Yorkshire Diabetes and Endocrinology Training Days

NEW ORLEANS (MedPage Today) -- The gains bisphosphonate use brings in the structural integrity of the femur decay over time in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, researchers found.

An experimental agent that mimics thyroid hormone in the liver enhanced the lipid-lowering effect of statins in a randomized, controlled trial.

Bisphosphonate drugs for osteoporosis do not seem to increase the risk of femoral fractures, the FDA announced Wednesday, though the agency will continue to evaluate that possibility.

Thirty-somethings can expect to enjoy at least another 30 years of sex, researchers have found.

Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) outperformed blood glucose as a predictor of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality and had similar predictive accuracy for diabetes, data from a large cohort study showed.

WASHINGTON (MedPage Today) -- The FDA approved prefilled injection pens of the endogenous growth hormone disorder drug somatropin (Norditropin) for adult and youth patients.

Even intentional napping may increase older adults' risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a large Chinese cohort study.

Lower glucose thresholds for gestational diabetes called for by an international consensus panel may double the number of women diagnosed.

GlaxoSmithKline disputes a congressional report suggesting rosiglitazone (Avandia) be pulled from the market, charging that the assessment "fails to present an accurate, balanced, or complete view" of data on the diabetes drug.

The investigational drug lasofoxifene (Fablyn) reduced the risk of vertebral and other fractures as well as certain cardiovascular events in women with osteoporosis, researchers said.

The Society for Endocrinology BES 2010 conference kicks off on Monday 15 March in Manchester. This year promises to be an unmissable event, with a programme packed with workshops, symposia, poster sessions and satellites focusing on all things endocrine. We wanted to highlight some sessions taking place that you might find of particular interest. Please be aware of the early start on Monday morning so ensure you plan your journey to arrive in plenty of time. Registration opens at 09:00hrs.

Pharmaceutical Satellites - Satellite sessions flyer

Otsuka Satellite: Vaptans – a new therapy in action. The Otsuka sponsored satellite symposium to be held on Monday 15 March, 11:00 to 13:00 in Charter 3, will outline the use of oral vaptans and discuss the positive outcomes resulting from use of this exciting new therapy. The meeting will chaired by Professor John Wass (Oxford). Presentations will be given by Professor Joe Verballis (Washington, USA) and Dr Steve Ball (Newcastle-upon-Tyne), all experts in hyponatraemia.

Novo Nordisk Satellite – New modalities of treatment in type 2 diabetes. Chair: Dr Mark Evans (Cambridge). Speakers: Professor Chantal Mathieu (Leuven, Belgium) and Professor Richard Holt (Southampton). Monday 15 March 11:00 to 13:00, Charter A.

Interdepartmental peer review of clinical endocrine services - Flyer (pdf)

Professor John Bevan (Coordinator, Society for Endocrinology IPR Project) will explain how the Society for Endocrinology’s scheme works and describe the many positive outcomes that have come from the first 10 reviews. Very soon, peer review will be an important component of revalidation so ... this is your chance to comment on: What’s good and what could be improved with the current format? What should peer review concentrate on? How can more centres be encouraged to take part? Come and play your part in improving standards of endocrine care. The session will be chaired by Professor John Wass and will take place: Tuesday 16 March, 18:15 to 19:00, Exchange Auditorium.

Basic Science Meet the Expert Sessions

Following the success of previous clinical science sessions, this year the Society is introducing a number of Meet the Expert sessions in basic science. These are anticipated to be relatively informal discussions based around new basic science technologies. Topics include metabolomics in diabetes and obesity, using bioinformatics to aid research, and mutagenesis resources. Tuesday 07:15 to 08:00 and 17:00 to 18:00, Thursday 07:15 to 08:00.

Speciality Certificate Examination

In the UK, the Specialty Certificate Examination (SCE) is now a compulsory component of assessment for Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) for trainees whose specialist training began in or after August 2007. The first diet of the SCE in endocrinology and diabetes took place in May 2009 and the next exam will be held on 30 June 2010. Dr Mark Cooper (SCE in Endocrinology & Diabetes Examining Board Secretary) will give a brief update on the examination. Wednesday 17 March, 17:15 to 17:25, Exchange Auditorium.

