Endocrinology
Study Finds No Correlation Between Newborn Thryoid Function within Normal Range, Cognitive Developme
There is no correlation between newborn thyroid function within the normal range and cognitive development, nor is there a correlative between maternal thyroid function and newborn thyroid function in a Boston-area sample, according to data to be presented on Oct. 4, 2008 at the 79th Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) in Chicago, IL. Normal thyroid function is essential for healthy brain development. Previous studies have suggested that even mild maternal hypothyroidism during pregnancy may adversely affect child cognitive development.
On behalf of Project Viva, a team of researchers led by Dr. Emily Oken of Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Dr. Elizabeth Pearce of Boston University Medical Center in Boston, Mass., studied 500 children born 1999-2003 to evaluate the relationship between thyroxine levels in newborns, first trimester maternal thyroid function, and childhood cognition. Researchers first tested mothers’ thyroid stimulating hormone, thyroxine, and thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibody levels at an average of 10.2 weeks gestation and later measured newborns’ thyroxine levels from whole blood samples after birth.
Researchers then performed cognitive testing when the infants were six months old using the visual recognition memory (VRM) test, a measure of infant cognition that can predict later childhood IQ and specific abilities in perceptual speed, language, and memory. When the children were three years old, researchers tested them with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), a measure of verbal ability or scholastic aptitude, and the Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Ability (WRAVMA), which evaluates visual-spatial analysis, visual-motor ability, and fine motor skills.
Estrogen Relieves Psychotic Symptoms in Women With Schizophrenia
When combined with antipsychotic medications, the estrogen estradiol appears to be a useful treatment in women with schizophrenia, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
The link between estrogen and mental illness was recognized more than a century ago, according to background information in the article. However, scientific evidence regarding estrogen as a therapy for mental illness has only recently emerged. “Epidemiologic observations of sex differences in the onset and course of schizophrenia prompted exploration of estrogen’s role in schizophrenia,” the authors write.
Jayashri Kulkarni, M.B.B.S., M.P.M., F.R.A.N.Z.C.P., Ph.D., of The Alfred and Monash University and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues conducted a randomized, double-blind study involving 102 women of child-bearing age with schizophrenia. For 28 days, 56 women were randomly assigned to receive 100 micrograms of estradiol daily via a skin patch and 46 women received a placebo skin patch in addition to their regular medications. Psychotic symptoms, which include delusions and hallucinatory behavior, were assessed weekly with a commonly used scale.
Mate or hibernate? That’s the question worm pheromones answer
If worms could talk, they might tell potential suitors, “I like the way you wriggle,” complete with that telltale come slither look. But worms send their valentines via signals known as pheromones, a complex chemical code researchers are now cracking, according to a study published Wednesday (July 23) in the journal Nature.
Scientists from the University of Florida, Cornell University, the California Institute of Technology and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have discovered the first mating pheromone in one of science’s most well-studied research subjects, the tiny worm Caenorhabditis elegans. But perhaps even more interesting is what the newly discovered pheromone also directs worms to do — hibernate.
At lower levels, the pheromone signals the male C. elegans to mate with its partner. But when the worm population grows and the food supply dwindles, the chemical signal increases and the cue changes from mate to hibernate. This discovery could help researchers find ways to combat more harmful worms that destroy crops and provide clues for scientists studying similar parasite worms, said Arthur Edison, Ph.D., a UF associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the College of Medicine and one of the study’s senior authors.
Testosterone gel benefits some men with diabetes
Men with type 2 diabetes or the metabolic syndrome, or both, are prone to have low testosterone levels. If so, testosterone replacement therapy with a gel applied to the skin may improve their response to insulin and their sexual function, according to the results of a new clinical trial.
Testosterone levels fall if testicular function is subnormal, a condition termed hypogonadism. “Consideration should be given to screening type 2 diabetic and metabolic syndrome patients for hypogonadism,” Dr. T. Hugh Jones told the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco this week.
