Nature Endo Met

Nature Reviews Endocrinology - Issue - nature.com science feeds

• Reproductive endocrinology: Testosterone-replacement therapy in older men with limited mobility: is it safe?
  In men of 65 years of age or older with low testosterone levels and limited mobility, testosterone therapy may increase the risk of cardiovascular events, report researchers from the USA.The randomized, placebo-controlled, Testosterone in Older Men with Mobility Limitations (TOM) trial was designed to
  
  
• Nutrition: Giving vitamin A supplements to mothers has lasting benefits for their offspring
  Treatment of maternal vitamin A deficiency could translate into long-term health benefits for offspring, according to the results of a recent study. A program of vitamin A supplementation before, during and after pregnancy in women from a chronically undernourished region of Nepal was associated with
  
  
• Pharmacotherapy: Increased stroke risk associated with osteoporosis drugs
  Patients receiving certain treatments for osteoporosis could be at increased risk of fatal stroke, according to the findings of an observational cohort study published in Osteoporosis International. The risk of death within 30 days of a diagnosis of stroke was found to rise with
  
  
• Thyroid function: Sorafenib alters metabolism of T3
  Small molecule inhibitors of tyrosine kinase activity, such as the anticancer drug sorafenib, could influence the metabolism of circulating thyroid hormones. “Sorafenib therapy led to increased iodothyronine deiodinase activity, as proven by a decreased ratio of free T3 to reverse T3.
  
  
• Metabolic risk and neck fat
  Neck circumference is associated with cardiometabolic risk factors, according to an investigation conducted as part of the Framingham Heart Study.“The location of adipose tissue within the body is an important determinant of metabolic risk,” explains principal researcher Caroline Fox (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA).
  
  
• Diabetes: Low-intensity physical activity for prevention of diabetes mellitus in old age
  “Any type of physical activity (even low-intensity physical activity performed at least once a week) is related to reduced risk of developing diabetes mellitus among individuals aged ≥70 years,” says Panayotes Demakakos (University College London, UK), author of a study in Diabetologia.Many individuals
  
  
• Bone: High 27-hydroxycholesterol decreases BMD
  An endogenous selective estrogen receptor modulator, 27-hydroxycholesterol, has a negative influence on bone homeostasis, according to a research team from the USA.“Osteoporosis is an important public health concern, and it is well known that estrogens have a protective role in bone,” explain lead researchers
  
  
• Surgery: Intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring: yes or no?
  During minimally invasive parathyroidectomy, intraoperative parathyroid hormone monitoring (IPM) can be used to determine whether all hyperfunctioning parathyroid tissue has been excised. Since the advent of IPM in the early 1990s, the literature regarding its application has been split between surgeons who always use it
  
  
• Citalopram for hot flashes
  Citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, is an effective, well-tolerated agent for the management of hot flashes, a novel study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology has determined.In menopause, up to 75% of women experience hot flashes, which can negatively impact quality
  
  
• In brief
  TherapyTreatment with rituximab, cyclophosphamide and either methylprednisolone or dexamethasone results in remission of type B insulin resistance—a rare disorder caused by an autoantibody to a cell-surface receptor. Malek et al. treated seven patients with an intensive combination protocol of rituximab, cyclophosphamide and
  
  
• Cancer: Oncofetal fibronectin mRNA and papillary thyroid cancer
  Quantification of oncofetal fibronectin (onfFN) mRNA may provide a useful supplemental tool to detect circulating thyroid cancer cells in patients who have been treated for papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), particularly while they are on levothyroxine treatment, suggest a team from Hannover Medical School, Germany.Early
  
  
• Correction: PPARα: an emerging therapeutic target in diabetic microvascular damage
  Nat. Rev. Endocrinol.6, 454–463 (2010); doi:10.1038/nrendo.2010.89In the August 2010 issue of Nature Reviews Endocrinology in the reference section of this article, the name of the first author of reference 75 should have read SanGiovanni, J.
  
  
• Therapy: Vitamin B6, B9 and B12 in diabetic nephropathy—beware
  Combination therapy with vitamins B6, B9 and B12 is a therapeutic intervention to decrease levels of plasma homocysteine and the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, a recent trial found that cosupplementation with these vitamins exacerbated the decline in renal function and increased the risk of vascular disease in patients with diabetic nephropathy. Confidence in this high-dose vitamin supplement is shaken.
  
  
• Diabetes: Shining a light: the role of vitamin D in diabetes mellitus
  A new study shows that serum vitamin D concentration is inversely associated with HbA1c levels among adults in the US aged 35–74 years, in line with results from other observational studies. Should adults with diabetes mellitus or at risk of developing this disease take vitamin D to improve glycemia or reduce this risk?
  
  
• Pituitary gland: New consensus in acromegaly: criteria for cure and control
  Developments in treatment modalities and assays over the past 10 years warranted a new consensus on the criteria for cure of acromegaly, which was reached at a meeting of the Acromegaly Consensus Group, in April 2009. The novel consensus statement highlights current analytical pitfalls and the need to optimize disease control in acromegaly.
  
  
• Diabetes: Treatment of diabetes mellitus: new tricks by an old player
  Case reports published over 100 years ago suggested that high-dose sodium salicylate could reduce the symptoms of type 2 diabetes mellitus, but adverse affects precluded clinical use. Now, results from the TINSAL-T2D study that used salsalate, a salicylate prodrug, provide renewed hope for NSAID treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
  
  
• Pharmacotherapy: ACCORD Blood Pressure and ACCORD Lipid: how low can we go?
  Lowering blood pressure to normal levels, below those currently recommended, does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease events in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Nor does treating dyslipidemia with fibrate and statin combination therapy reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease events more than treatment with statin alone.
  
  
• Molecular therapy of breast cancer: progress and future directions
  Breast cancer is a major cause of death in Western women, with a 10% lifetime risk of the disease. Most breast cancers are estrogen-dependent. Molecular therapies for breast cancer have developed rapidly in the past few decades and future treatment strategies are being investigated. The
  
  
• Effect of systemic medications on onset and progression of diabetic retinopathy
  Diabetic retinopathy remains a leading cause of visual loss worldwide. Patients with diabetes mellitus commonly have multiple comorbidities treated with a wide variety of medications. Systemic medications that target glycemic control and coexisting conditions may have beneficial or deleterious effects on the onset or progression
  
  
• Phenylketonuria: a 21st century perspective
  Phenylketonuria is the most prevalent inherited defect in amino acid metabolism. Owing to mutations in the gene encoding the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase, the essential amino acid phenylalanine cannot be hydroxylated to tyrosine and blood and tissue concentrations of phenylalanine increase. Untreated, phenylketonuria causes severe mental
  
  
• The growth hormone receptor: mechanism of activation and clinical implications
  Growth hormone is widely used clinically to promote growth and anabolism and for other purposes. Its actions are mediated via the growth hormone receptor, both directly by tyrosine kinase activation and indirectly by induction of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). Insensitivity to growth hormone (Laron
  
  
• Serum TSH determinations in pregnancy: how, when and why?
  Improvements in the sensitivity of the serum TSH assay have revolutionized our strategies for investigating thyroid function and firmly established TSH as the first-line thyroid function test for most clinical situations, including pregnancy. As a single hormone determination, serum TSH provides the most sensitive index