families and groups of friends.

7 Jul 2011

Inhibiting heat shock transcription factor 1 prevents liver cancer in mice

Altering the body's metabolism could be an effective treatment for deadly liver cancer, researchers report.

7 Jul 2011

Scientists discover three unexpected RNAs involved in diabetes cell-death pathway

Excess nutrients, such as fat and sugar, don't just pack on the pounds but can push some cells in the body over the brink. Unable to tolerate this "toxic" environment, these cells commit suicide.

6 Jul 2011

ASN President discusses latest information about diabetic nephropathy at ADA

ASN President Dr. Joseph V. Bonventre, MD, PhD, spoke at the American Diabetes Association's annual meeting, 71st Scientific Session, this June in San Diego. Dr. Bonventre was featured at a symposium entitled "New Concepts in Diagnosing and Treating Diabetic Nephropathy."

6 Jul 2011

Study highlights importance of mRNA translation in aging process

When researchers at the Buck Institute dialed back activity of a specific mRNA translation factor in adult nematode worms they saw an unexpected genome-wide response that effectively increased activity in specific stress response genes that could help explain why the worms lived 40 percent longer under this condition.

6 Jul 2011

Natural vitamin E may reduce brain damage after stroke

Ten weeks of preventive supplementation with a natural form of vitamin E called tocotrienol in dogs that later had strokes reduced overall brain tissue damage, prevented loss of neural connections and helped sustain blood flow in the animals' brains, a new study shows.

6 Jul 2011

More evidence needed to determine how diets can reduce hypertension in individuals

New research by a University of Kent pharmacist should reveal more evidence about how diets can reduce blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease in different individuals.

6 Jul 2011

New biological insights into fat tissue

For better or worse, a popular class of anti-diabetic drugs does more than lower blood sugar. One known as rosiglitazone has been in the spotlight for its possible link to increased cardiovascular events, but it also seems to come with unexplained vascular benefits and an unwelcome tendency for weight gain.

6 Jul 2011

Potential new approach for treating obesity, type 2 diabetes

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have uncovered a pathway in mice that allows white fat - a contributor to obesity and type 2 diabetes - to burn calories in a way that's normally found in brown fat and muscle. The findings are in the July 6 edition of Cell Metabolism.

6 Jul 2011