Hormone News and Research

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A hormone is a chemical released by one or more cells that affects cells in other parts of the organism. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter cell metabolism. It is essentially a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one cell to another.

Drug trial seeking treatment option for hyperphagia in patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome

One in every 15,000 children is affected by Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a complex, genetic endocrine condition caused by a disorder of chromosome 15. It's non-inheritable, meaning the condition isn't passed down from a family member.

3 Jan 2020

High cost of insulin has life-threatening implications for patients with Type 1 diabetes

The most commonly used forms of insulin cost 10 times more in the U.S. than in any other developed country, according to a commentary in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

2 Jan 2020

FDA approves Control-IQ artificial pancreas system

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an artificial pancreas system - based on technology from the University of Virginia Center for Diabetes Technology - that automatically monitors and regulates blood glucose levels.

2 Jan 2020

Consumers feel empowered and confused by direct-to-consumer fertility tests, study reveals

Direct-to-consumer hormone-based "fertility testing" for women is viewed by consumers as both an alternative, empowering tool for family planning, and a confusing and misleading one, according to the results of a new study from Penn Medicine.

30 Dec 2019

Grizzly bears' strategy could help prevent muscle atrophy in humans

Grizzly bears spend many months in hibernation, but their muscles do not suffer from the lack of movement. In the journal "Scientific Reports", a team led by Michael Gotthardt reports on how they manage to do this.

30 Dec 2019

Pulmonary fibrosis associated with short and long sleep duration

Scientists have discovered that people who regularly sleep for more than 11 hours or less than 4 hours are 2-3 times more likely to have the incurable disease, pulmonary fibrosis, compared to those that sleep for 7 hours in a day. They attribute this association to the body clock.

30 Dec 2019

National veteran dataset will help dissect the relationship between mental illness and prostate cancer

There appears to be an unhealthy synergy between mental illness and prostate cancer, and researchers are working to dissect the relationship by first assembling the largest dataset ever of veterans with either condition or both.

23 Dec 2019

Fewer fats could be the key to boosting male fertility

A diet low in fat and high in egg whites could be the key to boosting male fertility according to a new pilot study.

23 Dec 2019

Scientists successfully cultivate and characterize corpus luteum cells of cats

The reproduction of lynxes is highly mysterious. Unlike other wild cats, most lynxes are only receptive for a few days once a year.

20 Dec 2019

Penn researchers use MRI scans to predict 10-year breast cancer recurrence

Diverse diseases like breast cancer can present challenges for clinicians, specifically on a cellular level. While one patient's tumor may differ from another's, the cells within the tumor of a single patient can also vary greatly.

19 Dec 2019

Powdered watermelon supplements provide health benefits to obese mice

Eating watermelon in the form of powdered supplements helped adult obese mice avoid some detrimental health effects of an unhealthy diet, according to a new Oregon State University study.

19 Dec 2019

Artificial 'inclusion bodies' developed for sustained release of therapeutic proteins

Precision medicine is becoming increasingly important, achieving to create more efficient personalized therapies for each patient and innovative pharmacological developments.

19 Dec 2019

New review provides guidance to address gaps in transgender health care

One of the biggest barriers to care for transgender individuals is a lack of knowledgeable providers.

19 Dec 2019

Heavy drinking damages the heart

Drinking too much destroys the liver, as is well known. A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association on December 18, 2019, shows that excessive alcohol consumption also damages the heart muscle. This is seen by a rise in the level of certain biological molecules in the blood.

18 Dec 2019

Blue light may not be so bad for sleep

The sun provides warmth and a bright light with orange-yellow hues during the day. But at night, cold, dim, and white light from the Moon, which exposes people to light similar to blue wavelengths emitted by various types of artificial lighting. Previously, blue light has been dubbed as disruptive to a good night’s sleep.

18 Dec 2019