Curated News: Medical Meetings

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Ubiquitous plasticizers may have long-term health effects.

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Women with polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, lost significantly more weight when they took two drugs that are traditionally used to treat diabetes, rather than either drug alone, a study from Slovenia demonstrates. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Vitamin D supplementation may help delay early onset of puberty in girls, a new clinical study finds. The results were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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A new study links fetal exposure to a common chemical pollutant, bisphenol A (BPA), to defects of a testicular hormone in newborn boys with undescended testicles. The results, which were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, suggest yet another potential harmful effect of BPA, which is widely used in many plastics, liners of food cans and dental sealants.

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Exposing developing tissue to low levels of the plastic bisphenol A, commonly known as BPA, is linked to a greater incidence of prostate cancer in tissue grown from human prostate stem cells, a new study finds. The results will be presented Monday, June 17, at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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New research suggests that fetal exposure to the common environmental chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, causes increased inflammation in fat tissues after birth, which can lead to obesity and metabolic syndrome. Results of the animal study were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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A mother’s exposure to triclocarban, a common antibacterial chemical, while nursing her babies shortens the life of her female offspring, a new study in rats finds. The results were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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High doses of testosterone significantly improve sexual function among women who have had their uterus and ovaries surgically removed, a clinical study demonstrates. The results were presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Reduced effectiveness of the hormone insulin, or insulin resistance, is associated with weakened bones, a clinical study shows. The results were presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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A drug that mimics the activity of thyroid hormone significantly increases the amount of energy burned by fat tissue and promotes weight loss, an animal study of metabolism finds. The results were presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Short-term use of antidepressants, combined with stress and a high-fat diet, is associated with long-term increases in body weight, a new animal study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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When fathers eat a high-fat diet before conception of offspring, the male offspring have increased body weight after weaning and high body fat in midlife despite eating a low-fat diet, a new study in mice finds. The results were presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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SAN FRANCISCO—Overweight women who skip breakfast experience acute, or rapid-onset, insulin resistance, a condition that, when chronic, is a risk factor for diabetes, a new study finds. The results, which were presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco, suggest that regularly skipping breakfast over time may lead to chronic insulin resistance and thus could increase an individual's risk for type 2 diabetes.

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A high-fat diet in adolescence appears to have long-lasting effects on learning and memory during adulthood, a new study in mice finds. The results were presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Researchers have discovered a molecular switch that explains, at least in part, how some fast-growing prostate cancers become resistant to hormone treatment, a new study conducted in human cell cultures and mice finds. The results were presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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The new weight loss drug lorcaserin (Belviq) appears to improve blood sugar control in nondiabetic, overweight individuals, independent of the amount of weight they lose, a new study finds. The results were presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Impaired heart function among obese children and adolescents may be an indicator of future heart disease, a new clinical trial finds. The results were presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Overweight and obese men secrete greater amounts of stress hormones after eating, which may make them more susceptible to disease, a new observational study finds. The results were presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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A supplemental beverage used to treat muscle-wasting may help boost muscle mass among the elderly, according to a new study. The results were presented today at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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A treatment known as whole body vibration therapy significantly increases bone strength among adolescents with cerebral palsy, a new clinical trial from New Zealand shows. The results were presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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A high-salt diet raises a woman’s risk of breaking a bone after menopause, no matter what her bone density is, according to a new study that was presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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A type of drug normally used to treat heart failure and high blood pressure helped prevent weight gain and other complications related to a high-fat diet in an animal study. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Insufficient sleep may contribute to weight gain and obesity by raising levels of a substance in the body that is a natural appetite stimulant, a new study finds. The results were presented today at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Memory improves in older, overweight women after they lose weight by dieting, and their brain activity actually changes in the regions of the brain that are important for memory tasks, a new study finds. The results will be presented Saturday at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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During labor and delivery, infants preferentially secrete a different stress hormone than their mothers do, according to a new clinical study.

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A new osteoporosis drug hinders the growth of estrogen-sensitive cancer that has become resistant to treatment with tamoxifen, a study in mice shows.

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A new genetic test accurately and consistently diagnoses benign growths, or nodules, on the thyroid gland, according to a study from Chile.

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A drug approved in Europe to treat osteoporosis has now been shown to stop the growth of breast cancer cells, even in cancers that have become resistant to current targeted therapies, according to a Duke Cancer Institute study.

