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.

Many sleepless children become overweight

Between the ages of six months and six years old, close to 90 percent of children have at least one sleep-related problem.

18 Nov 2008

Breakthrough reveals first ever complete structure of a nuclear hormone receptor on human DNA

For decades, scientists have been studying nuclear hormone receptors to gain a better understanding of how they turn genes on and off throughout the body and how they function as key drug targets for a number of diseases, such as diabetes, breast cancer, osteoporosis and high cholesterol. A new UVA Health System study, led by Fraydoon Rastinejad, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and director of the UVA Center for Molecular Design and published in the October 29 issue of Nature, reveals the first ever complete structure of a nuclear hormone receptor on human DNA – a discovery that now clears a new path for scientists to design more effective drugs with fewer associated health risks. “Dr. Rastinejad’s findings fundamentally change the way people all over the world will study how nuclear hormone receptors work and introduces a new platform for designing better drugs,” says Jim Garrison, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology at UVA Health System. Nuclear hormone receptors, including the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), are proteins that sit on the surface of cells and bind to specific hormones such as estrogen, progesterone and thyroid hormone. Once the receptor binds to its hormone and its DNA regulatory element, it can cause a number of alterations in the cell, switching genes on and off. These switches control the continual regulation of the metabolic system and reproductive tissues, as well as the development and differentiation of skin, bone and behavioral centers in the brain. “PPARs are widely studied because they regulate the genes that produce fat cells, glucose, insulin, lipids and metabolism,” says Dr. Rastinejad. “That’s what makes them such good drug targets for diseases like diabetes. We can design drugs more rationally to bind to the PPAR nuclear receptor complex to help regulate these functions in the body.” A number of diabetes drugs, called insulin sensitizers, have been developed based on that knowledge, but now that scientists have a clear view into how these receptors bind and what shape they take the door is wide open for the development of better drugs. "After 40 years of nuclear receptor research, we finally can view the first full and complete structure of a nuclear receptor, thanks to Dr. Rastinejad’s break-though achievement,” says Bert W. O’Malley, Ph.D., professor and chairman, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Baylor College of Medicine who is widely considered a top expert in the field.

17 Nov 2008

Exercise can lower a woman's overall risk of cancer

Exercise is good for more than just your waistline. A recent study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research's Seventh Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research suggests that regular physical activity can lower a woman's overall risk of cancer - but only if she gets a good night's sleep. Otherwise, lack of sleep can undermine exercise's cancer prevention benefits.

17 Nov 2008

Glucocorticoids may cause damage in the brain

A class of drugs that are used in premature infants to treat chronic lung damage can cause damage in the brain.

17 Nov 2008

Study looks at investigational compound MK-677 in Alzheimer's disease

A new study shows that a drug that increases the release of growth hormone failed to slow the rate of progression of Alzheimer's disease in humans.

17 Nov 2008

Link between prostate inflammation and lower urinary tract symptoms

In the December issue of European Urology ( http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eururo ) Dr. Curtis Nickel and associates report on the evidence of a relationship between prostate inflammation and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in men enrolled in the REDUCE trial.

16 Nov 2008

Pelvic girdle syndrome linked to diabetes

Diabetes appears to be linked with an increased risk of pelvic girdle syndrome. This is shown in a new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and Akershus University Hospital.

16 Nov 2008

Previously unknown regulatory step during HIV replication provides potential new target for HIV/AIDS therapy

A previously unknown regulatory step during human immunodeficiency (HIV) replication provides a potentially valuable new target for HIV/AIDS therapy, report researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

16 Nov 2008

In child care, relationships with caregivers key to children's stress levels

How children are affected by out-of-home care depends not only on the qualities of their teacher and the classroom, but also on the nature of the children's relationship with their caregivers.

16 Nov 2008

Higher levels of blood phosphate may be a previously unidentified and modifiable cardiovascular risk factor

Healthy adults with higher levels of phosphate in the blood are more likely to have increased levels of calcium in the coronary arteries-a key indicator of atherosclerosis and future cardiovascular disease risk, reports a study in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

16 Nov 2008

Cigarette smoke may reshape the left ventricle

Prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke can increase levels of the stress hormone norepinephrine and enzymes in the heart that have the potential to reshape the left ventricle, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

16 Nov 2008

Children distressed by family fighting have higher levels of cortisol

Children who become very upset when their parents fight are more likely to develop psychological problems.

16 Nov 2008

Osteoporosis drugs may prevent future bone growth

Patients who start and eventually stop regimens of a common class of osteoporosis drugs called bisphosphonates may be unable to benefit from parathyroid hormone (PTH), which can rebuild bone mass lost due to advanced stage osteoporosis. PTH has been proven to increase the volume and strength of the honeycomb-like bone infrastructure, the inner mesh that begins to diminish in old age.

13 Nov 2008