Pancreas News and Research

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The pancreas is a gland organ in the digestive and endocrine system of vertebrates. It is both an endocrine gland producing several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin, as well as an exocrine gland, secreting pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes that pass to the small intestine. These enzymes help in the further breakdown of the carbohydrates, protein, and fat in the chyme.

Study examines radiation dose estimates for pregnant women undergoing therapeutic ERCP

Pregnant women with gallstone disease may require immediate endoscopic intervention because of potentially life-threatening cholangitis (infection in the bile ducts) or gallstone pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).

30 Apr 2009

Cancer rates among U.S. elderly, minorities set to explode

Over the next 20 years, the number of new cancer cases diagnosed annually in the United States will increase by 45 percent, from 1.6 million in 2010 to 2.3 million in 2030, with a dramatic spike in incidence predicted in the elderly and minority populations, according to research from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

29 Apr 2009

Discovery of possible preventative therapy for type 1 diabetes

Scientists believe they may have found a preventative therapy for type 1 diabetes, by making the body's killer immune cells tolerate the insulin-producing cells they would normally attack and destroy, prior to disease onset.

29 Apr 2009

Study predicts dramatic growth in cancer rates among US elderly, minorities

29 Apr 2009

Advances in cystic fibrosis genetic testing

San Juan Capistrano, CA and Chantilly, VA –Three reports describing advances in cystic fibrosis genetic testing appear in the May 2009 issue of The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics .

27 Apr 2009

Sorafenib and vitamin K combo shows anti-tumor effects in pancreas cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma

A combination of sorafenib and vitamin K had an effect in vitro on both human pancreas cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, according to researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson.

22 Apr 2009

Mitochondrial peptide Humanin linked to neuronal cell survival and regulation of glucose metabolism

Recent studies have shown that the mitochondrial peptide Humanin (HN) protects against neuronal cell death such as happens in Alzheimer's disease.

22 Apr 2009

AEterna Zentaris presents results for AEZS-112 in advanced cancer and lymphoma

AEterna Zentaris Inc. has presented a poster outlining Phase 1 results for its orally-active tubulin and topoisomerase II inhibitor compound, AEZS-112, in patients with advanced solid tumors or lymphoma, which may potentially provide a new therapeutic approach for the treatment of cancer.

22 Apr 2009

Potential genetic cause of congenital defect colonic atresia

In a finding that helps resolve a long-standing question in developmental biology, Klaus H. Kaestner, PhD, Professor of Genetics, and colleagues report in the journal Developmental Cell this week about how the mammalian gut forms. Mice were genetically engineered to lack the protein Cdx2 in the cells that normally go on to form the stomach and intestine.

22 Apr 2009

Type 1 diabetes controlled by stem cell transplants therapy

Scientists in the United States have found that stem cell transplants enabled people with type 1 diabetes to manage for as long as four years without needing insulin injections and to maintain good glycemic control - such patients typically need daily insulin therapy to control their diabetes.

15 Apr 2009

Pancreatic islets show promise in diabetes research, treatments

The use of pancreatic islets (hormone-producing cells) is increasing in diabetes research and may play an important role in future treatments, according to an article in the April 15 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

14 Apr 2009

Stem cell transplantation helps patients with diabetes become insulin free

The majority of patients with type 1 diabetes who underwent a certain type of stem cell transplantation became insulin free, several for more than three years, with good glycemic control, and also increased C-peptide levels, an indirect measure of beta-cell function, according to a study in the April 15 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association.

14 Apr 2009

New understanding of roles of insulin in obesity or type II diabetes

Researchers have uncovered new evidence suggesting factors other than genes could cause obesity, finding that genetically identical cells store widely differing amounts of fat depending on subtle variations in how cells process insulin.

14 Apr 2009

Research points to a new approach to treating type 1 diabetes

Scientists at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) School of Medicine have demonstrated in mice that transplanted pancreatic precursor cells are protected from the immune system when encapsulated in polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE).

12 Apr 2009

Too much dietary protein and fat may lead to insulin resistance

NTRILIPIX (fenofibric acid) in combo with Rosuvastatin calcium shows improvement on key lipids for cholesterol management

Data from a new study showed that Abbott's TRILIPIX (fenofibric acid) delayed-release capsules in combination with rosuvastatin calcium met all of the study's primary endpoints.

29 Mar 2009