Endocrinology News and Research

Latest Endocrinology News and Research

Scientists develop obesity drug without neurological side effects

The drug rimonabant was developed as a treatment for obesity and its myriad of serious health consequences. Despite having its desired effects on weight, which it decreased, and on levels of glucose and fats in the blood, rimonabant was never approved for use in the US because of serious neurological side effects including depression and anxiety. Now, a team of researchers, led by George Kunos, at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, and Alexandros Makriyannis, at Northeastern University, Boston, have developed a drug that has the same positive effects in mice on levels of glucose and fats in the blood as rimonabant but none of the neurological side effects.

27 Jul 2010

New drug for type 2 diabetes, Effect of insulin on bones

In a groundbreaking finding, a new medicine Galvus (vildagliptin) has been created for people with type 2 diabetes that would lower blood glucose levels without the side effects of other medications.

26 Jul 2010

East Tennessee Children's Hospital selects ProVation Order Sets, powered by UpToDate Decision Support

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that East Tennessee Children's Hospital has selected ProVation® Order Sets, powered by UpToDate® Decision Support, to automate the creation, deployment and maintenance of order sets.

26 Jul 2010

Obesity linked to early puberty in girls

A review of more than 100 studies found overweight girls tend to reach puberty earlier than their peers do.

26 Jul 2010

Calibra Medical's Finesse insulin patch-pen receives FDA clearance for use with Novo Nordisk's Novolog

Calibra Medical announced today it received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Finesse™ insulin patch-pen for up to three-day use with Novo Nordisk's Novolog® rapid acting insulin. Combining the mealtime therapy-adherence benefits of insulin pumps with the simplicity and affordability of syringes and pens, Calibra's novel bolus-only patch-pen is a small, adhesively attached, flat device that can be operated discretely through clothing to deliver mealtime, snack time, and correction bolus insulin in seconds.

26 Jul 2010

Medtronic glucose monitoring device helps owners manage pets’ diabetes

The treatment of diabetes was revolutionized in 1922 when insulin was isolated from dogs. Since then, significant advances in human medicine have made diabetes more manageable for patients. Now, human medicine has returned the favor and used these advances to help dogs with diabetes. A University of Missouri researcher is using a continuous glucose monitoring device - commonly used in humans with diabetes - to help treat dogs and other animals. The device, which provides a detailed glucose picture of an animal over several days, will help pet owners manage their pets' diabetes.

26 Jul 2010

New guidelines for care of heart transplant recipients from ISHLT

Since the dawn of heart transplantation in the 1960s, medical care of heart transplant recipients has varied from center to center and been guided by the experience of individual clinicians. The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) has made an unprecedented commitment by convening experts in all areas of heart transplantation to develop practice guidelines for the care of heart transplant recipients.

26 Jul 2010

Mismanagement of diabetes leads to fatal accident

One of the worst case scenarios that can happen to a diabetic is if he or she falls into a hypoglycemic coma. This is caused by a severe deficiency in glucose levels found in the blood which causes the brain to seek other energy sources at the same time shutting down other important body functions. If treatment is delayed or neglected by the diabetic person, such a coma can cause not only loss of consciousness but also irreversible brain damage and death.

26 Jul 2010

Boehringer Ingelheim announces European CHMP Positive Opinion for TWYNSTA

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a Positive Opinion for the approval of TWYNSTA®. It will be indicated in adults whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled on amlodipine and is also indicated as replacement therapy in adult patients receiving telmisartan and amlodipine from separate tablets can instead receive tablets of TWYNSTA containing the same component doses.

26 Jul 2010

Researchers recommend six steps for shared decision making in sex development disorder surgery

A shared decision-making process would assist doctors and parents who are facing the extraordinarily complex, challenging and controversial choices presented when infants are born with genetic or anatomical anomalies in sexual development and are being considered for elective corrective surgery, a new research paper suggests.

26 Jul 2010

HTG patients face increased risk for heart disease, stroke: Study

It can make blood look like cream of tomato soup. Patients with high levels of triglycerides in their blood, a disease called hypertriglyceridemia face an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. HTG affects one in 20 people in North America and is also associated with obesity, diabetes and pancreatitis. Most people now understand the importance of LDL, the bad cholesterol and HDL, the good cholesterol, to their overall health.

26 Jul 2010

Inhibiting fatty acid synthase can reduce atherosclerosis: Study

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found a way to significantly reduce atherosclerosis in mice that does not involve lowering cholesterol levels or eliminating other obesity-related problems.

26 Jul 2010

Ohio sets up high risk pool; Four drug companies come under scrutiny for payments to Pittsburgh doctors, nurses

"Ohioans with pre-existing health conditions, such as cancer or diabetes, can apply for coverage under a new high-risk insurance pool beginning Aug. 1." Qualifications include evidence of a pre-existing condition, proof of Ohio residency and U.S. citizenship, state of being uninsured for six months prior to the date of applying for coverage and being "ineligible for coverage under the Medicare program, the Ohio Medical Assistance Program, the Ohio Children's Health Insurance Program, or an employer-sponsored group health plan, unless subject to a mandatory initial waiting period" (7/22).

26 Jul 2010

Insurers scrambling to get expenses defined as patient care

The New York Times looks at current efforts by state insurance officials to set regulations requried under the new health overhaul about insurance company spending. "The legislative battle over the health care overhaul ended months ago, but it is hard to tell from the intense effort now under way by insurance companies to retool a critical provision.

26 Jul 2010

New data on health insurance to be included in AHRQ's 2009 State Snapshots

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's annual release of state-by-state quality data has been expanded to include new data on health insurance, including data on health care quality categorized by source of payment, including private insurance, Medicare, Medicaid and those without insurance.

23 Jul 2010

CWRU introduces new dental health program for families

Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine announced a new program called Family First in which they will adopt nine families and care for multiple generations in a family unit.

23 Jul 2010

Insulin action may provide link between bone health, metabolic disease: Study

A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers has found that insulin, the sugar-regulating hormone, is required for normal bone development and that it may provide a link between bone health and metabolic disease, such as diabetes.

23 Jul 2010

More time spent sitting linked to higher risk of death

Childhood physical abuse associated with adulthood heart disease

Childhood physical abuse is associated with significantly elevated rates of heart disease in adulthood, according to new findings by University of Toronto researchers, published in this month's issue of the journal Child Abuse & Neglect.

23 Jul 2010

Kaiser Permanente's Total Joint Replacement Registry enhances patient safety, quality of care

A total joint replacement registry based on carefully designed and integrated technology can enhance patient safety, quality of care, cost-effectiveness and research, according to a paper published in the online and print editions of Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research, a journal of the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons.

23 Jul 2010