WASHINGTON--Children with achondroplasia, the most common form of disproportionate short stature, grow taller with trends in improved body proportions after two years of daily vosoritide treatment, a new study analysis finds. Results of the industry-sponsored study will be presented at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. "This is the first robust evidence of a precision therapy for achondroplasia," said the lead investigator, Ravi Savarirayan, M.D., Ph.D., a professor at Murdoch Children's Research Institute at Royal Children's Hospital in Parkville, Australia. Achondroplasia is a genetic bone growth ...

WASHINGTON--A study in mice finds treatment with a molecule called MCB-613 repairs heart tissue after a severe heart attack, preventing damage that can lead to heart failure. The findings are being presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. "This is a remarkable discovery that may lead to effective and safe treatments to prevent the progression to heart failure after a heart attack," said lead researcher Lisa K. Mullany, Ph.D., of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Heart failure after a heart attack is the leading cause of death in humans, and currently there are no definitive therapies other than heart transplantation. Researchers had previously found that MCB-613 stimulates proteins called steroid receptor coactivators ...

WASHINGTON--Children with adrenal insufficiency--a condition in which the adrenal gland does not function properly--are at more than 10 times higher risk for COVID-19 complications and death compared with children with normal adrenal glands, according to a study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. Adrenal insufficiency is a disorder that occurs when the adrenal glands, located just above the kidneys, don't make enough of the hormone cortisol. The primary form of adrenal insufficiency is also called Addison's disease. Known as the "stress ...

WASHINGTON--Blood glucose levels improved among children and teens with type 1 diabetes during the first 12 weeks of COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom, according to a study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. "The findings demonstrate the difficulties faced by patients and families managing type 1 diabetes around school pressures, meals away from home, social life and peer pressure," said lead researcher Neil Lawrence, M.B.Ch.B., of Sheffield Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Sheffield, United Kingdom. "Children and families found it easier to manage this disease when they were ...

WASHINGTON--The chemicals present in white button mushrooms may slow the progression of prostate cancer, according to a mouse study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. "Androgens, a type of male sex hormone, promote the growth of prostate cancer cells by binding to and activating the androgen receptor, a protein that is expressed in prostate cells," said lead researcher Xiaoqiang Wang, M.D., Ph.D., M.B. (A.S.C.P.), of the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, a comprehensive cancer center in Duarte, Calif. "White button mushrooms appear to suppress the activity of the androgen receptor." City of Hope's Shiuan ...

WASHINGTON--Women with obesity and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. Normal-weight women with PCOS are not at increased risk, the researchers found. Women with PCOS had a more than three-fold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes during their lifetime, the study found. This risk was evident only in women who met the criteria for overweight or obesity, but not in lean women. "We strongly suggest weight management in women with obesity and PCOS in an attempt to reduce this major risk of ...

WASHINGTON--Only 3% of patients at high risk for primary aldosteronism (PA), a common disorder that causes high blood pressure and can lead to heart and kidney complications, are screened for the condition, according to a study that will be presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. "The results of our study indicate that initiatives to encourage PA screening are crucial for preventing cardiovascular and kidney disease in many patients with hypertension," said lead researcher Seda Grigoryan, M.D., of Michigan State University in Lansing, Mich. PA is the most common form of secondary hypertension--high blood pressure caused by another disease. END ...

WASHINGTON--A lifestyle intervention targeting women with obesity and infertility is more effective in increasing the pregnancy rate compared with fertility treatments, according to a study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. The lifestyle intervention, called the Fit-For-Fertility (FFF) program, is a cost-effective alternative to the usual standard of care for women with obesity seeking fertility treatments, according to lead researcher Matea Belan, Ph.D., of the University of Sherbrooke and the Research Center of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke (RC-CHUS) in Quebec, Canada. "Our study shows that the FFF program can significantly improve the pregnancy rate, especially the spontaneous pregnancy ...

