Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Diabetes & Endocrinology for March 2009. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Safe Practice Scores Do Not Add Up to Fewer Patient Deaths
TUESDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- In hospitals, higher self-reported scores for improvements in safe practices do not correlate with reduced mortality rates, researchers report in the April 1 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Aspirin May Protect Against Cancer
FRIDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) -- People who take aspirin for vascular protection have less incidence of cancer, but only after 10 years of taking the drug, indicating that it may have a protective effect against cancer, according to a review published online March 27 in The Lancet.
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Most US Adults Should Reduce Sodium Intake
FRIDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly 70 percent of U.S. adults are in groups at high risk of hypertension and should reduce their sodium intake to less than a teaspoon of salt a day, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report in the March 27 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Weight Gain Between Births Raises Cesarean Risk
FRIDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) -- Women who have developed gestational diabetes in a prior pregnancy and have gained more than 10 pounds of weight between pregnancies are at increased risk for cesarean delivery of subsequent babies, according to a report published in the April issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
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Light Alcohol Consumption Linked to β-Endorphin Release
THURSDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- Alcohol consumption, up to moderate levels, may increase β-endorphin release in the brain and play a role in ethanol reward, according to research published online March 19 in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
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Mutant Thyroid Gene Linked to Aberrant Histone Modifications
THURSDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- A mutation in the thyroid hormone receptor associated with resistance to thyroid hormone is associated with aberrant histone modifications that increase expression of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH), according to a study published online March 19 in Endocrinology.
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Prenatal Drug Linked to Impaired Uterine Development
THURSDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- Prenatal exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES), which is associated with defects in the development of the female reproductive tract, is associated with hypermethylation of a gene that controls uterine development, according to study findings published online March 19 in Endocrinology.
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Cost Barriers Slow Adoption of Electronic Health Records
WEDNESDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- Citing cost barriers, relatively few U.S. hospitals have adopted electronic health records, posing a major obstacle for policy makers who say health information technology is critical to the improvement of health care quality and cost-effectiveness, according to an article published online March 25 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Americans Fear Chronic Disease Above All Else
WEDNESDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- Although Americans fear chronic disease above debt, divorce or unemployment, their lifestyle choices put them at risk for diseases such as diabetes, according to a report released March 24 by the American Diabetes Association.
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Smoking Linked to Risk of Acute, Chronic Pancreatitis
TUESDAY, March 24 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking is independently associated with an increased risk of pancreatitis, according to study findings published in the March 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Intensive Glucose Control Spikes Mortality in Critically Ill
TUESDAY, March 24 (HealthDay News) -- Intensively controlling blood glucose in a study group of critically ill patients increased their mortality rate and hypoglycemia in comparison to a group receiving conventional glucose control, according to research reported online March 24 in advance of publication in the March 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Prolactin Maintains Mating-Induced Prolactin Surges
MONDAY, March 23 (HealthDay News) -- Prolactin injected directly into the brains of rats can induce a prolactin secretory rhythm similar to that induced after mating, but only maintains and does not initiate mating-induced prolactin surges, according to a study published online March 12 in Endocrinology.
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Shift Away From Sweet Tooth May Signal End to Growth
MONDAY, March 23 (HealthDay News) -- Growth markers are lower in adolescents who express a preference for less-sweet drinks, which may indicate that reduced preference for sugar signals an end to growth, according to a study published in the March 23 issue of Physiology & Behavior.
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Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Restenosis Similar With Stent
FRIDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- Restenosis in patients with diabetes who have the TAXUS Liberte paclitaxel-eluting stent (PES) is similar to that for non-diabetic patients, according to a report in the March issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions.
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Research Seeks Infertility Cause in Transgenic Mice
FRIDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- In GnRHR-TAg transgenic mice, females may be infertile due to altered gonadotropin production and secretion before they even develop pituitary tumors, according to research published online March 12 in Endocrinology.
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Budesonide Nasal Wash Not Linked to Adrenal Suppression
WEDNESDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- The use of budesonide as a nasal wash in adults with chronic rhinosinusitis appears to relieve symptoms without suppressing the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, according to research published in the March issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery.
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Urinary Potassium Associated With Patients' Diet Quality
WEDNESDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- Measurement of urinary potassium may be a simple way to detect a good or poor-quality diet, according to study findings published ahead of print Feb. 11 in the Journal of Nutrition.
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Score Accurately Estimates 10-Year Diabetes Risk
WEDNESDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- A score that uses medical data and does not require laboratory tests accurately estimates 10-year diabetes risk, according to research published March 17 in BMJ Online First.
