Metabolism News and Research

Latest Metabolism News and Research

Protective response to starvation may promote heart failure

A protective response to starvation may promote heart failure, according to a study just published in Cell Metabolism. Two proteins that team up to conserve energy when food is scarce also limit energy production in the heart—a situation that can prove fatal when the heart is stressed and in need of an energy boost.

2 Nov 2011

Tufts University introduces MyPlate for Older Adults

Nutrition scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (USDA HNRCA) at Tufts University are introducing today the MyPlate for Older Adults which corresponds with MyPlate, the federal government's new food group symbol.

2 Nov 2011

Interleukin Genetics commences two new PST test clinical studies in China

Interleukin Genetics, Inc. announced today that the Company has initiated two clinical studies to demonstrate the utility of its new PST genetic test in the ethnic Chinese population. The programs are being conducted in collaboration with Professor Chi-Cheng Tsai of Kaohsiung Medical University and Professor Dong Chen at Shanghai Stomatological Disease Center.

2 Nov 2011

Positive results from DARA's DB959 Phase 1b study on type 2 diabetes

DARA BioSciences, Inc., announces the positive results from a successfully completed Phase 1b clinical study for DB959, its peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)-delta/gamma agonist, a non-TZD oral drug in development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

2 Nov 2011

BUSM professor delivers Van Meter Award Lecture at 81st ATA meeting

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) is proud to announce that Dr. Elizabeth Pearce, Associate Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, today delivered the Van Meter Award Lecture at its 81st Annual Meeting, held October 26-30, Indian Wells, California.

1 Nov 2011

Heat, extreme exercise or febrile illness may also trigger MH

Malignant hyperthermia (MH) is a potentially life-threatening inherited disorder of muscle. Patients who are at risk for MH usually have no outward signs of muscle problems. However, when exposed to certain commonly used general anesthetics they may develop very high body temperature, increased heart rate and muscle breakdown. If not recognized and treated promptly MH may be fatal.

1 Nov 2011

FDA grants Premarket Approval for Roche's IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen assay

Roche announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Premarket Approval for its IgM antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (Anti-HBc IgM) assay for use on the cobas e 601 analyzer, the immunoassay module of the cobas 6000 analyzer series for mid-volume laboratories.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 31 Oct 2011

J&JPRD submits NUCYNTA ER sNDA to FDA for DPN associated neuropathic pain

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C. announced today that it has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for NUCYNTA ER (tapentadol) extended-release tablets, an oral analgesic, for the management of neuropathic pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy in adults.

31 Oct 2011

Fat cells play a major role in mediating ovarian cancer metastasis

A large pad of fat cells that extends from the stomach and covers the intestines provides nutrients that promote the spread and growth of ovarian cancer, reports a research team based at the University of Chicago in the journal Nature Medicine, published online October 30th, 2011.

31 Oct 2011

Python heart holds surprises that could be of use in cardiology

The expanding hearts of pythons have intrigued researchers. Leslie Leinwand - a University of Colorado at Boulder molecular biologist who studies heart disease in humans called pythons’ expanding hearts “amazing biology”. “They're not swelling up. They're building (heart) muscle,” he said.

30 Oct 2011

Ovarian cancer patients with many folate receptors benefit from new therapy

A new strategy that takes advantage of ovarian cancer's reliance on folate appears to give relapse patients extra months of life with few side effects, researchers say.

29 Oct 2011

Study: Reduced secretion of beta-amyloid signals beginning of Alzheimer's

For decades the amyloid hypothesis has dominated the research field in Alzheimer's disease. The theory describes how an increase in secreted beta-amyloid peptides leads to the formation of plaques, toxic clusters of damaged proteins between cells, which eventually result in neurodegeneration. Scientists at Lund University, Sweden, have now presented a study that turns this premise on its head.

29 Oct 2011

New drug could combat cardiovascular disease

A new therapy being studied in non-human primates by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and colleagues is demonstrating promise as a potential tool for combating cardiovascular disease by increasing good cholesterol and lowering triglycerides in the blood.

29 Oct 2011

Dietary intervention in adolescence benefits glycemic control and blood pressure long-term

A recent study has found that a childhood behavioral intervention to lower dietary intake of total fat and saturated fat and increase consumption of foods that are good sources of dietary fiber resulted in significantly lower fasting plasma glucose levels and lower systolic blood pressure when study participants were re-evaluated in young adulthood.

28 Oct 2011

Social stressors around the transition into adulthood sow seeds of disease in middle age

Being hard up socially and financially during adolescence and early adulthood takes its toll on the body, and leads to physiological wear and tear in middle aged men and women, irrespective of how tough things have been in the interim. According to Dr. Per E. Gustafsson from Umeå University in Sweden and colleagues, experience of social and material stressors around the time of transition into adulthood is linked to a rise in disease risk factors in middle age, including higher blood pressure, body weight and cholesterol.

28 Oct 2011

Higher testosterone levels may reduce loss of lean muscle mass in older men

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that higher levels of testosterone were associated with reduced loss of lean muscle mass in older men, especially in those who were losing weight. In these men, higher testosterone levels were also associated with less loss of lower body strength.

28 Oct 2011

CRC Press publishes fourth edition of 'Alternative Sweeteners' book

The Calorie Control Council has announced the publication of "Alternative Sweeteners, Fourth Edition," the updated textbook edited by well-known sweetener authority Lyn O'Brien Nabors. The book has just been released by CRC Press in hardback.

28 Oct 2011

ATA to honor 2011 recipient of Lewis E. Braverman Lectureship Award on Oct. 29

The American Thyroid Association's (ATA) Lewis E. Braverman Lectureship Award recognizes a member of the ATA who has demonstrated excellence and passion for mentoring fellows, students, and junior faculty and has a long history of productive thyroid research.

28 Oct 2011

Diabetic patients with mild kidney disease may benefit from vitamin B6 derivative

A vitamin B6 derivative may help slow or prevent the progression of mild kidney disease in patients with diabetes, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology.

28 Oct 2011

Innovative trial project of MD-Logic Artificial Pancreas takes place in Israel

At the initiative, and under the leadership of specialists in the Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shaffer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center of Childhood Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center, an innovative trial project of the MD-Logic Artificial Pancreas (MDLAP) has successfully taken place in Israel.

27 Oct 2011