Body

Gene therapy reverses type 1 diabetes in mice

An experimental cure for Type 1 diabetes has a nearly 80 percent success rate in curing diabetic mice. The results, to be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston, offer possible hope of curing a disease that affects 3 million Americans.

"With just one injection of this gene therapy, the mice remain diabetes-free long term and have a return of normal insulin levels in the body," said Vijay Yechoor, MD, the principal investigator and an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

BPA lowers male fertility

Daily exposure to a chemical that is prevalent in the human environment, bisphenol A (BPA), causes lowered fertility in male mice, according to the results of a new study that will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

Fat burning increases in men with oral form of bronchodilator drug, formoterol

Formoterol, a medication used to treat asthma and other lung diseases, improves fat burning and protein metabolism in men, a new study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

"Research in animals has shown that formoterol can stimulate the growth of muscle and the burning of fat. This is the first study demonstrating the beneficial metabolic effects of formoterol in humans," said the study's lead author Paul Lee, MD, PhD, a research fellow at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney.

City of Hope researchers demonstrate anticancer effect of mushrooms

DUARTE, Calif. -- City of Hope researchers have investigated compounds in natural foods for their potential anticancer benefits, with a focus on food items that are easily found in grocery stores to ensure greater access and availability. Shiuan Chen, Ph.D., associate chair and professor of City of Hope's Department of Cancer Biology, identified phytochemicals in mushrooms that block the ezyme aromatase from producing estrogen. Controlling aromatase activity can help decrease estrogen levels, which controls and kills hormone-dependent breast cancers.

Anti-obesity vaccine reduces food consumption in animals

A new therapeutic vaccine to treat obesity by suppressing the appetite-stimulating hormone ghrelin decreases food intake and increases calorie burning in mice, a new study finds. The results will be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

"An anti-ghrelin vaccine may become an alternate treatment for obesity, to be used in combination with diet and exercise," said Mariana Monteiro, MD, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Porto in Portugal. She is lead investigator of the study.

Cut down on 'carbs' to reduce body fat, study authors say

A modest reduction in consumption of carbohydrate foods may promote loss of deep belly fat, even with little or no change in weight, a new study finds. Presentation of the study results will be Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

When paired with weight loss, consumption of a moderately reduced carbohydrate diet can help achieve a reduction of total body fat, according to principal author Barbara Gower, PhD, a professor of nutrition sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Stem cell treatment may become option to treat nonhealing bone fractures

Stem cell therapy enriched with a bone-regenerating hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I(IGF-I), can help mend broken bones in fractures that are not healing normally, a new animal study finds. The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting will host presentation of the results on Sunday in Boston.

Elderly may be more likely to die if they have subclinical hyperthyroidism

A common hormone abnormality in older adults—a mild form of overactive thyroid called subclinical hyperthyroidism—is linked to a much higher risk of dying, a new study finds. The results will be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

Because this condition sometimes does not even cause symptoms, elderly people may be unaware they have altered thyroid function until serious complications occur, said the study's main author, Graziano Ceresini, MD, PhD, a clinical researcher at the University of Parma in Italy.

Hormone test predicts ovarian function after chemotherapy for breast cancer

A test that shows how many eggs a woman has in her ovaries may help young women with breast cancer know what their reproductive function will be after chemotherapy, a new study finds. The results will be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

Targeted cancer therapy kills prostate tumor cells

A new targeted therapy for prostate cancer halts tumor growth in animals with advanced prostate cancer that is resistant to hormone therapy, a new study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

"This targeted therapy may provide a treatment breakthrough that will extend the lives of men with advanced, hormone-refractory prostate cancer," said lead investigator Shuk-mei Ho, PhD, chairwoman of the Department of Environmental Health at the University of Cincinnati.

Calorie-burning brown fat is a potential obesity treatment, researchers say

A new study suggests that many adults have large amounts of brown fat, the "good" fat that burns calories to keep us warm, and that it may be possible to make even more of this tissue.

The study's lead author, Aaron Cypess, MD, PhD, will present the results Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

"We are now even more optimistic that brown fat could be used for treating obesity and diabetes," said Cypess, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

Exposure to BPA has been underestimated, new MU research says

COLUMBIA, Mo. – A new University of Missouri study shows that the exposure to the controversial chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) through diet has been underestimated by previous lab tests. In the study, researchers compared BPA concentrations in mice that were given a steady diet supplemented with BPA throughout the day, compared to the more common lab method of single exposure, and found an increased absorption and accumulation of BPA in the blood of mice.

City of Hope researchers to present rectal cancer, palliative care, benchmarking studies at ASCO

DUARTE, Calif. -- City of Hope researchers participated in more than 50 studies on improvements to cancer treatment, patient care and clinical trials to be presented at the 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, running from June 3 through 7.

Research highlights include:

Genetics of melanoma chemoresistance

Malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive and notoriously chemoresistant form of cancer. In this paper, Ohanna et al. reveal that anti-melanoma drugs may, paradoxically, induce a senescence-associated secretory profile ("secretome") that can ultimately promote metastasis and contribute to melanoma relapse.

Scientists use super microscope to pinpoint body’s immunity 'switch'

Using the only microscope of its kind in Australia, medical scientists have been able for the first time to see the inner workings of T-cells, the front-line troops that alert our immune system to go on the defensive against germs and other invaders in our bloodstream.

The discovery overturns prevailing understanding, identifying the exact molecular 'switch' that spurs T-cells into action — a breakthrough that could lead to treatments for a range of conditions from auto-immune diseases to cancer.