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Body Mass Index Alone Good Predictor of Mortality
WEDNESDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- Body mass index (BMI) is a strong predictor of mortality risk both above and below the optimal weight range of 22.5-25 kg/m2, according to a report published online March 18 in The Lancet.
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Protein Excess Implicated in Ovarian Cystic Disorder
TUESDAY, March 17 (HealthDay News) -- Ovaries from women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) produce high levels of nerve growth factor, and mice overproducing nerve growth factor in the ovaries develop cystic ovarian morphology and similar reproductive abnormalities as PCOS patients, according to research published online March 5 in Endocrinology.
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Survival in Transplant Patients Hinges on Key Risk Factors
TUESDAY, March 17 (HealthDay News) -- Low-risk combined heart and kidney transplantation recipients with a low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) have improved survival after the transplantation when compared with isolated heart transplant recipients, according to research published in the March issue of the Archives of Surgery.
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No Role for Androgen Receptor in Regulating Muscle Strength
MONDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- The androgen receptor is important in maintaining muscle mass and fiber type but has no role in regulating muscle strength or fatigue, according to a study published online March 5 in Endocrinology.
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Study Explains How Exercise Improves Insulin Sensitivity
MONDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Mice that overexpress a protein that normally increases in muscle after exercise have improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity and do not become obese even after eating a high-fat diet, according to a study published online March 5 in Endocrinology.
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Receptor Contributes to Control of Food Intake
MONDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- Endogenous hindbrain glucagon-like-peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) activation contributes to the control of food intake by mediating gastric satiation signaling, according to the results of an animal study published online ahead of print March 5 in Endocrinology.
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Simplified Method Has Value for Prognosis in Thyroid Cancer
MONDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) -- A quantified alternative to the TNM system -- a cancer-staging system using tumor size, node involvement and presence of metastases -- provides a simple method of predicting recurrence and cancer-specific mortality, with no loss of discrimination compared to other systems, for differentiated thyroid carcinoma, according to research published online March 9 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Europe Missing Out on Heart Disease Prevention
FRIDAY, Mar. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Patient surveys conducted in three time periods between 1995 and 2007 show that European countries are missing the opportunity to reduce cardiovascular disease through preventive efforts, according to an article published in the Mar. 14 issue of The Lancet.
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Steroid Abuse Tests Ignore Athletes' Ethnicity
FRIDAY, Mar. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Urinary steroid profiles used to look for evidence of testosterone abuse among athletes fail to take into account individual variations in hormone activity, which differ across various ethnic groups, according to a report published online Mar. 12 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
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Bariatric Surgery Has Double Benefits for Diabetic Patients
THURSDAY, Mar. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Most type 2 diabetes patients who undergo bariatric surgery see improvements, not just in weight loss but also in diabetes control, according to a study published in the March issue of The American Journal of Medicine.
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Blood Glucose Affects Survival in Non-Diabetic STEMI Cases
THURSDAY, Mar. 12 (HealthDay News) -- In non-diabetic patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), high blood glucose at hospital admission is independently associated with an increased risk of short- and mid-term death, according to a report published in the Mar. 1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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Treatment May Reduce Inflammation in Diabetics
THURSDAY, Mar. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Treating diabetic patients with reconstituted high-density lipoprotein (rHDL) reduces inflammation, increases cholesterol efflux from macrophages and may be atheroprotective, according to study findings published in the Mar. 17 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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US Diabetic Retinopathy Cases Set to Triple by 2050
WEDNESDAY, Mar. 11 (HealthDay News) -- As the number of Americans with diabetes continues to rise, so will the incidence of diabetes-related eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and glaucoma, according to an editorial published in the March issue of the Archives of Ophthalmology.
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Diabetics Have Different Plaque Qualities
WEDNESDAY, Mar. 11 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with acute coronary syndrome, those with diabetes have greater inflammatory status and more plaques with signs of vulnerability, according to research published in the March issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging.
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Metabolic Disorder, Obesity Associated with Dementia
TUESDAY, Mar. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight and obesity, and its associated metabolic disorders including diabetes, are linked with dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, according to research published in a series of articles in the March issue of the Archives of Neurology.
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Vascular Risks May Speed Cognitive Decline in Alzheimer's
MONDAY, Mar. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Pre-existing vascular risk factors such as abnormal cholesterol levels and diabetes may be associated with an accelerated cognitive decline in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, according to the results of a study published in the March issue of the Archives of Neurology.