WASHINGTON--Transgender youth have higher odds than cisgender youth of being diagnosed with medical conditions that can affect their overall metabolic and cardiovascular health, according to a study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. The study included 4,174 youth with a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, a term for a deep sense of unease and distress that may occur when a person's gender identity does not match their sex designated at birth. An estimated 1.8% of adolescents identify as transgender, according to lead researcher Anna Valentine, M.D., of the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical ...

WASHINGTON--Patients with low vitamin D levels who are hospitalized for COVID-19 may have a lower risk of dying or requiring mechanical ventilation if they receive vitamin D supplementation of at least 1,000 units weekly, according to a study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. "Given how common vitamin D deficiency is in the world and the United States, we believe that this research is highly relevant right now," said co-author Sweta Chekuri, M.D., of Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York. Research has shown that vitamin D supplementation can prevent inflammation in other respiratory diseases, but there have been limited studies examining the role of vitamin D supplementation in COVID-19. ...

WASHINGTON--Black women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have higher risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and stroke compared with white women, according to a study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. PCOS is a common disorder characterized by irregular menstrual periods, disruption of normal metabolism and excessive hair growth. PCOS affects up to 10% of all women of reproductive age. The disorder increases the risk for health conditions including infertility, obesity, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, depression and certain ...

WASHINGTON--In adults with obesity or overweight, weekly treatment with the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP1) receptor agonist semaglutide leads to reduced excess body fat and increased lean body mass, according to an industry-sponsored study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. "Our findings suggest that semaglutide, through body weight loss and improvement of body composition, has the potential to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke in people with overweight or obesity," said lead researcher John Wilding, D.M., F.R.C.P., of the University of Liverpool. Obesity poses many health risks. Excess fat in the abdominal area, particularly ...

WASHINGTON--Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 have worse outcomes if they have high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia, regardless of whether they have diabetes, a new study finds. The researchers will present their results, of the first known study of the impact of hyperglycemia on a largely Black patient population with the novel coronavirus, at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. The investigators found that patients with COVID-19 who had hyperglycemia on admission to the hospital were more likely than those with normal glucose (sugar) to require a breathing machine or admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). These patients also were reportedly likelier to have kidney injury and to die ...

WASHINGTON--More patients than previously reported may experience hearing symptoms such as hearing loss or muffled hearing from a new treatment for thyroid eye disease, teprotumumab (Tepezza), according to a small study presented virtually at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. Teprotumumab, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January 2020, is the first and only drug to be approved for thyroid eye disease. In two clinical trials conducted prior to FDA approval of the drug, otologic symptoms were reported in 10 percent of patients. The new study found the rate could be as high as 65 percent. The treatment is administered to patients once every three weeks for a total of eight infusions. It ...

WASHINGTON--People with type 1 diabetes can improve their blood sugar control while reducing time with low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, using Insulet Corporation's Omnipod 5 Automated Insulin Delivery System compared to their standard insulin therapy. Results from an industry-sponsored study of the latest Omnipod, the first tubeless, wearable insulin pump, will be presented at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. The Omnipod 5 System underwent three months of at-home testing in 128 adults and adolescents ages 14 to 70 years and 112 children ages 6 to less than 14 years. All study participants have type 1 diabetes and were first followed for two weeks using their standard therapy, either multiple daily insulin injections ...

WASHINGTON--Higher levels of the stomach-derived hormone ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, predict a greater preference for smaller immediate monetary rewards over larger delayed financial rewards, a new study finds. The study results will be presented at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting. This research presents novel evidence in humans that ghrelin, the so-called "hunger hormone," affects monetary decision making, said co-investigator Franziska Plessow, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston. She said recent research findings in rodents suggested that ghrelin may play a part in impulsive choices and behaviors. "Our results indicate that ghrelin might play a broader role than ...

WASHINGTON--Nearly one in five U.S. children and teenagers has obesity, and statistics show a higher prevalence of obesity in certain ethnicities, such as Hispanics and Blacks. Now results of a study being presented at ENDO 2021, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting, suggest that Spanish as a family's primary language is a predictor of childhood obesity, regardless of ethnicity. The prevalence of obesity among children and teens from Spanish-speaking households in the nation was 24.4 percent, approximately 50 percent higher than those from English-speaking households, according to results of a new analysis of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. This survey examines a nationally representative sample ...

