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.

Breast cancer patients taking tamoxifen anxious to have CYP2D6 genetic test

While the medical community continues to debate the benefits of CYP2D6 genetic testing for women on the breast cancer treatment tamoxifen, patients using the medication are anxious to have the tests. According to a new survey of more than 700 women with breast cancer currently taking tamoxifen, almost 80 percent of respondents would choose to have a genetic test that determines CYP2D6 genotype, yet only 14 percent of these women have been tested. CYP2D6 is an enzyme that influences how well the body processes tamoxifen into its more active form.

7 Dec 2010

URMC's Cone Beam CT scanner studies presented at RSNA 2010

While questions persist about the best ways to detect breast cancer early, a CT imaging system developed at the University of Rochester Medical Center and first unveiled five years ago is in a better position today to enter the fray -- at least in a supporting role to conventional mammography.

4 Dec 2010

Zometa improves OS, PFS in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients: Phase III study

A newly published study in the Lancet suggested that a first-line treatment regimen including Zometa (zoledronic acid) significantly improved overall survival and progression-free survival in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients compared with a regimen that included oral clodronate. The impact on survival was independent of the effect of Zometa on bone complications (also known as skeletal-related events or SREs).

4 Dec 2010

UCLA findings could lead to enhanced health supplements, progress on Parkinson's

The discovery by UCLA biochemists of a new method for preventing oxidation in the essential fatty acids of cell membranes could lead to a new class of more effective nutritional supplements and potentially help combat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and perhaps Alzheimer's.

3 Dec 2010

Doctors still prescribe higher-dose menopausal hormone therapy pills

Doctors across the country are still prescribing higher-dose menopausal hormone therapy pills, despite clinical evidence that low doses and skin patches work just as well and carry fewer health risks. That's what researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found in a study that will be published online Dec. 2 in Menopause: The Journal of the North American Menopause Society.

3 Dec 2010

Hybrigenics receives EUR 800,000 payment from Oseo

Hybrigenics (ALHYG), a bio-pharmaceutical group with a focus on research and development of new cancer treatments and a fully-owned subsidiary specialized in protein interactions services, today announces it has received EUR 800,000 as the second and last payment of a EUR 1.4 million refundable grant contract originally signed with France’s innovation agency, Oseo Innovation, in 2008.

2 Dec 2010

European Commission approves Pfizer's SUTENT for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

Pfizer Inc. announced today that the European Commission has approved SUTENT (sunitinib malate) for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic, well-differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (NET) with disease progression in adults.

2 Dec 2010

Research may lead to new treatment strategies for Graves' disease

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified a compound that prevents overproduction of thyroid hormone, a finding that brings scientists one step closer to improving treatment for Graves' disease.

2 Dec 2010

Exposure to BPA during perinatal development impairs reproductive capacity of female offspring

Exposure to a ubiquitous environmental chemical during pregnancy may impair reproductive capacity of female offspring, according to a study published online in advance of print on December 2 in Environmental Health Perspectives. Fertility decreased over time in female mice that had been exposed during fetal and neonatal (perinatal) development to doses of bisphenol-A (BPA) that were lower than or equal to human environmental exposure levels.

2 Dec 2010

American-style diet plays a vital role in prostate cancer, researchers say

Elevated fat and cholesterol levels found in a typical American-style diet plays an important role in the growth and spread of prostate cancer, say researchers at Thomas Jefferson University's Kimmel Cancer Center.

2 Dec 2010

International trial confirms long-term benefits of anastrozole to stop breast cancer

A major international trial has confirmed the long-term benefit of anastrozole to help stop breast cancer coming back or developing in the other breast in postmenopausal women with hormone sensitive early breast cancer, according to a study published in Lancet Oncology today (Wednesday).

2 Dec 2010

Study identifies new genes responsible for early menarche

University of Minnesota School of Public Health researcher Ellen Demerath, Ph.D., is among an international group of researchers that has identified 30 new genes responsible for determining the age of sexual maturation in women. Many of these genes are also known to influence body fatness, obesity, and energy metabolism. Prior to the multi-institutional study, only four genes had been identified as contributing to the process.

1 Dec 2010

British Journal: Obesity, alcohol consumption may increase cancer risk

People should be warned that cancer is linked to obesity and alcohol, rather than urged to eat more fruit and vegetables to protect against the disease.

1 Dec 2010

Debiopharm recognised with European Biopharmaceuticals company of the year award

The 2010 Frost & Sullivan Europe Company of the Year Award in Biopharmaceuticals is presented to Debiopharm Group™ (Debiopharm).

1 Dec 2010

Diabetes plays a vital role in regulating brain cholesterol: Research

The brain contains more cholesterol than any other organ in the body, has to produce its own cholesterol and won't function normally if it doesn't churn out enough. Defects in cholesterol metabolism have been linked with Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions. Now researchers at Joslin Diabetes Center have discovered that diabetes can affect how much cholesterol the brain can make.

1 Dec 2010

Research could lead to new drug treatment for metabolic diseases

A team of Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) scientists report finding a molecular "switch" that can "turn off" some cellular processes that are protective against aging and metabolic diseases. While more research is needed, the findings may open doors for new drug treatments to halt or slow development of metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes or heart disease. The research findings appear in the December 1, 2010 issue of Cell Metabolism.

1 Dec 2010

Vitamin D supplementation may reduce risk of diabetes, heart disease: Research

Researchers from the UC Davis Health System have found that compared with healthy controls, blood levels of vitamin D are significantly reduced in patients in the Sacramento area with metabolic syndrome, a constellation of disease risk factors that affects about one in three U.S. adults and predisposes them to diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

1 Dec 2010

Men with long index fingers at lower risk of prostate cancer

Men who have long index fingers are at lower risk of prostate cancer, a new study published today in the British Journal of Cancer has found.

1 Dec 2010

Study shows link between reduced hormone therapy and decline in breast cancer

In a new UCSF study of more than 2 million mammogram screenings performed on nearly 700,000 women in the United States, scientists for the first time show a direct link between reduced hormone therapy and declines in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) as well as invasive breast cancer. The researchers saw such a striking decrease, they believe they also have uncovered indirect evidence that hormones promote breast tumor growth.

1 Dec 2010

FG-2216 drug offers new treatment option for kidney disease-related anemia

A new drug called FG-2216 can stimulate production of the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) in dialysis patients—possibly offering a new approach to treatment of kidney disease-related anemia, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

30 Nov 2010