Endocrinology News and Research

Latest Endocrinology News and Research

Gymnemic acid nanocrystals could help develop soluble drug compounds

Researchers in India have demonstrated that producing nanoscopic crystals of a pharmaceutical product can allow the medication to be absorbed by the gut even if the drug is not soluble in water.

7 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

Cincinnati Children's Hospital receives $12 million grant to create IBD registry

Building on the success of previous efforts among researchers and caregivers to improve the care of chronically ill children, a $12-million grant to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center will allow creation of a registry system unlike any before it, providing information in real time on thousands of cases around the country – and eventually the world.

7 Oct 2010

Waist size can predict diabetes risk

A higher rate of diabetes seen among adult Americans when compared to peers in England is explained primarily by a larger waist size rather than conventional risk factors such as obesity, according to a new study by researchers from the RAND Corporation, University College London and the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London.

7 Oct 2010

NIH grants $3.7 million to develop more accurate algorithms for tracking fetal development

Fetal growth is used as a marker of health and well-being in unborn babies as well as children. But, the tools that are currently available to differentiate between a small, healthy fetus and a fetus that is small due to pathologic causes have significant limitations. What if they were improved. Would it save the health care system resources spent monitoring women who might need medical intervention because their fetuses might just be small and healthy. Would it help some women avoid the anxiety such intervention brings.

7 Oct 2010

'The Pittsburgh Protocol' enables reduction of multiple anti-rejection drugs after transplantation

The Pittsburgh Protocol is unique in utilizing bone marrow cells to enable reduction of the need for multiple anti-rejection drugs after transplantation. The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is currently the only transplantation center in the world to offer it. An early report of the initial experience with the "Pittsburgh Protocol" in three recipients of upper extremity transplants was presented during the 2010 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.

7 Oct 2010

Researchers discover mechanism of body fat accumulation

Using ice cream, candy bars and energy drinks to help volunteers gain weight, Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered the mechanisms of how body fat grows. Increased abdominal fat seems to heighten risk for metabolic disease, while fat expansion in the lower body as in the thighs seems to lower the risk. The findings, appearing in today's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), help explain why.

6 Oct 2010

Interim data from HyQ Phase III clinical study in primary immune deficiency presented at 26th ESID

Data from interim analyses of a Phase III clinical study in patients with primary immune deficiency (PID) who received Baxter's HyQ were presented at the 26th meeting of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies (ESID) in Istanbul, Turkey. HyQ is an immune globulin (IG) therapy facilitated subcutaneously by recombinant human hyaluronidase, a dispersion and permeation enhancer.

From Baxter International Inc. 6 Oct 2010

MEPs organizes joint meeting to improve policies for tackling chronic diseases

In an unprecedented effort to bring prevention of chronic diseases to the top of the EU agenda, the MEP Heart Group , the MEP Group for Kidney Health , the EU Diabetes Working Group and MEPs Against Cancer organise a joint meeting today in the European Parliament, together with representatives of health professionals and health activists at European level.

6 Oct 2010

AOA launches 'Break Through Your Pain' public education campaign

If you're living in pain, you're certainly not alone. According to a new survey released today by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) nearly 70% of Americans report that they, or someone they care for, have experienced pain during the past 30 days. While Congress declared 2000 to 2010 the "Decade of Pain Control and Research," chronic, or reoccurring pain still affects more Americans than cancer, diabetes and heart disease combined. In fact, more than 76 million people live in pain every day.

6 Oct 2010

Androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer associated with structural bone decay

Using novel technology allowing "virtual bone biopsies" researchers have found that a common treatment for prostate cancer called androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is associated with structural decay of cortical and trabecular bone. The study has been accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

6 Oct 2010

Podocytes key to development of kidney failure in diabetes

Diabetes is the leading reason for kidney failure in the world, resulting in patients requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. New research has found a cell in the kidney called the podocyte could be the key to understanding why this happens.

6 Oct 2010

Mt. Sinai surgeons pioneer scar-free gallbladder removal

A team of surgeons from Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York who have pioneered scar-free gallbladder removal are offering the procedure to all suitable patients and extending this new type of surgical procedure to other operations in the abdomen. They reported on their updated findings today at the 2010 Annual Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.

6 Oct 2010

Insulin-sensitizing drugs may offer new treatments for kidney failure

Evidence reported in the October issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, offers a completely new explanation for why people with diabetes account for more than half of all patients requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. It appears that insulin has a significant influence on the structure and proper function of a particular group of very specialized cells, known as podocytes, that are integral to the kidney's ability to do its job filtering blood.

6 Oct 2010

EU called upon to tackle problem of chronic non-communicable diseases

Members of the European Parliament are calling on the Presidency of the EU and Member States to tackle urgently the problem of chronic non-communicable diseases that are responsible for 86% of all deaths in the WHO European Region. Their call is supported by an alliance of European health professionals, including ECCO - the European CanCer Organisation - and ESMO - the European Society for Medical Oncology.

5 Oct 2010

Consumer Reports Health publishes rankings of 227 HMOs, POS plans

With open enrollment season now underway, consumers with employer-based health insurance can take advantage of the once-a-year opportunity to switch plans. To help consumers compare health insurance plans, Consumer Reports Health is today publishing rankings of 227 HMOs and Point of Service (POS) plans.

5 Oct 2010

Care Improvement Plus releases 2011 Medicare health plan benefits to improve quality of care

Care Improvement Plus, operator of one of the largest special needs plans in Texas, is standing by its commitment to serve chronically ill and underserved Medicare beneficiaries with the release of its 2011 Medicare health plan benefits in preparation for the upcoming Medicare annual election period, which begins November 15th.

5 Oct 2010

Merck Serono to present Erbitux data at ESMO Congress

Merck Serono, a division of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany announces today that it will be presenting new data from several studies of Erbitux (cetuximab) in a range of solid tumor types including the first Phase II data in breast and prostate cancers. These data will be presented at the forthcoming 35th European Society for Medical Oncology Congress (ESMO) in Milan, October 8-12, 2010.

5 Oct 2010

Research on T cell may lead to new treatment options for type 1 diabetes

A research team from the University of British Columbia and the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) at BC Children's Hospital has identified the role of a type of T cell in type 1 diabetes that may lead to new treatment options for young patients.

5 Oct 2010

UnitedHealth announces $2.25 million to support Y's healthy-living initiatives

UnitedHealth Group has announced a three-year, $2.25 million commitment to support the Y's healthy-living initiatives and efforts to prevent obesity and related chronic diseases.

5 Oct 2010