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.

Stress test has less effect on blood vessels when hormone cortisol is blocked

Negative effects of the hormone cortisol on the inner lining of blood vessels, the endothelium, may explain how stressful events trigger heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems, according to a new study in the July 19, 2005, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

21 Jul 2005

Fertility boost for testicular cancer patients

The vast majority of men who try to have a family, following treatment for testicular cancer, are able to father children - according to a report published today in the British Journal of Cancer.

21 Jul 2005

Protein found in fat cells is a newly discovered cause of insulin resistance

A study led by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) has shown that a protein found in fat cells is a newly discovered cause of insulin resistance, establishing a previously unidentified molecular link between obesity and type 2 diabetes and offering a potential new target for the development of drugs to treat diabetes.

20 Jul 2005

Fertility drugs may be ineffective for women who lack a gene called the estrogen receptor beta

"What we found is that the beta estrogen receptor plays a role in moving the egg outside the ovary so it can be fertilized," said Kenneth Korach, Ph.D., Laboratory Chief at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) where the research was conducted. "We never knew before what function this receptor played in reproduction."

20 Jul 2005

$New protective drugs called bisphosphonates reduce pain and fractures in metastatic breast cancer$

New protective drugs called bisphosphonates reduce pain and fractures in metastatic breast cancer

When breast cancer spreads to bones, relatively new protective drugs called bisphosphonates can reduce skeletal damage, says a new systematic review of previous studies. While the new treatment approach does not improve survival rates, it can minimize disabling fractures, spinal cord compression and pain.

19 Jul 2005

Intestinal hormone secretin should not be used to treat autism

The intestinal hormone secretin, considered by some to be a promising drug in the treatment of autism, does not improve the symptoms and should not be used to treat the disorder, according to a new review of studies.

19 Jul 2005

Insulin keeps fat in the liver under control

Insulin, a hormone long recognized as a generator of fat, also keeps fat in the liver under control, according to a new study in the July issue of Cell Metabolism.

19 Jul 2005

Study provides evidence that hormone treatments can be beneficial to limiting cardiovascular ailments

UC Irvine School of Medicine researchers have identified how estrogen helps prevents a cardiac ailment often seen in women who have heart attacks. This research provides further evidence that hormone replacement therapy after menopause can help prevent certain forms of cardiovascular disease in women.

19 Jul 2005

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) occurs far more frequently than generally believed

Although estimates vary widely, when combined with the milder afflictions of Alcohol Related Birth Defects (ARBD) and several others, the Centers for Disease Control puts the frequency of FAS/ARBD as high as one in 100.

19 Jul 2005

How oxytocin (OT) modulates eating and digestion

More than 15 years ago Edward Stricker and Joseph Verbalis reported that oxytocin (OT) is involved in the neural control of food and salt intake in adult rats. Linda Rinaman at the University of Pittsburgh is investigating the anatomical organization of this system, and also is taking a developmental approach to determine how OT modulates eating and digestion.

19 Jul 2005

Potential use of NH neurotransmitters as novel source for psychiatric drugs

Physiologists and medical researchers have long recognized the important endocrine roles played by the pituitary hormones oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (VP) on peripheral systems in lactation, uterine contraction and urine concentration.

19 Jul 2005

Spontaneous contractions suppressed in late-term rat pregnancy

A long-time aim of obstetrical research has been to find agents that could delay or diminish pre-term labor because even today pre-term birth is a leading cause of infant mortality and morbidity.

19 Jul 2005

It's not the last word - for every new medical study there's bound to be another one later which contradicts it!

According to a review of 49 recent major medical studies, it has been discovered that nearly a third were later either totally contradicted or were found be much less effective than was originally thought.

19 Jul 2005

Would boosting the oxytocin (OT) hormonal system lead to longer breast-feeding?

There's little controversy about the benefits of breastfeeding infants over giving them formula. Mother's milk is the perfect food, providing exactly the correct nourishment for newborns, while protecting them from many illnesses.

19 Jul 2005

Hormonal signaling systems and their role in sex drive

Two University of Edinburgh professors from the Centre for Integrative Physiology describe how "our understanding of how the brain processes information is undergoing a radical shift as we begin to recognize the implications of hormonal signaling systems within the brain itself," explained Gareth Leng.

19 Jul 2005

Oxytocin raises aggression, cuts anxiety during lactation

Maternal aggressive/protective behavior is recognized throughout mammalian species, especially during lactation. When hiking, we warn our kids not to approach bear cubs, or to get between a cub and the mother. While driving and you see a fawn, you know a doe can't be too far away and will run headlong to protect it.

18 Jul 2005

Research shows key difference between the eye's light-detecting system and the nose's odor-detecting system

Johns Hopkins scientists have uncovered new details of how smelly things create signals in the nose that eventually go to the brain. The findings raise issues about how the process involved has been described for many years in biology textbooks.

13 Jul 2005

Approval sought for Femara in early post-surgery use

Approval is being sought in the U.S. and Europe, by Swiss drug makerNovartis, for its breast-cancer drug Femara to be used immediately after surgery to help older women fight tumours.

12 Jul 2005

Menopause symptoms return with a vengence when women stop HRT

In somewhat depressing news for women battling that often miserable phase in their lives, the menopause, it appears that more than half of women who start taking hormone replacement therapy to relieve the discomfort, can expect to see a dramatic resurgence of those symptoms, when they discontinue the therapy.

12 Jul 2005

Lorenzo's oil prevents onset of pediatric neurological disorder

Use of Lorenzo's Oil in young boys who have been diagnosed with but are not yet showing signs of a pediatric neurological disorder known as X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) may prevent the disease from developing in the body. According to a study of male children published today in the Archives of Neurology, use of the oil prevented onset of the disease in a majority of cases.

11 Jul 2005