Endocrinology News and Research

Latest Endocrinology News and Research

Johnson & Johnson fourth quarter sales increase 3.9% to $16.3 billion

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $16.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 3.9% as compared to the fourth quarter of 2010. Operational sales increased 4.0% and the negative impact of currency was 0.1%.

24 Jan 2012

Brown fat burns in the cold and could hold key to burning excess fat: Study

Brown fat is something that occurs more in thin people than fat, younger people than older and young women than men. It is brown in color and a new study finds that one form of it, which is turned on in cold climates can burn calories from elsewhere in the body to keep the body warm. Another new study finds that a second form of brown fat can be created from ordinary white fat by exercise.

24 Jan 2012

Stem cells show promise in treating blindness

A medical breakthrough was reported Monday in the journal The Lancet wherein the results of a therapy using human embryonic stem cells in two legally blind patients was described.

24 Jan 2012

More efficient diagnostic tools are not always used for neuropathy patients

Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed the tremendous cost of diagnosing peripheral neuropathy and found that less expensive, more effective tests are less likely to be used.

24 Jan 2012

Exposure to iodinated contrast media may increase risk of hyperthyroidism

Exposure to iodinated contrast media during imaging procedures is associated with changes in thyroid function, and increased risk of developing hyperthyroidism, according to a report in the January 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

24 Jan 2012

Researchers analyze tremendous cost of peripheral neuropathy diagnosis

Researchers at the University of Michigan analyzed the tremendous cost of diagnosing peripheral neuropathy and found that less expensive, more effective tests are less likely to be used.

24 Jan 2012

Study shows childhood experiences have long-term effects on health in midlife

Nurturing mothers have garnered accolades for rescuing skinned knees on the playground and coaxing their children to sleep with lullabies. Now they're gaining merit for their offspring's physical health in middle age.

24 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Opposing views of HHS' contraception rule; Health care costs and the liberal agenda

The administration's rule leaves the decision in the hands of patients, where it belongs, while respecting the rights of religions. It holds true to the original and wise idea that access to preventive medicine is a good idea for the nation's physical and financial well-being.

24 Jan 2012

New sensor can detect glucose levels in human saliva

For the 26 million Americans with diabetes, drawing blood is the most prevalent way to check glucose levels. It is invasive and at least minimally painful. Researchers at Brown University are working on a new sensor that can check blood sugar levels by measuring glucose concentrations in saliva instead.

24 Jan 2012

Novo Nordisk Type 1 Diabetes R&D Center to be established in Seattle

Novo Nordisk announced today that the company will establish a type 1 diabetes research and development center in Seattle, Wash., U.S. The new center will combine Novo Nordisk's history of innovation and leadership in diabetes treatment with the company's growing expertise in immunotherapy.

24 Jan 2012

Study takes a closer look at high fructose corn syrup and table sugar

With growing concern that excessive levels of fructose may pose a great health risk - causing high blood pressure, kidney disease and diabetes - researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, along with their colleagues at the University of Florida, set out to see if two common sweeteners in western diets differ in their effects on the body in the first few hours after ingestion.

24 Jan 2012

Possible link between vascular lesions and Alzheimer's disease

Approximately 20 percent of all stroke survivors will develop cognitive problems later in life, including vascular dementia. Experts with the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston say recent research showing a possible link between vascular lesions and Alzheimer's disease is yet another reason to be more vigilant in our efforts to prevent a stroke.

24 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: An endorsement for Gingrich; Paula Deen and diabetes

As the attorney general who filed the lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, I care deeply about repealing and replacing the law. For this to happen, President Obama has to be replaced. There is no other candidate as well equipped as Newt Gingrich to take it to Barack Obama in a health care debate.

21 Jan 2012

Exercise fails to improve glucose metabolism in autophagy-deficient mice

The health benefits of exercise on blood sugar metabolism may come from the body's ability to devour itself, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report in the journal Nature.

21 Jan 2012

Simplest, reinforced FDA warnings found effective

The impact of efforts by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to notify the general public and health care providers about unanticipated risks from approved medications has been "varied and unpredictable," according to a systematic review of published studies about FDA warnings and alerts over the last 20 years.

20 Jan 2012

New biomarkers can predict risk of kidney failure in patients with diabetes

Scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have identified two novel markers that, when elevated in the blood stream, can predict accurately the risk of renal (kidney) failure in patients with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

20 Jan 2012

Report reveals 45.9M American adults suffered from mental illness in the past year

A new national report reveals that 45.9 million American adults aged 18 or older, or 20 percent of this age group, experienced mental illness in the past year. The rate of mental illness was more than twice as high among those aged 18 to 25 (29.9 percent) than among those aged 50 and older (14.3 percent). Adult women were also more likely than men to have experienced mental illness in the past year (23 percent versus 16.8 percent).

20 Jan 2012

Platelet receptor could help with diseases that impact RBCs

A receptor found on blood platelets whose importance as a potential pharmaceutical target has long been questioned may in fact be fruitful in drug testing, according to new research from Michigan State University chemists.

20 Jan 2012

TNF receptors 1 and 2 may predict kidney disease in diabetes

Levels of certain blood proteins indicate which diabetes patients will likely develop life-threatening kidney problems in the future, according to two studies appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

20 Jan 2012

FDA issues complete response letter to Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca's dapagliflozin

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and AstraZeneca today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a complete response letter regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for investigational compound dapagliflozin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in adults.

19 Jan 2012