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Metabolic Syndrome Linked to Reduced Lung Function
MONDAY, Mar. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Metabolic syndrome is associated with a higher risk of lung function impairment, primarily due to abdominal obesity, according to research published in the Mar. 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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Poor Infection Control Caused Kidney Unit Hep C Infections
MONDAY, Mar. 9 (HealthDay News) -- A failure to adequately test patients for hepatitis C and poor infection control led to the infection with the virus of nine hemodialysis patients in New York City, according to a report published in the Mar. 6 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Some Dietician Students Biased Against Obese Patients
MONDAY, Mar. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Undergraduate dietetics students have a moderate degree of fat phobia and display bias in their approach to treating obese patients, according to research published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
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Obesity Linked to Altered Ovarian Follicular Environment
FRIDAY, Mar. 6 (HealthDay News) -- An altered ovarian follicular environment may help explain why overweight and obese women have more difficulty achieving pregnancy than normal-weight women, according to research published online Feb. 17 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
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Transdermal Patches Pose Burn Risk During Scans
FRIDAY, Mar. 6 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning about the risk of burns as a result of wearing medicated patches, such as those used for smoking cessation or pain relief, during MRI scans.
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Arm Fracture Raises Risk of Hip Fracture in Elderly Women
THURSDAY, Mar. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly women who fracture their arm are at greater risk of fracturing their hip within a year, researchers report in the Mar. 1 issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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Gastric Bypass Surgery May Improve Sex Life in Obese Men
THURSDAY, Mar. 5 (HealthDay News) -- In obese men, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery may be associated with increased production of reproductive hormones and improved sexual function, according to study findings released online Jan. 27 in advance of publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.
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Obama Wants to Spend $630 Billion on Health Care Reform
THURSDAY, Mar. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Achieving health care reform is one of President Barack Obama's major challenges, and his newly released spending plan calls on Congress to commit $630 billion over the next decade to finance that reform, according to an article published online Mar. 4 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Defects in Hormone Cycling After Prenatal Testosterone
THURSDAY, Mar. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Female sheep that were exposed to excess testosterone in utero have defects in reproductive hormone cycling, particularly if they become obese, researchers report in the March issue of Endocrinology. The observations may explain the anovulation observed in obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome, where excess prenatal steroid exposure may play a role in the disease.
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Vitamin Pills May Not Help Reach Intake Guidelines
THURSDAY, Mar. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Taking dietary supplements can help patients reach recommended intake levels for calcium, vitamin C and magnesium, but this is not always the case and many adults are still falling short of the recommended intake, according to a study published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
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Testosterone Not Beneficial for Female Sexual Dysfunction
WEDNESDAY, Mar. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Hypoactive sexual desire disorder is a common condition in Western women, but evidence suggests that treatment with transdermal testosterone patches is ineffective and potentially risky, according to an article published in the March issue of the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin.
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Abnormal Sleep Schedule Linked to Adverse Effects
WEDNESDAY, Mar. 4 (HealthDay News) -- An altered sleep-wake cycle such as that seen during jet lag and shift work can have wide-ranging metabolic and cardiovascular implications, according to research published online Mar. 2 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Adolescents at Risk for Vitamin D Deficiency
WEDNESDAY, Mar. 4 (HealthDay News) -- A substantial proportion of adolescents, especially non-Hispanic blacks and females, are deficient in vitamin D, according to a report published in the March issue of Pediatrics.
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Vitamin K Doesn't Reduce Bleeding in Warfarin Patients
TUESDAY, Mar. 3 (HealthDay News) -- In patients receiving warfarin, vitamin K does not reduce bleeding, according to study findings published in the Mar. 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Marathon Runners Have Less Hypertension, Diabetes
TUESDAY, Mar. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Marathon runners have lower prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, diabetes and hypertension compared to non-marathon runners, according to a report published in the March issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
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Carbon Dioxide Anesthesia Raises Stress Hormones in Rats
MONDAY, Mar. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Euthanizing laboratory rats by carbon dioxide anesthesia before decapitation, which is considered more humane than direct decapitation, raises the levels of some stress hormones, according to a report published online Feb. 12 in Endocrinology.
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US Motor Vehicle-Related Death Rates Vary Geographically
MONDAY, Mar. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Although the mortality rate related to motor vehicles remained almost unchanged from 1999 to 2005 in the United States, on closer inspection the data reveals wide variations from state to state, as well as by gender and ethnicity, according to a report published in the Feb. 27 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Glycemic Control Approaches Lead to Similar Outcomes
MONDAY, Mar. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Different approaches to glycemic control in type 2 diabetics following myocardial infarction were associated with similar risk of later cardiovascular events, according to research published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.
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