CHICAGO, IL—A study finds that the number of taste buds we have on our tongue decreases as we get older, and that the lower the number of taste buds, the more likely for fasting blood glucose (sugar) levels to be higher than normal. The results were presented Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. Because high fasting blood sugar level is a main characteristic of diabetes, the study findings suggest that the number of taste buds plays a role in glucose metabolism—how the body uses ...

CHICAGO, IL — People who lack growth hormone (GH) receptors also appear to have marked insulin sensitivity that prevents them from developing diabetes and lowers their risk for cancer, despite their increased percentage of body fat, new research finds. The results were presented Sunday, June 22, at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago. "We have shown that people who, due to a genetic defect, are unable to respond to growth hormone have an increased sensitivity to insulin that safeguards them ...

CHICAGO, IL — People with significant hypothyroidism can experience impaired driving similar to those who are driving when intoxicated by alcohol, a new study finds. The results were presented Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. Hypothyroidism, insufficient thyroid hormone, is very common and has been known to cause impairment of many bodily functions, including brain function. Until now, studies have not sufficiently explored the extent of brain impairment and whether hypothyroid ...

CHICAGO, IL — Researchers have found a possible biological reason why people with diabetes are prone to depression. A new study shows that high blood glucose (sugar) levels in patients with Type 1 diabetes increase the levels of a brain neurotransmitter associated with depression, and alter the connections between regions of the brain that control emotions. The results will be presented Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. "It was traditionally thought that patients with Type 1 or ...

CHICAGO, IL—Soy protein supplements, which contain natural estrogens, do not reduce testosterone levels in men with Type 2 diabetes who already have borderline-low testosterone, according to a new study. The results were presented Saturday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. "Because soy contains phytoestrogens that are similar to the female hormone estrogen, it was not known whether consumption of soy could reduce testosterone levels in men with Type 2 diabetes, who are at increased risk ...

CHICAGO, IL—Almost 70 percent of adults with Type 1 diabetes never use their blood glucose self-monitoring devices or insulin pumps to download historical data about their blood sugar levels and insulin doses—information that likely would help them manage their disease better. These new survey results, which were presented Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago, also show that only 12 percent of patients regularly review their past glucose and insulin pump data at home. "This research ...

CHICAGO, IL — A new study has found for the first time that the endocrine-disrupting chemical bisphenol A (BPA) reprograms the developing prostate, making the gland more susceptible to precancerous lesions and other diseases later in a man's life. The results will be reported Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. "By using two novel models of human prostate development involving embryonic stem cells, this study is the first to show that low doses of BPA can actually reprogram human ...

CHICAGO, IL — Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis who take denosumab long-term have increased bone density, sustained low rate of fractures, and a favorable benefit/risk profile, a new multinational study finds. The results were presented Sunday, June 22, at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago. "This study provides reassurance to physicians and their patients that long-term treatment with denosumab for at least 8 years leads to significant increases in bone density and is safe for appropriately ...

CHICAGO, IL — An investigational drug to treat Type 2 diabetes, empagliflozin, lowers blood pressure in patients with Type 2 diabetes and hypertension (high blood pressure), a new study finds. The results were presented Sunday in a late-breaking abstract at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and The Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. This improvement in blood pressure reportedly was accompanied by a reduction in blood glucose (sugar) levels after 12 weeks of treatment with the drug, which is under development by Germany-based Boehringer ...

CHICAGO, IL — Some nutritional sports supplements marketed to athletes -- claiming to help them build lean muscle, reduce body fat and enhance endurance -- are secretly fortified with androgens, which are banned from use in sports, a new study from Australia finds. The results will be presented in a poster Sunday, June 22, at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago. "The point is that 'you can't judge a book by its cover.' The nutritional supplement label may not disclose all ingredients, and ...

MANHATTAN, Kansas — New physics research involving Kansas State University faculty members has helped shed light on how our universe works. A recently published study in the journal Nature Physics reports scientists have found evidence that the Higgs boson — a fundamental particle proposed in 1964 and discovered in 2012 — is the long sought-after particle responsible for giving mass to elementary particles. "In nature, there are two types of particles: fermions and bosons," said Ketino "Keti" Kaadze, a research associate at Fermilab who in August is joining the faculty ...

CHICAGO, IL — Elderly men with low levels of testosterone or other sex hormones have twice the likelihood of having declining physical function over two years' time compared with their peers who have the highest hormone levels, a new study from Australia finds. The results were presented Saturday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. "We also found that increasing muscle weakness—possibly due to decreasing testosterone concentration in the blood—could explain most of this relationship," ...

CHICAGO, IL — Women who develop diabetes during pregnancy, called gestational diabetes, perform worse on cognitive function tests than do women with a normal pregnancy, according to a new study from Turkey. The results were presented Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. Type 2 diabetes has been linked to accelerated cognitive, or brain-related, decline and an increased risk of dementia in elderly individuals. However, exactly when the memory problems can begin during diabetes is ...