A Showcase of Systems Biology - Showcase flyer (pdf)

With its unique ability to look at chemical interactions in a system as a whole, systems biology is becoming an increasingly useful research tool in the field of endocrinology. Chaired by Professor Julia Buckingham and featuring speakers from the academic and funding arenas, this session explains how the quantitative sciences are revolutionising medical research, and outlines additional funding sources that can be accessed through systems biology. 18 March, 10:00 to 12:00, Exchange Theatre.

Society for Endocrinology Special Interest Group Satellites - Satellite sessions flyer

We are delighted that three of the Society’s SIGs - Andrology, Pituitary and PCOS will be holding satellite sessions that will run in parallel on Wednesday evening starting at 18:15. Light refreshments will be available for those attending the meetings. Wednesday 17 March, 18:15 to 20:15.

Andrology – Charter A

Pituitary – Exchange Theatre

PCOS – Charter 3

For further details on all these meetings and the SfE BES meeting, please go to: http://www.endocrinology.org/meetings/2010/sfebes2010

Members who have registered their interest with 5 of the Society's Special Interest Groups (SIGs: Obesity, Bone and Mineral, Andrology, Endocrine disruptors and Steroids) already receive regular emails alerting them to news stories on these topics. These stories are sent up to 2-3 times per week, with the option of opting out at any time. We will be introducing this service to members of the Late effects of cancer therapy SIG and in time, extending this service to the remaining 3 SIGs: Laboratory Aspects of Clinical Endocrinology (LACE)*, PCOS and Metabolic Syndrome, and Pituitary.

If you are interested in receiving regular news alerts, sign up to a Society SIG here.

We'd also like to take this opportunity to remind you to update your preferences and details in the members' section of the website.

*Introducing our new SIG, Laboratory Aspects of Clinical Endocrinology (LACE).

The Society for Endocrinology is pleased to offer grants of up to £500 for attendance at overseas conferences, thanks to support by the Clinical Endocrinology Trust. The first round of applications for 2010 support travel to conferences that end before 15 August 2010.

The deadline for this round of applications is 15 April 2010. Please follow the link below for information on the grant and how to apply.

SfE Conference Grants

Formerly the Small Grant programme, the Early Career Grant programme provides funding of up to £10,000 to scientists, clinicians and nurses at the beginning stages of their research careers. Designed to supplement existing resources, for example to purchase equipment to gain preliminary data for a project, the Early Career Grants have helped a number of members establish themselves in the field of endocrine research.

The first round of applications for the 2010 Early Career Grants is now open. Applications close on 27 May. Follow the link below to find out the criteria for eligibility to the grant, and how to apply.

The SfE Early Career Grant programme

The Society for Endocrinology would like to offer its congratulations to this year's medallists, who will be presenting a talk on their prize-winning work at the upcoming SfE BES meeting in Manchester from 15 to 18 March. Details of the medallists and their plenary lectures are as follows:

Society for Endocrinology Dale Medal Lecture, Professor Stephen O'Rahilly (Cambridge) - Common metabolic disease: lessons from the extremes. 10:45 to 11:25, Tuesday 16 March.

Society for Endocrinology Transatlantic Medal Lecture, Professor Shlomo Melmed (Los Angeles, US) - Pathogenesis of pituitary adenomas. 11:30 to 12:00, Tuesday 16 March.

Society for Endocrinology Medal Lecture, Professor Wiebke Arlt (Birmingham) - The hitchhiker's guide to the steroid galaxy. 11:30 to 12:05, Wednesday 17 March.

Society for Endocrinology Hoffenberg International Medal Lecture, Professor Takashi Yoshimura (Nagoya, Japan) - Molecular and endocrine mechanism of seasonal reproduction in birds and mammals. 12:05 to 12:40, Wednesday 17 March.

The Society for Endocrinology European Medal has been awarded to Professor Bruno Allolio of Wurzburg, Germany. However we regret to inform that the plenary lecture has been postponed until next year's SfE BES meeting.

All lectures will take place in the exchange auditorium. For further details of the SfE BES meeting 2010, including a full scientific programme, please click here. We look forward to seeing you there!

Endocrine-Related Cancer is the most widely read journal devoted to hormones and cancer and invites authors to submit papers using the popular and easy to use ScholarOne Manuscripts system. To find out how to submit go to http://erc.endocrinology-journals.org/misc/ifora.shtml.

