Endocrine News and Research

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Endocrine Society and its Hormone Health Network release ‘Menopause Map’

Women going through menopause now have a first-of-its-kind interactive guide to help them better understand their menu of treatment options, including whether hormone therapy may be right for them. The Endocrine Society and its Hormone Health Network today released the "Menopause Map," an online tool to help women and their doctors discuss which hormonal and non-hormonal treatment options would be most effective and safe to relieve the sometimes debilitating symptoms of menopause.

2 May 2012

Trovagene completes PCR assay development for detection of K-RAS mutations

Trovagene, Inc., a developer of trans-renal molecular diagnostics, announced today that the Company has successfully completed the analytical development of digital PCR assays for the detection of the most prevalent K-RAS mutations, which are, according to recent estimates, observed in more than 90% of pancreatic cancers, and in 23% of all solid tumors.

30 Apr 2012

IMPAKT 2012 breast cancer conference to focus on four major areas

"Basic science and clinical medicine move at different pace because they follow different paths. Both however aim at improving strategies to manage cancer patients. We need to efficiently translate the good things from basic science and efficiently implement them in the clinic."

26 Apr 2012

CEHC develops list of ten chemicals that contribute to autism, learning disabilities

An editorial published today in the prestigious journal Environmental Health Perspectives calls for increased research to identify possible environmental causes of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders in America's children and presents a list of ten target chemicals including which are considered highly likely to contribute to these conditions.

26 Apr 2012

Cadmium exposure can cause progression of aggressive breast cancer

Studies by researchers at Dominican University of California show that breast cancer cells become increasingly aggressive the longer they are exposed to small concentrations of cadmium, a heavy metal commonly found in cosmetics, food, water and air particles.

24 Apr 2012

Potential for gallbladder tissue as source for multipotential stem cells

A new study presented today at the International Liver Congress- 2012 indicates the potential for gallbladder tissue (which is routinely discarded from organ donors and surgical interventions) to be a highly available candidate source for multipotential stem cells.

20 Apr 2012

Fluorescent fish shows oestrogenic chemicals’ impact on human body

Understanding the damage that pollution causes to both wildlife and human health is set to become much easier thanks to a new green-glowing zebrafish. Created by a team from the University of Exeter, the fish makes it easier than ever before to see where in the body environmental chemicals act and how they affect health.

19 Apr 2012

Air pollution can contribute to obesity in children

Overall, 17% of children in the United States are obese, and in inner-city neighborhoods, the prevalence is as high as 25%. While poor diets and physical inactivity are the main culprits, there is new evidence that air pollution can play a role.

17 Apr 2012

Disruption of key cellular functions produces physiologic and behavioral responses

Two Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-based research teams, along with a group from the University of California at San Diego, have discovered that animals have a previously unknown system for detecting and responding to pathogens and toxins. In three papers published in the journals Cell and Cell Host & Microbe, the investigators describe finding evidence that disruptions to the core functions of animal cells trigger immune and detoxification responses, along with behavioral changes.

16 Apr 2012

Aberrations in translation regulators linked with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer survival

Four proteins involved in translation, the final step of general protein production, are associated with poor prognosis in hormone-receptor-positive breast cancer when they are dysregulated, researchers reported at the AACR Annual Meeting 2012.

2 Apr 2012

Blood levels of PCBs in polar bear cubs appear to have dropped

It's never been easy to be a polar bear. They may have to go months without eating. Their preferred food, seal, requires enormous luck and patience to catch. Add to that the melting of Arctic sea ice due to climate change, and the poisoning of the Arctic by toxic chemicals, and it's easy to see why polar bears worldwide are in trouble.

30 Mar 2012

BPA shows tangible effects on health endpoints at high dosage levels

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)-such as BPA-can show tangible effects on health endpoints at high dosage levels, yet those effects do not predict how EDCs will affect the endocrine system at low doses, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Endocrine Reviews.

30 Mar 2012

Birth weight may identify future metabolic risks in girls

Heavier female babies are more likely to develop diabetes and related metabolic risks when they grow up compared with their male counterparts, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

30 Mar 2012

Vitamin D-fortified doogh improves inflammatory markers in type 2 diabetics

Daily intake of vitamin D-fortified doogh (Persian yogurt drink) improved inflammatory markers in type 2 diabetics and extra calcium conferred additional anti-inflammatory benefits, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

30 Mar 2012

Thyroidectomy may increase risk of postoperative complications in the elderly

Elderly patients who undergo thyroid surgery are at a much higher risk than their younger counterparts for serious cardiac, pulmonary and infectious complications, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

30 Mar 2012

Invasive strategy benefits patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 neuromuscular disorder

Patients with a cardiac irregularity and myotonic dystrophy type 1 (a severe neuromuscular disorder with a high risk of sudden death) who received an invasive treatment strategy that included testing of their heart's electrical conduction system and if needed, implantation of a device such as a pacemaker, had an associated higher rate of 9-year survival compared to patients treated noninvasively, according to a study in the March 28 issue of JAMA.

28 Mar 2012

Combination of everolimus and exemestane reduces spread of cancer in the bone

Results from a phase III clinical trial evaluating a new treatment for breast cancer in post-menopausal women show that the combination of two cancer drugs, everolimus and exemestane, significantly improves bone strength and reduces the chances of cancer spreading (metastasising) in the bone.

23 Mar 2012

CBSM intervention can alter tumor-promoting processes in women with breast cancer

A team of researchers led by Michael H. Antoni, director of the Center for Psycho-Oncology Research at the University of Miami (UM) has shown that a stress management program tailored to women with breast cancer can alter tumor-promoting processes at the molecular level. The new study recently published in the journal Biological Psychiatry is one of the first to link psychological intervention with genetic expression in cancer patients.

22 Mar 2012

BPA alters uterus structure leading to potentially fatal infection

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found evidence that, in addition to affecting the heart, brain and nervous system, bisphenol A (BPA), could affect a mammal's ability to reproduce by altering the structure of the uterus in ways that can progress to a potentially fatal infection.

21 Mar 2012

Common pain relievers could cause hypertension

Diseases such as kidney failure and endocrine tumors are among the suspects causing high blood pressure - but could the common pain relievers in your medicine cabinet be the culprit? According to Prof. Ehud Grossman of Tel Aviv University's Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Sheba Medical Center, many common over-the-counter and prescription medications are underlying causes of hypertension, which is a major risk factor for stroke, heart attack, and aneurisms.

21 Mar 2012