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.

Metabolic syndrome - a new risk factor for impaired kidney function

A three-year multi-center study of kidney-pancreas transplant recipients has identified a new risk factor for impaired kidney function, which may help physicians refine their treatment strategies.

23 Jan 2006

UIC surgeons first to use robot for living-donor kidney-pancreas transplant

Surgeons at the University of Illinois Medical Center at Chicago are the first in the world to use robotic surgery to successfully remove a kidney and pancreas from a living-donor as part of a successful transplantation.

19 Jan 2006

Brain plays a major role in the ability of insulin therapy to lower blood sugar in animals with diabetes

"Our findings suggest that, in individuals with diabetes, the ability of insulin to lower blood sugar involves the brain," said senior author of the study, Michael Schwartz of the University of Washington at Seattle. "This effect is not trivial; the brain makes a substantial contribution to insulin response."

10 Jan 2006

New diabetes form found by Norwegian researchers

A research group in Bergen has discovered a new form of diabetes. In addition to high blood sugar levels, the disease is characterised by a decrease in pancreatic functioning and reduced fat absorption in the intestine. The discovery may have an impact on the treatment of more usual forms of diabetes.

6 Jan 2006

Concerns raised about surgeons performing occasional breast cancer operations

A leading cancer expert has expressed concern about the link between hospitals carrying out low numbers of breast cancer operations and disproportionately high readmission rates.

5 Jan 2006

Molecular link between high fat diets and type 2 diabetes established

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have discovered a molecular link between a high-fat, Western-style diet, and the onset of type 2 diabetes. In studies in mice, the scientists showed that a high-fat diet disrupts insulin production, resulting in the classic signs of type 2 diabetes.

29 Dec 2005

Liver plays crucial role in iron metabolism

A new study in the December Cell Metabolism reveals an unexpected connection between a tumor suppressor gene in the liver and the normally careful control over the amount of iron absorbed from the diet.

7 Dec 2005

New cancer detection method

University of Florida researchers say they are a step closer to a technique to easily detect a wide variety of cancers before symptoms become apparent.

7 Dec 2005

Intervention in immune regulation can prevent onset of type-1 diabetes

Some forms of diabetes could feasibly be prevented. Scientists at the German Research Centre for Biotechnology (GBF) in Braunschweig recently were able to do just that in experiments with mice.

6 Dec 2005

Pancreatic cancer and ecoendoscopy

Cancer of the pancreas is the number five in the list of deaths due to cancers in Spain and the third causing deaths due to digestive tumour.

28 Nov 2005

Sugary drinks push Latino kids toward type 2 diabetes

Overweight Latino children who consume lots of sugar-especially in sugary drinks-show signs of beta cell decline, a precursor of type 2 diabetes, according to researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

26 Nov 2005

Molecular origins of diabetes

An unexpected twist to a discovery reported just two months ago may significantly improve our understanding about the molecular origins of diabetes.

14 Nov 2005

Doctor facing manslaughter charges in Australia sparks calls for overhaul of U.S. regulations

An Indian-born, American-trained surgeon who is facing possible manslaughter charges in Australia, and nicknamed "Dr Death" has sparked calls for an overhaul of health regulations and a review of malpractice suits in his U.S. home state of Oregon.

8 Nov 2005

Capecitabine and Gemcitabine help battle pancreatic cancer

The prognosis of pancreatic cancer is poor but new therapies such as gemcitabine have contributed to improving the outcome for patients. Data presented at the 13th European Conference (ECCO) revealed that using the combination of gemcitabine and capecitabine increased overall survival in some patients.

3 Nov 2005

EphA2 represents a promising treatment target for glioblastoma multiforme

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have identified a second promising treatment target for glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most deadly types of brain tumors. The research results are reported in the October issue of Molecular Cancer Research.

1 Nov 2005

Researchers can now more accurately predict who will develop type 1 diabetes

In the process, they've also uncovered signs of a new protein that may forecast a more rapidly developing form of the disease. Together, these findings could help researchers screen patients for clinical trials that eventually may lead to a vaccine or cure for type 1 diabetes.

30 Oct 2005

Scientists find key step in a signaling pathway that helps orchestrate embryonic development

The study, reported in Nature (Oct. 13, 2005), focuses on the Hedgehog family of signaling molecules, which play a central role in directing development of the early embryo's growth and spatial plan, as well as its later organ and limb development. Defects in Hedgehog signaling are a significant cause of some birth defects and cancers.

25 Oct 2005

Study shows cystic fibrosis gene mutation a risk factor for young-onset pancreatic cancer disease

Mayo Clinic researchers have found the risk of developing pancreatic cancer at a young age (under 60) to be twice as high for people who carry a mutation of the gene that causes cystic fibrosis, compared to noncarriers. Results of a pilot and follow-up study were reported Oct. 14, 2005, online in the journal Gut.

23 Oct 2005

WWOX gene finding could lead to a new strategy for treating lung cancer

The research focused on a gene known as WWOX, which is lost or silenced in a large majority of lung cancers, and in cancers of the breast, ovary, prostate, bladder, esophagus and pancreas. The work was led by scientists at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.

17 Oct 2005

Severe hypoglycemia - complication of gastric bypass surgery

Physicians monitoring patients who have undergone gastric bypass surgery should be on the alert for a new, potentially dangerous hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) complication that, while rare, may require quick treatment, according to a new study

12 Oct 2005