The latest statistics from the editorial office are impressive: receipt to first response is 37 days (mean) and receipt to acceptance is just 141 days. This fast turnaround coupled with the latest development - continuous publication online (www.try-erc.org) - ensures authors can share knowledge faster than ever before. The service for authors is first class and the editorial office is determined to push the boundaries for fast publication even further. The high quality of papers is paramount with rejection rates running at 67% and an impact factor of 5.236.

Endocrine-Related Cancer is the premier, global journal publishing basic, translational and clinical research on hormones and cancer. All reviews are published free online and can be read or downloaded at www.try-erc.org.

The Society for Endocrinology is supporting the Royal College of Nursing campaign to guarentee access to specialist nursing care for all patients with long term conditions. The campaign calls on all political parties to recognise the important role that specialist nurses play in providing patients with long-term care and it urges the parties to guard against any future jobs cuts in this important area. Specialist nurses save millions of pounds from health budgets through reduced complications, fewer hospital re-admissions and the expert long term management of conditions and they also offer many patients and families with a lifeline which no other service can provide.

To sign up to the RCN campaign, visit the Nursing Counts website today!

RCN specialist nurses report

The Society is also a co-signatory to a letter that appeared in the Daily Telegraph on 25 February 2010 highlighting the importance of specialist nurses to patient care.

Letter in Daily Telegraph (fourth letter down the page)

Enhancing Excellence in Endocrinology (E3) is delighted to announce that registration is now open for the next E3 multidisciplinary management and professional development skills course – Skills for Success – to be held on 15–16 May 2010 at the University of Warwick Conference Centre.

Designed for nurse specialists, specialty trainees and new consultants working in adult and paediatric endocrinology, Skills for Success offers a programme of workshops and interactive plenary sessions with expert speakers and trainers – all of which are highly relevant for those who find themselves with increasing managerial responsibilities.

For more details click here, register for E3 and the course at: www.e3endocrinology.org, or contact the E3 Secretariat on e3secretariat@litmus-mme.com or 020 7632 1849. E3 has been initiated and funded by Pfizer Ltd working with a range of healthcare professionals specialising in endocrine care, and is being delivered in association with the Society for Endocrinology and the British Society for Paediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes.

Date of preparation: February 2010, GEN3077

We are pleased to announce that all members may now view the full text of the Society’s journals (Journal of Endocrinology, Journal of Molecular Endocrinology and Endocrine-Related Cancer) online at no extra charge to their membership subscription.

To gain access, please go to BioSciAlliance. This is the Society’s portal designed to enable you to manage your membership effectively.

The password for this site is the same as your usual password for the secure members’ area on the Society’s home page.

The Society for Endocrinology needs YOU!

The public are turning to the internet more and more in search of information on their hormones, yet how can they be sure they are getting facts not fiction?

You and Your Hormones is a new project by the Society for Endocrinology that aims to give the public online access to current, evidence-based information on the field of endocrinology. We are looking for enthusiastic and talented clinicians, scientists and nurses of any level or background to contribute articles to be published on our upcoming public website.

This is your chance to engage with and educate the public on the entire field of endocrinology, and develop your skills in science communication. Whether your expertise is in angiotensin or acromegaly, we'd really appreciate your input. In addition to contributing to the public profile of endocrinology, your efforts will be recognised with a certificate from SfE that can be presented in appraisals or as part of a CV.

Please circulate this call to any colleagues who may be interested. For information on what we are looking for and how to contribute, please contact the Society external relations team at: public@endocrinology.org.

The Specialty Certificate Examinations are designed to assess a candidate’s knowledge and understanding of the clinical sciences and disorders, relevant to their specialist medical practice, to a level appropriate for a newly appointed Consultant.

The next exam takes place on 30 June 2010. Registration for UK centres is open from 29 March to 26 April 2010 and for overseas candidates 1 to 29 March. See the exam flyer and www.mrcpuk.org/sce for more information or e-mail your query to sce.queries@mrcpuk.org.

Continuous publication online is a groundbreaking development from the journal Endocrine-Related Cancer. Continuous publication online allows authors and readers to share knowledge around the world, faster than ever before as NEW ARTICLES are published online as soon as they are ready for publication, without waiting for an issue to be complied. Take a look at ERC online at www.try-erc.org.

Endocrine-Related Cancer is the premier, global journal publishing basic, translational and clinical research on hormones and cancer with an impressive impact factor of 5.236. All reviews are published free online at www.try-erc.org.

