Endocrinology News and Research

Latest Endocrinology News and Research

Low vitamin D levels mediate racial disparities in pain

A new study reveals that black Americans display lower levels of vitamin D and greater pain sensitivity compared to white Americans. Findings published in Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), indicate that vitamin D deficiency may be one of many factors that account for increased pain in older black Americans with knee osteoarthritis (OA).

7 Nov 2012

Traditional CV risk factors linked to peripheral artery disease

Smoking, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia are significantly associated with the risk for clinically significant peripheral artery disease in men, with each additional factor doubling the risk, conclude US and Dutch researchers.

6 Nov 2012

Comprehensive overview of vascular risk factors to Alzheimer's disease

Over the last 15 years, researchers have found a significant association between vascular diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes type 2, hyperlipidemia, and heart disease and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

6 Nov 2012

Racial differences in fatal coronary heart disease associated with risk factor burden

Despite treatment advances for coronary heart disease over the past 20 years, black men and women still have twice the risk of fatal coronary heart disease compared with white men and women, according to a study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham appearing in the Nov. 7, 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

6 Nov 2012

Promotoras help diabetics overcome cultural, social and economic barriers

New findings from a 15-year series of studies led by care providers at Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute reveal that culturally tailored community-created programs are effective at reducing health-related costs and delivering higher quality care.

6 Nov 2012

ECG analysis may predict risk of death from all causes

Research by Johns Hopkins cardiologists suggests that electrocardiograms (ECGs), which are widely used tests to assess the heart’s electrical activity, may have a greater and more profound future role in predicting the risk of death from any cause, not just heart problems.

6 Nov 2012

Patients with diabetes, multi-vessel coronary artery disease can benefit from bypass surgery

An international, clinical research trial has shown that patients with diabetes whose multi-vessel coronary artery disease is treated with bypass surgery live longer and are less likely to suffer severe complications like heart attacks than those who undergo angioplasty.

6 Nov 2012

Lifetime risks for total CVD are high regardless of index age

Even in men and women with an optimal cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor profile, the lifetime risk estimate for CVD is greater than 30 percent, and is more than 50 percent for men and women overall, according to a study appearing in November 7 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on cardiovascular disease.

6 Nov 2012

University of Alberta medical research supports the 'obesity paradox'

Medical researchers at the University of Alberta studied the records of nearly 1000 patients who were admitted to hospital with pneumonia and noted those who were obese were more apt to survive compared to those who were of normal weight.

6 Nov 2012

Latinos, Hispanics in the U.S. more likely to develop major cardiovascular diseases

Hispanics and Latinos living in the U.S. are highly likely to have several major cardiovascular disease risk factors, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and smoking, according to a new, large-scale study. Risks vary among the diverse Hispanic/Latino groups, but individuals who were born in the U.S. are more likely to have multiple risk factors.

6 Nov 2012

Keeping cardiovascular disease risk factors low may lead to a longer, healthier life

If you have optimal heart health in middle age, you may live up to 14 years longer, free of cardiovascular disease, than your peers who have two or more cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study.

6 Nov 2012

Study: Many Hispanic/Latino adults in the U.S. are at high risk for heart attack or stroke

A study published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) indicated that many Hispanic/Latino adults living in the United States are at high risk for heart attack or stroke. This risk is highest in men and in older people, born in the US or that have lived in the US more than 10 years, that prefer to speak English, are lower income, or never finished high school.

5 Nov 2012

Neonatal TSH screening insensitive for iodine insufficiency

Measuring levels of neonatal thyroid-stimulating hormone may not be sufficiently sensitive for inferring the extent of iodine deficiency in a given population, study results suggest.

5 Nov 2012

Smoke-free laws lead to fewer heart attacks

A recent decline in the incidence of myocardial infarction in Olmsted County, Minnesota, USA, could be due to the implementation of smoke-free laws, researchers suggest.

5 Nov 2012

Traditional CV risk factors linked to peripheral artery disease

5 Nov 2012

Study compares effectiveness of CABG surgery with PCI for adults with diabetes and heart disease

Adults with diabetes and multi-vessel coronary heart disease who underwent cardiac bypass surgery had better overall heart-related outcomes than those who underwent an artery-opening procedure to improve blood flow to the heart muscle, according to the results from an international study. The research was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

5 Nov 2012

Vitamin D deficiency: an interview with Kellie Bilinski

We know that vitamin D is important in keeping bones strong. In the last 30-40 years it has also been realized that vitamin D has a lot of other roles in the body. Vitamin D essentially has a role in any cell in the body that has a vitamin D receptor.

5 Nov 2012

New information related to kidney transplantation

Three studies presented during the American Society of Nephrology's Annual Kidney Week provide new information related to kidney transplantation—specifically, the post-transplant health of kidney donors and the racial disparities faced by children in need of transplants.

3 Nov 2012

Sleep experts advise people to reset sleep habits when they reset clocks

On Sunday morning, the clocks will fall back to mark the official end of daylight savings time. Northwestern Medicine sleep experts warn that the one hour time shift can be disruptive to sleep patterns, but that it also offers an excellent opportunity to evaluate and improve sleep patterns.

3 Nov 2012

Some types of bariatric surgery may cause bone loss, say endocrinologists

Bariatric surgery, which significantly curtails the amount of food a person can eat, is the most effective treatment against obesity and is being recognized as a potentially valuable tool in the fight against diabetes related to obesity.

3 Nov 2012