Endocrinology News and Research

Latest Endocrinology News and Research

Sleep deprivation and chronic disease

Sleep experts believe that sleep deprivation and inadequate sleep is becoming frightfully common and it can be bad for health in more ways than one. According to Harvard School of Medicine's Healthy Sleep site there is a real link between chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and depression and chronic lack of sleep.

24 Aug 2010

Stem cell research issues fought out in the court

A US district court has issued a temporary injunction stopping President Obama’s plans to increase funding for human embryonic stem cell research. The US government will appeal. According to a Justice Department spokesman, they are likely to file a case this week.

24 Aug 2010

Scientists discover influence of vitamin D in genes linked with autoimmune diseases

UK scientists at the University of Oxford have discovered that vitamin D can affect the activity of more than 200 genes of cells grown in the lab. Some of these genes are known from previous studies to be involved in diseases like diabetes and cancer.

24 Aug 2010

3SBio and Isotechnika enter strategic agreement for voclosporin in China

3SBio Inc., a leading China-based biotechnology company focused on researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing biopharmaceutical products and Isotechnika Pharma Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of immune modulating therapeutics, today announced the signing of a development and commercialization agreement for voclosporin.

24 Aug 2010

Medtronic 2011 first quarter revenue decreases 4%

Medtronic, Inc. today announced financial results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2011, which ended July 30, 2010.

24 Aug 2010

Special empowerment program to promote confidence in diabetic children

Teens are learning how to shred down the mountain and balance blood sugars in a special empowerment program called Riding on Insulin, taking place December 11, 2010, at The Canyons Resort in Park City. The day, led by Sean Busby,26 year old professional snowboarder with type 1 diabetes promotes courage and confidence and shows children with type 1 or type 2 they can overcome mental and physical challenges.

24 Aug 2010

FRC applauds preliminary injunction to stop taxpayers for embryonic stem cell research

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins applauded today's preliminary injunction that for now stops taxpayer funded embryonic stem cell research. Judge Royce Lamberth noted that the imposition of an injunction required that those challenging the government's funding demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success on the merits for their arguments.

24 Aug 2010

Consumers economizing on healthcare in ways that might be dangerous: Poll

More than two-thirds (69%) of Americans currently taking a prescription drug say drug makers have too much influence on doctors' prescribing decisions and half say that doctors are too eager to prescribe a drug when other non-drug options are available for managing a condition. Those are just some of the concerns raised by Americans in a new prescription drug poll by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. More information about the poll is available online at www.consumerreportsenespanol.org.

24 Aug 2010

BTE, Leapfrog Group, and PROMETHEUS Payment support NBCH's eValue8 health plan evaluation program

As the U.S. moves forward with health reform, health care purchasers are working to eliminate waste, overuse, and misuse in the health care system at the point of care. To that end, several of the nation's foremost quality and measurement organizations – Bridges to Excellence (BTE), the Leapfrog Group, and PROMETHEUS Payment® – announced their support of eValue8™, a program of the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH).

24 Aug 2010

Removing corticosteroid regimen after surgery results in better graft survival rates

University of Cincinnati (UC) analysis of 10 years of data from local kidney transplant patients shows that patients removed from a corticosteroid regimen shortly after surgery have better graft survival rates, better survival rates and fewer cardiovascular events than patients kept on the traditional regimen of long-term steroids.

24 Aug 2010

Study finds high glucose level blocks infectious bacteria detection, affects immunity

Research led by the Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that unhealthy glucose levels in patients with diabetes can cause significantly more problems for the body than just the well-known symptoms of the disease such as kidney damage and circulation problems.

24 Aug 2010

SEB opens new state-of-the-art laboratory operation, R&D facility

Cryo-Cell International, Inc., one of the largest and most established leaders in stem cell innovation today announced that S-Evans Biosciences, the Company's exclusive Célle menstrual stem cell technology license partner in China has opened a new state-of-the-art laboratory operation and research & development facility located in a Hi-Tech park designated to become an epicenter for stem cell and genomics R&D; cellular therapies and stem cell cryopreservation services.

23 Aug 2010

Researchers find medication for diabetes, smoking cessation

The script for two research teams inducted today into the American Chemical Society (ACS) scientific "hall of fame" the ACS Heroes of Chemistry is a tale of two pills. One team invented a medication that helps people with diabetes control their blood sugar levels. The second team invented a medicine that helps people stop smoking, an addiction that experts regard as today's single greatest preventable cause of death worldwide.

23 Aug 2010

Scientists develop new synthetic material to grow stem cells

Human pluripotent stem cells, which can become any other kind of body cell, hold great potential to treat a wide range of ailments, including Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries. However, scientists who work with such cells have had trouble growing large enough quantities to perform experiments - in particular, to be used in human studies. Furthermore, most materials now used to grow human stem cells include cells or proteins that come from mice embryos, which help stimulate stem-cell growth but would likely cause an immune reaction if injected into a human patient.

23 Aug 2010

Scientists discover new ways to boost antioxidant levels in potatoes

Scientists today reported discovery of two simple, inexpensive ways of boosting the amounts of healthful antioxidant substances in potatoes. One involves giving spuds an electric shock. The other involves zapping them with ultrasound, high frequency sound waves.

23 Aug 2010

NBA player Alonzo Mourning uses celebrity fame to fight kidney disease

In October 2000, Mourning was diagnosed with focal segmental glomerular sclerosis (FSGS), a kidney disease that causes scarring in the glomeruli, the blood vessels in the kidneys that filter the blood to make urine.

21 Aug 2010

Abt Associates to evaluate program to encourage healthier eating among lower-income Americans

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service has selected Abt Associates to lead a team evaluating a ground-breaking pilot program aimed at encouraging healthier eating among lower-income Americans. The Healthy Incentives Pilot (HIP) will enroll households in Hampden County, Massachusetts that participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program).

21 Aug 2010

Study supports role for SNARK protein in regulating glucose transport during muscle contraction and exercise

Skeletal muscles combust both lipids and carbohydrates during exercise. The carbohydrates consist of both glycogen stored in the muscles as well as glucose extracted from the blood. Being a major sink for glucose disposal, skeletal muscle represents an important model tissue for studying the intracellular signaling pathways leading to increased glucose transport.

21 Aug 2010

Updated 2nd edition of book on Graves' orbitopathy

The significant progress in the understanding of the pathogenesis and the treatment of Graves' orbitopathy (GO) has warranted a second edition of this book within three years of the first. Now also fully incorporated is the EUGOGO consensus statement on management of GO, which since has been accepted worldwide as a useful guideline.

21 Aug 2010

Low testosterone levels to blame for low libido, fatigue and weight gain

While most frequently associated with women's health, age-related hormone changes, often dubbed menopause, can occur in men as well, causing symptoms of fatigue, mood swings, decreased desire for sex, hair loss, lack of concentration and weight gain. Experts estimate that more than 5 million men are affected, yet worry the number may be considerably higher since symptoms are frequently ignored.

21 Aug 2010