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Hormone treatment to halt puberty in adolescents with gender identity disorder does not cause lasting harm to their bones, a new study finds. The results were presented today at The Endocrine Society’s 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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Estrogen replacement therapy is associated with a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms among girls with anorexia nervosa, a new clinical trial finds. The results will be presented today at The Endocrine Society’s Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

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One reason why obese children and teenagers are more likely to have hard-to-control asthma and allergies may be vitamin D deficiency, a new study finds.

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A team of psychiatric residents from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) won the 2013 American Psychiatric Association Mind Games competition for the third time – the second year in a row.

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Cancer of the esophagus is beginning to level off in the United States, but one type of esophageal cancer remains a serious threat to African-American men, especially if they drink and smoke.

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Two new studies by researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have shed light on joint replacement outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

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The painful rheumatic condition gout is often associated with the big toe, but it turns out that patients at highest risk of further flare-ups are those whose gout first involved other joints, such as a knee or elbow, Mayo Clinic has found. The study is among several that Mayo researchers are presenting in Madrid at the European League Against Rheumatism’s annual meeting.

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In its fourth year with 99 percent compliance, Loyola University Health System's mandatory flu shot program is the subject of a study presented by Jorge Parada, MD, Loyola University Health System, presented at an infectious disease conference.

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An experimental treatment that combines a cell-killing radioactive particle with an antibody that homes in on cancer cells is safe in the treatment of cancers spreading through patients’ abdomens.

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A PET study led by a Stony Brook University Professor indicates that overeating and weight gain contributing to onset of diabetes could be related to a deficit in reward circuits in the brain.

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A new minimally invasive laser-based tool for epilepsy surgery offers a quicker recuperation time for patients than major surgery, Mayo Clinic researchers report. The research is ongoing, but preliminary results were recently presented at the American Academy of Neurology.

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Molecular subtyping can help predict outcomes and chemotherapy benefit in patients with colorectal cancer, according to a presentation at the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

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MET protein levels correlate strongly with epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype, a treatment-resistant type of colorectal cancer and may be used as a surrogate biomarker, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

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Study Examines Effects of Lipid-Lowering Medicines on Cancer Patients Treated for High Cholesterol, Diabetes and Heart Disease

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Smartphones and tablets can make for sleep-disrupting bedfellows. One cause is believed to be the bright light-emitting diodes that allow the use of mobile devices in dimly lit rooms; the light exposure can interfere with melatonin, a hormone that helps control the natural sleep-wake cycle. But there may be a way to check your mobile device in bed and still get a good night’s sleep. A Mayo Clinic study suggests dimming the smartphone or tablet brightness settings and holding the device at least 14 inches from your face while using it will reduce its potential to interfere with melatonin and impede sleep.

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Cancer immunotherapy is showing promise in treating patients with a variety of advanced, metastatic tumors, as evidenced by two newly unveiled studies from Yale Cancer Center.

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Eighty-three percent of cancer doctors report that they’ve faced oncology drug shortages, and of those, nearly all say that their patients’ treatment has been impacted, according to a study from researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that will be presented today at the 2013 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Abstract #CRA6510). The results showed that shortages – which have hit especially hard among drugs to treat pediatric, gastrointestinal and blood cancers – have left physicians surveyed unable to prescribe standard chemotherapies for a range of cancers.

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A team of researchers led by Jedd Wolchok of the Ludwig Center at MSKCC presented data today at the ASCO Annual Meeting showing promising results from a Phase I clinical trial evaluating the concurrent use of two immunotherapies for the treatment of advanced melanoma.

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Patients with cancer that has spread to their bones are often treated with radiation therapy to reduce pain. But if that treatment doesn’t work, or can’t be used again, a second, effective option now exists. Results of a clinical trial on the new therapy, presented by a researcher at Jefferson’s Kimmel Cancer Center, is being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

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The HER2 growth-factor gene is known to be over-active in breast and gastro-esophageal cancers. But now, irregularities in the genes ‘s expression — among them mutations, amplifications, substitutions, and translocations — have been found in 14 different advanced solid tumors.

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Adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to standard chemotherapy and radiation treatment does not improve survival for patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma, a very aggressive form of brain cancer, researchers have found. The results of the large, multicenter study are being presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting.

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Even though a majority of U.S. oncologists report satisfaction with their careers, many say they have experienced at least one symptom of burnout, a Mayo Clinic-led study has found. The study was released during the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting in Chicago.