CHICAGO, IL — Long-term mild cold exposure can stimulate brown fat growth and activity in humans and may benefit glucose and energy metabolism, a new study finds. The results were presented in a poster Sunday, June 22 at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago. Brown fat, also known as brown adipose tissue (BAT), is a special kind of fat that burns energy and glucose to generate heat. It keeps small animals and babies warm, and animals with abundant brown fat are protected from diabetes and obesity. ...

CHICAGO, IL — Younger and older women tend to lose lean muscle mass, along with fat, unless they engage in physical activity before they attempt weight loss, a new study from Israel finds. The results were presented Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. "To preserve muscle in metabolic syndrome, irrespective of age, exercise should precede the initiation of weight loss and not be started at the same time as diet," said lead study author Yonit Marcus, MD, PhD, endocrinologist at the ...

CHICAGO, IL — Mice exposed to the fungicide tolyfluanid (TF) showed metabolic changes similar to those that signify the development of the metabolic syndrome. The results, which were presented Sunday at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions including increased blood pressure, high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol levels. Together these conditions increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Rates ...

CHICAGO, IL — Testosterone replacement therapy may help older men who have limited mobility and low testosterone improve their aerobic capacity and lessen its decline with age, new research finds. The results were presented in a poster Sunday, June 22, at ICE/ENDO 2014, the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society in Chicago. "These findings are potentially relevant to older men who have experienced the age-related decline in endurance capacity that may be due in part to low testosterone. If proven safe over the long-term, ...

A new study on the digestion of milk could lead to the development of new formulas for premature babies, weight loss drinks and potentially new drug delivery systems. Published in the journal ACS Nano, the Monash University research shows for the first time detailed insights into the structure of milk during digestion. Whilst milk's nutritional values are well known, little research has been conducted into the detailed structure of milk and how its fats interact with the digestive system until now. Funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), and led by Dr Stefan ...

An international team of scientists led by Monash University researchers has shown how free radicals contribute to type 2 diabetes, obesity and fatty liver disease. Type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are key complications of obesity as 80 per cent of patients with type 2 diabetes are obese, and 75 per cent of patients who are obese or have type 2 diabetes also have fatty liver disease. The team, led by Professor Tony Tiganis from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Monash, has found that free radical molecules called Reactive Oxygen ...

A group of French and Russian scientists, including three specialists from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, has discovered a new peculiarity of the Martian atmosphere. The scientists had analyzed satellite-acquired data and concluded that the dust particles in the planet's atmosphere can be of two types. The scientific article which presents the results of the research in detail has been published in the journal Icarus. The Russian contributors to the research, Anna Fedorova, Alexander Rodin and Oleg Korablev, are the specialists of MIPT and SRI (IKI) RAS. ...

A large new study, covering millions of U.S. births over 15 years, finds that substantial numbers of babies, nearly one in 25, are born earlier than medically justified, through elective cesarean sections and elective induced labor. The study reinforces long-standing recommendations by professional medical and public health organizations against early-term deliveries without appropriate medical reasons. "A growing body of research suggests that health outcomes are worse for infants born before 40 weeks gestation, compared to full-term births," said Scott A. Lorch, M.D., ...

(NEW YORK, NY, June 23, 2014) –While many HIV prevention interventions have traditionally been delivered face-to-face, a study from Columbia University School of Nursing suggests that digital outreach efforts delivered via text messages, interactive games, chat rooms, and social networks may be an effective way to reach at-risk younger men. The research review, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, found that eHealth interventions are associated with reductions in risky sexual behaviors and increases in HIV testing among men who have sex with men. Despite ...

A cancer diagnosis affects the whole family, and a significant number of children of cancer patients may be at risk for emotional and behavioral problems. A new analysis published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, suggests that family dysfunction may increase a child's risk of experiencing such problems after learning of a parent's illness. Approximately 21% of all newly diagnosed cancer patients are between the ages of 25 and 54 years, and many may have dependent children living with them at home. While most children and ...

One of the deadliest forms of paediatric brain tumour, Group 3 medulloblastoma, is linked to a variety of large-scale DNA rearrangements which all have the same overall effect on specific genes located on different chromosomes. The finding, by scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), both in Heidelberg, Germany, and Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in San Diego, USA, is published online today in Nature. To date, the only gene known to play an important role in Group 3 medulloblastoma was a gene ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- Pregnant women who lived in close proximity to fields and farms where chemical pesticides were applied experienced a two-thirds increased risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental delay, a study by researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute has found. The associations were stronger when the exposures occurred during the second and third trimesters of the women's pregnancies. The large, multisite California-based study examined associations between specific classes of pesticides, including organophosphates, pyrethroids ...