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.

Researchers find hair cortisol level can assess chronic stress in heart attack

Researchers at The University of Western Ontario have provided the first direct evidence using a biological marker, to show chronic stress plays an important role in heart attacks.

3 Sep 2010

Scientists develop direct method to detect gene doping

Scientists at the universities in Tübingen and Mainz have developed a test that can provide conclusive proof of gene doping. "For the first time, a direct method is now available that uses conventional blood samples to detect doping via gene transfer and is still effective if the actual doping took place up to 56 days before," Professor Perikles Simon, MD, PhD from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany explained on Thursday.

3 Sep 2010

Lack of sleep linked to depression and anxiety disorders in young

According to Australian research, youngsters getting inadequate sleep are at risk of mental ailments. Researcher Nicholas Glozier of the University of Sydney said, the increase in incidence of mental ailments in the young has been puzzling health experts. The answer may lie in inadequate sleep.

2 Sep 2010

Achievement of sufficient night sleep needed in obesity prevention and weight-management programs

A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that teens who slept less than eight hours per weeknight ate higher proportions of fatty foods and snacks than adolescents who slept eight hours or more. The results suggest that short sleep duration may increase obesity risk by causing small changes in eating patterns that cumulatively alter energy balance, especially in girls.

2 Sep 2010

Researcher awarded $1.8M grant to investigate sex differences in anxiety

Anxiety disorders afflict women twice as often as men, but estrogen might not be the reason. Testosterone, though, could be. That is one of the preliminary findings in the lab of Florida State University researcher Mohamed Kabbaj, associate professor in the College of Medicine. He recently was awarded a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health to investigate the sex differences in anxiety.

2 Sep 2010

High-fat diet during puberty increases risk of breast cancer

Girls eating a high-fat diet during puberty, even those who do not become overweight or obese, may be at a greater risk of developing breast cancer later in life, according to Michigan State University researchers.

2 Sep 2010

High levels of OPG hormone associated with adverse outcome after myocardial infarction

Patients suffering with heart failure are more likely to die if they have high levels of a bone hormone called osteoprotegerin (OPG).

2 Sep 2010

Release of cortisol with fixed regularity can help cope with stress better

If your body releases cortisol with fixed regularity then you can cope with stress better, says NWO-funded researcher Angela Sarabdjitsingh. She investigated the rhythm of corticosterone production in rats. This rat hormone is comparable to the human stress hormone cortisol. Rats deal considerably less well with stress if the pattern of corticosterone release changes. An irregular release pattern is a characteristic of chronic stress and stress-related diseases. It might therefore be possible to treat these by restoring the rhythm.

31 Aug 2010

Social interaction reduces physical damage to brain by heart attack: Research

A new study in mice shows how social support can help minimize some of the worst physical damages to the brain caused by a heart attack.

31 Aug 2010

Bionovo receives positive guidance for Menerba drug candidate

Bionovo, Inc. announced today that it has received positive guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the Company's Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) plan for its lead drug candidate Menerba.

31 Aug 2010

Reactivation of CDX2 gene may halt progression of colon cancer

The intestines have to work properly if we are to benefit from the food we eat. Digestive juices must be secreted, the food broken down into smaller components and then transported through the gut wall and onwards to muscles and organs. The lining of the gut is coated in epithelial cells, a specialised layer that produces mucous and hormones while keeping dangerous bacteria and toxins at bay. Close contact with pathogenic microbes and toxins means that the epithelial cells may mutate to form cancer.

30 Aug 2010

23rd ECNP Press conference on impact of circadian rhythms on human brain

All humans are synchronised to the rhythmic light-dark changes that occur on a daily basis. Rhythms in physiological and biochemical processes and behavioural patterns persist in the absence of all external 24-hour signals from the physical environment, with a period that is close to 24 hours

30 Aug 2010

Study finds BMI, thrombogenic factor increases cardiovascular risk

Although having a high body mass index (BMI) is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease, researchers are only beginning to understand how BMI affects the physiological processes involved in the development of the disease. Now, a study of a subset of women in the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS), suggests that as BMI increases, so do platelet reactivity and thrombogenic microvesicles and activated protein C in the blood-all of which contribute to the formation of atherothrombosis and associated cardiovascular events.

30 Aug 2010

World's tallest man undergoes Gamma Knife surgery

Much of Sultan Kosen's eight feet, two-inch stature rose up in an 17-year period starting at age 10, when the benign tumor in his brain's pituitary gland highjacked the organ, causing it to secrete massive amounts of growth hormone, making Mr. Kosen's body grow fast and grow without ceasing. He will need to wait several months to find out if his Gamma Knife® surgery last Thursday at the University of Virginia (UVA, Charlottesville, Va.) has inactivated the tumor and he has reached his final height, but his physicians are optimistic.

27 Aug 2010

Researchers recommend traumatic brain injury reclassification for additional funding

Traumatic brain injury, currently considered a singular event by the insurance industry and many health care providers, is instead the beginning of an ongoing process that impacts multiple organ systems and may cause or accelerate other diseases and disorders that can reduce life expectancy, according to research from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

27 Aug 2010

New book on fighting hair loss

World renowned hair loss expert, Dr. Larry Shapiro, announced the release of his new book, Fight Hair Loss and Win! and says that Elin Nordegren is not alone when it comes to hair loss as a result of stress. Shapiro says millions of women and men are experiencing the same and that heightened levels of stress, popular nutritional supplements, hormonal imbalances and many other unsuspecting factors are now linked to hair loss.

26 Aug 2010

Type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance increases risk for Alzheimer's disease: Research

People with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes appear to be at an increased risk of developing plaques in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to new research published in the August 25, 2010, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

26 Aug 2010

Study finds BPA exposure impacts endocrine changes in men

An international group of researchers led by the Peninsula Medical School and the University of Exeter have for the first time identified changes in sex hormones associated with BPA exposure in men, in a large population study. The study results are published in the latest issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.

26 Aug 2010

MRI and MR spectroscopy determine internal fat distribution: Study

Why is it that some people lose weight and body fat when they exercise and eat less and others don't. German researchers say MRI and magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy can provide the answer and help predict who will benefit from lifestyle changes.

25 Aug 2010

Two diabetes medications increase risk of heart attack, failure: Study

In contrast to previous reports, the risks of the composite endpoint of heart attack, heart failure, both, or death were the same about 4 percent for patients taking the diabetes drugs rosiglitazone or pioglitazone, according to a study published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

25 Aug 2010