Jones, of Barnsley Hospital and the University of Sheffield in the UK, and colleagues tested the effect of a testosterone gel (Tostran) on insulin resistance and symptoms of hypogonadism in 221 men with low testosterone levels.
Low Testosterone May Cause Health Problems that Lead to Erectile Dysfunction
Men with erectile dysfunction should be examined for testosterone deficiency and the metabolic syndrome, because these conditions commonly occur together, a new study shows. The results will be presented at The Endocrine Society’s 90th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.
“Erectile dysfunction is a portal into men’s health,” said the study’s senior author, Aksam Yassin, MD, PhD, of the Clinic for Urology and Andrology of the Segeberger Clinics in Norderstedt, Germany. “It is becoming clear that obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems and erectile difficulties are intertwined, and a common denominator is testosterone deficiency.”
Yassin’s research, performed with scientists from The Netherlands, Germany and the United Arab Emirates, aimed to determine in men with erectile dysfunction (ED) the prevalence of hypogonadism, the scientific term for testosterone deficiency.
Mood hormone may affect fat, U.S. study finds
A brain chemical strongly linked to mood and appetite may also directly affect fat gain, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
They said levels of serotonin, the nerve-signaling chemical targeted by many antidepressants, may also direct the body to put down fat regardless of how much food is eaten.
“It may be one reason diets fail,” metabolism expert Kaveh Ashrafi of the University of California, San Francisco, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.
Spray-on estrogen relieves hot flushes
A form of estrogen, estradiol, sprayed on the skin is a safe, effective, and convenient way for post-menopausal women to relieve hot flushes, a study shows.
Evamist, which is marketed by Ther-Rx Corporation, is the first transdermal estradiol spray to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treating moderate-to-severe menopausal symptoms in healthy women, according to the report in the medical journal Obstetrics & Gynecology.
“This estradiol ‘spray-on-patch’ is a treatment option for women who will benefit from the advantages of transdermal estradiol delivery but are intolerant of or are not inclined to use patches, gels, or emulsions,” write Dr. John E. Buster, from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and colleagues.
Many Men With Low Testosterone Levels Do Not Receive Treatment
The majority of men with androgen deficiency may not be receiving treatment despite having sufficient access to care, according to a report in the May 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Androgen deficiency in men means the body has lower than normal amounts of male hormones, including testosterone, according to background information in the article. Although prescriptions for testosterone therapy for aging men have increased in recent years, treatment patterns for androgen deficiency are not clearly understood in community-dwelling U.S. males.
Susan A. Hall, Ph.D., of New England Research Institutes, Watertown, Mass., and colleagues examined data collected from 1,486 Boston-area men (average age 46.4) from April 2002 to June 2005 to estimate the number of men receiving treatment for androgen deficiency, to explain how treated and untreated men varied in seeking care and to understand potential barriers to health care. Specific symptoms of androgen deficiency include low libido, erectile dysfunction and osteoporosis and less-specific symptoms include sleep disturbance, depressed mood and tiredness.
Testosterone predicts profits on trading floors
Financial traders make more money when their testosterone levels are high, perhaps because the male hormone makes them more confident and focused, British researchers reported on Monday.
Their study of male traders in the City of London financial district showed they made bigger profits on days when their testosterone levels were already high.
Testosterone may help focus the mind but constantly high testosterone levels are likely to make traders foolhardy, the researchers at the University of Cambridge cautioned.
New Study Finds Anticipating a Laugh Reduces Stress Hormones
In 2006 researchers investigating the interaction between the brain, behavior, and the immune system found that simply anticipating a mirthful laughter experience boosted health-protecting hormones. Now, two years later, the same researchers have found that the anticipation of a positive humorous laughter experience also reduces potentially detrimental stress hormones. According to Dr. Lee Berk, the study team’s lead researcher of Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA, “Our findings lead us to believe that by seeking out positive experiences that make us laugh we can do a lot with our physiology to stay well.”
