Thyroid News and Research

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Low affinity analogs of thyrotropin-releasing hormone are super-agonists

Chemical knockoffs resembling a key thyroid-related hormone are, in certain cases, more effective than the real thing at activating the target receptor.

16 May 2006

Osteoporosis could be caused by factors other than declining estrogen levels

New evidence in the April 21, 2006 Cell challenges the long-standing notion that declining estrogen levels alone lead to osteoporosis after women go through menopause. The researchers rather found that high levels of pituitary-derived follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) cause bone loss in mice. The pituitary is a master gland found at the base of the brain.

26 Apr 2006

Iodine could have helped to spare many Chernobyl children from thyroid cancer

As the 20th anniversary of Chernobyl approaches, UNICEF says that the numbers of children who developed thyroid cancer could have been significantly lower if they had been consuming iodized salt in their daily diet at the time of the accident.

20 Apr 2006

Novel and important benefits of vitamin D and the problems associated with vitamin D deficiency

...will be discussed at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) Fifteenth Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress, April 26-30, at the Hyatt Regency Chicago.

19 Apr 2006

Chernobyl: 20 years later

Chernobyl, the most significant accident in nuclear history, took place on 26 April 1986. Even 20 years later, the accident has left the world with many unanswered questions about its impact on human health, the environment, and the socio-economic sector.

19 Apr 2006

Chemicals used in sunscreens may disturb production of thyroid hormone

UV-absorbing chemicals used in sunscreens may disturb production of thyroid hormone, according to new work presented at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Glasgow.

6 Apr 2006

Minimally invasive removal of the thyroid gland can work for many thyroid patients

Many patients with diseased thyroids have two safe, effective treatment options that can dramatically reduce the size of their neck incisions and speed recovery, researchers say.

19 Mar 2006

Overactive thyroid gland linked to increased risk for atrial fibrillation

Having an overactive thyroid gland is linked with an increased risk for atrial fibrillation (a type of abnormal heart rhythm), but neither an over- or under active thyroid gland is associated with a higher risk for other cardiovascular problems or increased risk of death

1 Mar 2006

Study questions whether treatment is necessary for mild thyroid problems

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have found that leaving a mildly underactive thyroid gland (subclinical hypothyroidism) untreated does not lead to increased cardiovascular risk.

1 Mar 2006

Chink in cancer's armor

Much as the famed starship Enterprise would deploy a deflector shield to evade enemy attack, tumor cells are capable of switching on a molecular force field of their own to fend off treatments aimed at killing them. Now University of Florida researchers have found a chink in their armor.

13 Feb 2006

rhTSH combined with radiation therapy successfully destroys remaining thyroid tissue

A multicenter international study, including Johns Hopkins, has found that after surgery for thyroid cancer, giving genetically engineered human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rhTSH) before radioiodine treatment avoids the previous need to stop thyroid replacement therapy and the miserable side effects that go with it.

9 Jan 2006

Hopkins discovery provides molecular marker to assess risk for patients with papillary thyroid cancer

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have found that a mutation in the gene that triggers production of a tumor growth protein is linked to poorer outcomes for patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).

6 Jan 2006

Subclinical hypothyroidism associated with increased risk of congestive heart failure

A hormonal condition known as subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with an increased risk of congestive heart failure among older adults, but not with other cardiovascular events and death, according to a study in the November 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

7 Dec 2005

Under-active thyroid can increase heart failure risk

According to a new study older adults people who have an under active thyroid, or hypothyroidism, but with no symptoms, have an increased the risk of congestive heart failure.

30 Nov 2005

Cancer survivors require tailored follow-up plans

Citing shortfalls in the care currently provided to the country's 10 million cancer survivors, a new report recommends that each cancer patient receive a "survivorship care plan."

13 Nov 2005

Discovery of signaling mechanism may help prevent metastatic melanoma

Researchers at Northwestern University have discovered a key signaling mechanism that may promote the ability of highly aggressive malignant melanoma cells to metastasize, or spread from a primary tumor to distant sites within the body.

1 Nov 2005

Cancer incidence among women has increased slightly

Overall rates of cancer death for both men and women have declined in the United States, and cancer incidence has remained stable among men. However, overall cancer incidence among women has increased slightly, according to a special article that appears in the October 5 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

4 Oct 2005

Americans' risk of dying from cancer continues to decline

The nation's leading cancer organizations report that Americans' risk of dying from cancer continues to decline and that the rate of new cancers is holding steady. The "Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2002," published in the Oct. 5, 2005, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, shows observed cancer death rates from all cancers combined dropped 1.1 percent per year from 1993 to 2002.

4 Oct 2005

Dual association of beta-carotene with risk of tobacco-related cancers

A new study of French women has found that high beta-carotene intake--through a combination of diet or supplementation--is associated with a higher risk of tobacco-related cancers in smokers, but the risk of these cancers decreases with increasing beta-carotene intake in nonsmokers.

20 Sep 2005

Why do estrogen-dependent breast-cancer cells grow and spread rapidly?

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say it may be because estrogen virtually eliminates levels of a vitally important regulatory protein.

10 Sep 2005