Endocrinology News and Research

Latest Endocrinology News and Research

PTC restructures collaboration with Genzyme

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. and Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced today the restructuring of their collaboration. Under the original agreement, PTC held commercial rights for the U.S. and Canada and Genzyme held commercial rights in all other countries.

2 Sep 2011

NCD summit negotiations must get back on track to help millions worldwide

With negotiations over the outcomes for the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) stalled, "[i]t is feared that sound proposals for clear goals and timelines to tackle these devastating diseases are being systematically deleted, diluted and downgraded by some U.N. Member States and urgent action is needed to put the negotiations back on track, when they recommence on September 1," Rob Moodie, chair of Global Health at the Nossal Institute of Global Health, writes in the Crikey health blog "Croakey."

2 Sep 2011

Investments in EHRs could reap major benefits in better patient care, health outcomes

Research published today in the New England Journal of Medicine gives cause for optimism that federal investments in electronic health records (EHRs) could reap major benefits in better patient care and health outcomes.

2 Sep 2011

September issue of JACR summarizes methods for radiation dose optimization in chest CT scans

An article in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology summarizes methods for radiation dose optimization in chest computed tomography (CT) scans.

2 Sep 2011

UTHealth Phase I trial: Bone marrow stem cell therapy feasible, safe for acute stroke patients

Using a patient's own bone marrow stem cells to treat acute stroke is feasible and safe, according to the results of a ground-breaking Phase I trial at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

2 Sep 2011

Study: EHRs improve diabetes care, improve clinical quality

A Case Western Reserve University study has found electronic health records could help keep patients healthier - at least those with diabetes - and that clinical quality improvement is greater at practices that use EHRs.

2 Sep 2011

Stroke hospitalization rates in adolescents and young adults increase up to 37%

Ischemic stroke hospitalization rates in adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 44 increased up to 37% between 1995 and 2008 according to a study conducted by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2 Sep 2011

New Diabetes Care article helps to identify and treat Charcot foot

Robert Winkler says he limped around on his painful left foot for six months, suffering unnecessarily from a misdiagnosis by a physician who didn't know about the symptoms and treatments for Charcot foot, a form of localized osteoporosis linked to diabetes that causes the bones to soften and break, often resulting in amputation.

2 Sep 2011

UTHealth inaugurates new center for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases research

The University of Texas Health Science at Houston (UTHealth) announced the opening of a center devoted to researching and treating diseases associated with malfunctioning immune systems.

2 Sep 2011

New clinical data on Bristol-Myers Squibb's NULOJIX to be presented at ESOT 2011 congress

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that new data on NULOJIX (belatacept) will be presented at the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT) Congress on September 4 -7, 2011 in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.

2 Sep 2011

Age-related lens yellowing linked to sleep disorders

A natural yellowing of the eye lens that absorbs blue light has been linked to sleep disorders in a group of test volunteers, according to a study in the September 1 issue of the journal Sleep. As this type of lens discoloration worsened with age, so did the risk of insomnia.

2 Sep 2011

Low-cost, portable technique can detect specific proteins in human blood

Blood tests are important diagnostic tools. They accurately tease-out vanishingly small concentrations of proteins and other molecules that help give a picture of overall health or signal the presence of specific diseases. Current testing procedures, however, are expensive and time-consuming, while sophisticated test equipment is bulky and difficult to transport.

2 Sep 2011

Bowel cancer, coffee and diabetes: Two new studies

Australian researchers have identified a link between type 2 diabetes in men and a significantly increased risk of bowel cancer, triggering calls for diabetics to have regular checks.

31 Aug 2011

Americans ‘gulping’ down sweetened beverages: Study

According to health experts half of Americans drink a soda or sugary beverage each day. One in 20 people drinks the equivalent of more than four cans of soda each day. This is in spite of the health officials’ recommendation to limit sweetened beverages to less than half a can.

31 Aug 2011

New guidelines for the treatment of acromegaly, a serious growth hormone disorder

It’s said a lot can happen in seven days. In seven years, a lot has happened in the understanding of acromegaly, a debilitating condition that causes a patient to have too much growth hormone. It’s seven years since the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists last produced guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acromegaly. Their 2004 guidelines were just 13 pages long. Their latest, the 2011 guidelines, have grown – to 44 pages.

31 Aug 2011

Aerobic exercise best for belly fat reduction: Study

A new study has shown that the best type of exercise to burn unhealthy belly fat is aerobic exercise. The results showed that people who did aerobics for eight months lost about 2.5 square inches of belly fat, as measured on a CT scan. That's about 1.5 times as much as people who did a combination of aerobic exercise and weight lifting, and about 20 times as much as those who only lifted weights.

31 Aug 2011

Study: Obesity's impact on incidence of hot flashes may depend on age

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that among women aged 60 and above, heavier women have fewer hot flashes than their leaner counterparts. The inverse association between body size and hot flashes was observed only among the older women.

31 Aug 2011

Microvisk introduces unique handheld device which monitors blood clotting status

Microvisk Technologies has introduced its unique handheld devices which monitor the blood clotting status of patients to the US market. Showcased at the prestigious American Association for Clinical Chemistry annual conference, the Microvisk devices attracted strong interest from distributors and potential partners ahead of clinical trials in major US medical centres this autumn and product launches in 2012.

31 Aug 2011

Sweat meter could alert diabetes patients about low blood sugar

Some diabetic patients receive no warning before they pass out from low blood sugar. A modern sweat meter could alert patients in time. Biathletes and ME patients might also benefit from the sweat meter.

31 Aug 2011

Yoga as therapy in neuropsychiatric disorders

Yoga is commonly seen as a practice beneficial to body and mind. Increasingly, yoga is being taken a step further and applied as a form of complementary and alternative medicine in treating psychiatric disorders.

31 Aug 2011