Pituitary Gland News and Research

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Scientists find two proteins that regulates water retention in salt-sensitive hypertension

Research conducted by scientists at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans has found that two proteins in the brain act as valves to turn the hormone that regulates water retention in the body on and off. Their findings may lead to advances in treatment for diseases like high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and cirrhosis of the liver. The research is published in the November 1, 2010 issue of Endocrinology.

25 Oct 2010

American Cancer Society awards 94 national research, training grants to 70 institutions nationwide

The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research in the United States, has awarded 94 national research and training grants totaling $46,633,000 to 70 institutions nationwide in the first of two grants cycles for 2011.

7 Oct 2010

Dr. Shlomo Melmed awarded 9th Endocrine Regulation Prize of the Fondation Ipsen

The international jury under the presidency of Professor Iain Robinson (National Institute for Medical Research, London, UK) awarded today the 9th Endocrine Regulation Prize of the Fondation Ipsen (20.000€) to Dr. Shlomo Melmed (Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, USA) during the annual congress of the ENEA (European NeuroEndocrine Association) in Liège (Belgium), for his translational approach to endocrinology. Shlomo Melmed is an internationally recognized endocrinologist and an authority on pituitary medicine.

22 Sep 2010

Novartis' SOM230 reduces cortisol levels in Cushing's disease patients

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that the results of a Phase III study of SOM230 (pasireotide) showed a reduction in cortisol levels in patients with Cushing's disease, a condition in which a benign (non-cancerous) pituitary tumor causes the adrenal glands to produce excess cortisol and can be fatal. Results will be presented at the 14th Congress of the European Neuroendocrine Association (ENEA).

22 Sep 2010

Decreasing pituitary's sensitivity to insulin could be new target for infertility treatment

Obese women have a well-known risk for infertility, but a new Johns Hopkins Children's Center study has unraveled what investigators there believe is the mechanism that accounts for the risk.

8 Sep 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

FSU biologist-mathematician team receives $2.64 million grant to study prolactin secretion

A Florida State University biologist and mathematician have joined forces to find out exactly how the brain oversees the secretion of the hormone prolactin from the pituitary gland, research that could lead to new ways to treat hundreds of disorders, including infertility.

4 Aug 2010

Scientists identify symptoms associated with late-onset hypogonadism

Scientists have for the first time identified the symptoms associated with what has been termed late-onset hypogonadism or 'male menopause' caused by a reduction in testosterone production in ageing men.

17 Jun 2010

Chiasma successfully completes Phase I clinical study of Octreolin

Chiasma, Inc., a privately held biopharma company, announced that it has successfully completed a Phase I clinical study evaluating the safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) of its proprietary product Octreolin, which contains the active ingredient octreotide actetate and is administered orally

14 Jun 2010

Scientists discover two body clock genes that may help find treatments for seasonal affective disorder

Scientists have discovered two "body clock" genes that reveal how seasonal changes in hormones are controlled and could ultimately help find treatments for seasonal affective disorder.

3 May 2010

Exercise helps retain greater bone density: Researchers

The stage for osteoporosis is set well before menopause-but exercise can help rewrite the script, according to Medical College of Georgia researchers.

26 Apr 2010

Minimally invasive technique holds promise for removing large brain tumors

A minimally invasive endoscopic procedure holds promise for safely removing large brain tumors from an area at the bottom of the skull, near the sinus cavities, clinical researchers at the Brain Tumor Center at the University of Cincinnati Neuroscience Institute (UCNI) at University Hospital have found.

2 Apr 2010

Scientists discover mechanism that regulates prolactin hormone

A mechanism for regulating the hormone prolactin has newly been revealed by scientists at Karolinska Institutet. The results are to be published in the scientific journal Neuron, and may be significant for conditions and functions such as breast-feeding, sexual libido, and metabolism.

28 Jan 2010

Study shows congenital HGH deficiency has no effect on normal lifespan

People profoundly deficient in human growth hormone (HGH) due to a genetic mutation appear to live just as long as people who make normal amounts of the hormone, a new study shows. The findings suggest that HGH may not be the "fountain of youth" that some researchers have suggested.

27 Jan 2010

New findings may yield novel therapies for chronic neurodegenerative diseases

We all have at one time or another experienced the typical signs of an infection: the fever, the listlessness, the lack of appetite. They are orchestrated by the brain in response to circulating cytokines, the signaling molecules of the immune system. But just how cytokines' reach extends beyond the almost impenetrable blood-brain barrier has been the topic of much dispute.

18 Jan 2010

Chordoma surgery through the nose

A remarkable brain surgery at Saint John’s Health Center has restored vision to a seriously ill young woman from Spain—and the entire operation was performed through her nose without an incision.

22 Dec 2009

Antisense Therapeutics completes repeat-dosing toxicology studies for ATL1103

Antisense Therapeutics Limited is pleased to announce that the Company has now completed repeat-dosing toxicology studies for ATL1103 in two species -- mouse and non-human primate. Draft study reports from the study contractors in the United States have been received, and the toxicology outcomes from these studies support ANP's plans for the continued development of ATL1103.

14 Oct 2009

Legislation grants improve research and employment initiatives in Indiana University medical campus

Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have received more than $12 million in grants funded by the federal economic stimulus legislation, funding that has bolstered both research initiatives and research employment on the medical center campus.

16 Sep 2009

Discovery of mutation in AIP gene associated with acromegaly

An indigenous family living in a mountainous area of Malaysian Borneo helped Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) researchers to discover information about genetic mutations associated with acromegaly, a form of gigantism that often results in enlarged hands, feet, and facial features.

24 Aug 2009