Sample copies and free online trial registrations for ERC will be available at the Society for Endocrinology BES meeting in Manchester, UK in March, at the 14th International Congress of Endocrinology in Kyoto, Japan in March, at the 12th European Congress of Endocrinology in Prague, Czech Republic in April and at ENDO 2010 in San Diego, CA, USA in June. Visit the Society for Endocrinology booth at any one of these conferences to find out more about Endocrine-Related Cancer.

You can now follow SfE news and announcements on Twitter, as well as news and views from our Chief Executive, Sue Thorn.

Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service, which allows to you keep up-to-date with the latest news from SfE.

News and announcements from SfE: http://twitter.com/Soc_Endo.

News and views from Sue Thorn, Chief Executive of SfE: http://twitter.com/Soc_Endo_Sue.

You can also follow news of the SfE BES conference by using the hashtag #SfEBES10.

As the official clinical journal of the Society for Endocrinology we want to hear your views on Clinical Endocrinology. What you like, what you don’t, what you want to see more/less of – this is your chance to let us know what you want from your journal.

Complete our survey by following the link below and you’re in with a chance of winning a luxurious Fortnum & Mason hamper!

The survey will close on Friday 19 March 2010 and the randomly selected lucky winner of the hamper will be notified by email on Monday 22 March 2010.

Clinical Endocrinology survey

Congratulations to Chung Thong Lim for winning this years Xcel student of the year competition. Currently in his final year of an intercalated degree in medical sciences and endocrinology at Barts and London Medical School, Chung has excelled throughout his academic career and is expected to contribute a huge amount to the field of endocrinology. He received his award at a ceremony in London on 21 January 2010 in front of an invited audience of over 350 people.

Each year the Society awards two prize lectures to young endocrinologists, one basic science and one clinical, to be given at the Society's annual BES meeting, rewarding up-and-coming endocrinologists with a prestigious platform from which to present their personal research.

This year we would like to congratulate Dr Vicky Smith for her basic science abstract entitled 'PTTG and PBF as targets for augmenting radioiodine uptake in thyroid cancer', and Dr Alia Munir for her clinical abstract entitled 'RNA interference as therapy for Cushing's disease.'

Drs Smith and Munir will present their lectures on Monday 15 March at SfE BES meeting 2010 in Manchester, and will be rewarded with a £2500 honorarium each.

Find out more about the Young Endocrinologists' Prize Lecture here.

BioSciAlliance is an exciting service from BioScientifica that allows members to access a host of services using a single gateway. BioSciAlliance (www.bioscialliance.org) allows you to renew your membership, access abstract management and registration for Society meetings, update your membership profile and interact with fellow members, all using a single website.

Society members can logon to BioSciAlliance using their current membership number and password. Once you are logged on, you can build up your own profile and search for fellow members by geographical location or areas of interest. In addition, BioSciAlliance provides a wealth of educational resources, BioScientifica's world calendar of events and news articles on a range of biomedical specialities.

Communicate; Collaborate; Innovate - logon to BioSciAlliance today.

Logon to BioSciAlliance

The Society for Endocrinology Undergraduate Achievement Awards have been established to encourage excellence in the study of endocrinology by undergraduate students.

Departments are invited to submit applications to the Society for an award to outstanding undergraduates. The award will consist of a £300/yr grant to the department (for three years), and a certificate from the Society to the award winner.

One grant will be available to a department in any three-year period. There will be up to twelve grants available each year, awarded to eligible departments on a first come first served basis.

Applications will only be considered if submitted by a paid up member of the Society for Endocrinology. Applications open on 18 June and close on 16 July 2010.

Further details

The Society for Endocrinology offers a number of grants which members can apply for throughout the year. These include: clinical department visit grants, sponsored seminars and poster session grants, and conference travel grants. For details on how to apply for Society grants, please visit the website below. If you have any questions about Society grants, please email: grants@endocrinology.org.

Grants website

The Society offers a number of awards and prizes throughout the year. Prizes are offered at the SfE BES meeting and Clinical Cases meetings for oral and poster presentations, and undergraduates can apply for the Undergraduate Achievement Award and Undergraduate Essay Prize. A Postgraduate Essay Prize is also available on an annual basis. For further details of all these awards and prizes and information on how to apply, please visit the website below.

Prizes and awards website