In their earlier work the researchers found that the anticipation of “mirthful laughter” had surprising and significant effects. Two hormones – beta-endorphins (the family of chemicals that alleviates depression) and human growth hormone (HGH; which helps with immunity) – increased by 27 and 87 percent respectively when volunteers anticipated watching a humorous video. There was no such increase among the control group who did not anticipate watching the humor film.
Mother-daughter conflict, low serotonin level may be deadly combination
A combination of negative mother-daughter relationships and low blood levels of serotonin, an important brain chemical for mood stability, may be lethal for adolescent girls, leaving them vulnerable to engage in self-harming behaviors such as cutting themselves.
New University of Washington research indicates that these two factors in combination account for 64 percent of the difference among adolescents, primarily girls, who engage in self-harming behaviors and those who do not.
“Girls who engage in self harm are at high risk for attempting suicide, and some of them are dying,” said Theodore Beauchaine, a UW associate professor of psychology and co-author of a new study. “There is no better predictor of suicide than previous suicide attempts.”
Intranasal Insulin May Lower Food Intake in Men, Improve Memory Function in Women
Insulin administered intranasally, acutely decreases food intake in men but not women and in contrast, the compound improves memory function in women but not men according to a new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
“Our findings indicate that gender is a critical factor in brain insulin signaling that affects both food intake and cognitive functions,” said Dr. Christian Benedict of the University of Lubeck in Germany. “They further suggest that intranasal insulin may be helpful in the treatment of cognitive and metabolic disorders like Alzheimer’s disease and obesity that are assumed to derive at least in part from malfunctions of central nervous insulin signaling.”
Previous studies have shown that insulin plays a pivotal role in the regulation of central nervous functions such as energy metabolism and memory processing. This study set out to assess the effects of a single dose of intranasal insulin on these functions and to determine any gender differences.
Female-to-Male Transsexuals Have Higher Androgen Levels, Not PCOS
Contrary to previous studies, female-to-male transsexuals do not have a higher prevalence of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), though they do have significantly higher androgen levels, according to a new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
PCOS is an endocrine disorder with a host of symptoms related to small painful cysts on the ovaries. It is marked by the overproduction of male hormones in females. Until now, it has been postulated that the prevalence of PCOS in female-to-male transsexuals is higher than normal.
“Several studies have reported a higher prevalence of PCOS in female-to-male transsexuals but the numbers of patients were small and ultrasound was not used for diagnosis,” said Dr. Andreas Mueller of Erlangen University Hospital in Erlangen, Germany. “This is the first prospective endocrine evaluation of female-to-male transsexuals using up-to-date state-of-the-art criteria incorporating transvaginal ultrasonography for diagnosing PCOS or hyperandrogenemia.”
Combined HRT Increases Risk of Lobular Breast Cancer Fourfold After Just Three Years of Use
Postmenopausal women who take combined estrogen/progestin hormone-replacement therapy for three years or more face a fourfold increased risk of developing various forms of lobular breast cancer, according to new findings by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
“Previous research indicated that five or more years of combined hormone-therapy use was necessary to increase overall breast-cancer risk,” said Christopher I. Li, M.D., Ph.D., the lead author of the report, published in the January issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention. “Our study, the first specifically designed to evaluate the relationship between combined HRT and lobular breast cancers, suggests that a significantly shorter length of exposure to such hormones may confer an increased risk.”
The study, which confirms previous reports of the association between combined hormone-therapy use and increased risk of lobular breast cancers, is the largest study of combined HRT and lobular cancer risk in the United States. It is also the first such study to take into account the recency and duration of hormone use and the first to include a centralized pathological review of tumor specimens to confirm their histological type: ductal, lobular or mixed ductal-lobular.
Testosterone patch has benefits in aging men: study
Treatment with testosterone can help curb the gain in abdominal fat as well as the loss of skeletal muscle seen in non-obese aging men, according to a new study.
“Though use of testosterone therapy as a means of defying the aging process is gaining popularity, data from scientific trials have been very limited in this area,” study chief Dr. Carolyn Allan, from Prince Henry’s Institute in Victoria, Australia, said in a statement.