Tokyo, Japan - Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have devised and implemented a simplified algorithm for turning freely drawn lines into holograms on a standard desktop CPU. They dramatically cut down the computational cost and power consumption of algorithms that require dedicated hardware. It is fast enough to convert writing into lines in real-time, and makes crisp, clear images that meet industry standards. Potential applications include hand-written remote instructions superimposed on landscapes and workbenches. Flying cars, robots, spaceships...whatever sci-fi future you can imagine, there is always a common feature: holograms. ...

Researchers from Columbia University and Temple University published a new paper in the Journal of Marketing that examines how choice architecture can reduce socioeconomic disparities. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Marketing, is titled "Do Nudges Reduce Disparities? Choice Architecture Compensates for Low Consumer Knowledge" and is authored by Kellen Mrkva, Nathaniel Posner, Crystal Reeck, and Eric Johnson. As Mrkva explains, "Our research demonstrates that people with low socioeconomic status (SES), low numerical ability, and low knowledge are most impacted by nudges. As a result, 'good nudges,' designed to encourage ...

It's estimated that an average-sized wastewater treatment plant serving roughly 400,000 residents will discharge up to 2,000,000 microplastic particles into the environment each day. Yet, researchers are still learning the environmental and human health impact of these ultra-fine plastic particles, less than 5 millimeters in length, found in everything from cosmetics, toothpaste and clothing microfibers, to our food, air and drinking water. Now, researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology have shown that ubiquitous microplastics can become 'hubs' for antibiotic-resistant bacteria ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Low representation of minority groups in public genomic databases may affect therapy selection for Black patients with cancer, according to new Mayo Clinic research published in npj Precision Oncology. The researchers investigated the use of genomic databases and found that tumor mutation burden was significantly inflated in Black patients compared to White patients. As a result of the study, clinicians who are using public genomic databases need to be aware of the potential for inflated tumor mutation burden values and how that may affect therapy selection and outcomes, especially for patients from underrepresented groups. Clinicians use biomarkers, which are indicators of a disease or condition, to determine ...

BOSTON - Researchers have used a genetic engineering strategy to dramatically reduce levels of tau--a key protein that accumulates and becomes tangled in the brain during the development of Alzheimer's disease--in an animal model of the condition. The results, which come from investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Sangamo Therapeutics Inc., could lead to a potentially promising treatment for patients with this devastating illness. As described in Science Advances, the strategy involves a gene regulation technology called zinc finger protein transcription ...

A team of scientists, led by researchers at Northwestern University, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), has developed novel technology promising to increase understanding of how brains develop, and offer answers on repairing brains in the wake of neurotrauma and neurodegenerative diseases. Their research is the first to combine the most sophisticated 3-D bioelectronic systems with highly advanced 3-D human neural cultures. The goal is to enable precise studies of how human brain circuits develop and repair themselves in vitro. The study is the cover story for ...

In a world first, a cross-institutional research collaboration has used a two-photon microscope (*1) with a combination of calcium imaging (*2) and holographic stimulation (*3) to reveal that the functional connectivity between neurons located in the primary somatosensory cortex is increased in response to acute pain. Pain occurs as a result of injury, such as peripheral neuron damage or inflammation stemming from peripheral tissue violation. Research findings have been published on the involvement of central nervous system abnormalities in the onset of pain and sustained pain. The primary somatosensory cortex ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Most stroke victims don't receive treatment fast enough to prevent brain damage. Scientists at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, College of Engineering and College of Medicine have developed technology to "retrain" cells to help repair damaged brain tissue. It's an advancement that may someday help patients regain speech, cognition and motor function, even when administered days after an ischemic stroke. Engineering and medical researchers use a process created by Ohio State called tissue nanotransfection (TNT) to introduce genetic material into cells. This allows them to reprogram skin cells to become something ...