The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism Vol. 92, No. 5 17a
Copyright © 2007 by The Endocrine Society
Endocrinology & Metabolism News, May 2007
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Endocrine Discovery
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Bone loss during androgen deprivation therapy was prevented and reversed with once-weekly oral alendronate in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled partial crossover trial of 112 male prostate cancer patients.
(Ann Intern Med [March 20, 2007] 146:416)
Percutaneous coronary intervention, as an initial management strategy in patients with stable coronary artery disease, did not reduce risks of death, myocardial infarction, or other major cardiovascular events when added to optimal medical therapy.
(N Engl J Med [ePub ahead of print March 26, 2007])
Exenatide therapy improved glycemic control, and reduced body weight, but caused more gastrointestinal symptoms than placebo in patients whose type 2 diabetes was suboptimally controlled with a thiazolidinedione.
(Ann Intern Med [April 3, 2007] 146:477)
Aspirin in a low-to-moderate dose was associated with significantly lower risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, particularly in older women and in those with cardiac risk factors, in a prospective case-control study of almost 80,000 nurses followed for over 20 years.
(Arch Intern Med [March 26, 2007] 167:562)[CrossRef]
DNA sequence variants in the NACHT leucine-rich-repeat protein 1, a regulator of the innate immune system region on chromosome 17p13, are associated with an increased risk of autoimmune endocrine diseases.
(N Engl J Med [March 22, 2007] 356:1216)[CrossRef]
Among 50 consecutive GH-deficient patients, the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was higher than in healthy controls, but did not change in patients treated with growth hormone vs. those who remained untreated.
(Eur J Endocrinol [April 2007] 156:455)[CrossRef]
A single-nucleotide polymorphism in the IGF1 haplotype is common to all small breeds of dogs and nearly absent from giant breeds in a study of 3241 dogs of 143 breeds, ranging from the Chihuahua to the mastiff.
(Science [April 6, 2007] 316 (5821):112)
Deletion of the murine gene for Cbl-associated protein (Sorbs1), known to be involved in insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation, protected against insulin resistance on a high-fat diet and, conversely, had an insulin-sensitizing effect and reduced tissue inflammatory markers. In animals transplanted with Sorbs1-null macrophages, the same effect was seen, showing that macrophages are important in inducing insulin resistance.
(Nat Med [April 2007] 13 (4):455)
Outpatient thyroidectomy was reported to be safe and cost-effective in a small series of carefully selected patients who prefer convalescence at home, particularly when prophylactic calcium supplementation is used postoperatively to prevent hypocalcemia.
(Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg [April 2007] 136:556)[CrossRef]
Treatment with a recombinant human interleukin-1-receptor antagonist, anakinra, resulted in a modest lowering of glycated hemoglobin level (–0.5%, P = 0.03), increased C-peptide secretion (P = 0.05), and reduced the proinsulin-to-insulin ratio (P = 0.005) in a randomized trial with 70 type 2 diabetes patients, but had no effect on insulin resistance or body mass index.
(N Engl J Med [April 12, 2007] 356:1517)[CrossRef]
In 850 patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, the addition of torcetrapib—an inhibitor of cholesteryl ester transfer protein—to atorvastatin over 24 months failed to produce any greater reduction in progression of carotid atherosclerosis than atorvastatin alone, as measured by maximum carotid intima-media thicknesses determined by B-mode ultrasonography. Common carotid mean arterial thickness actually increased more with addition of torcetrapib.
(N Engl J Med [April 19, 2007] 356:1620)[CrossRef]
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Endocrine Practice
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FDA announced that pergolide (Permax®) will be voluntarily withdrawn from the market as the result of concerns raised about the drug’s increasing risk of valvular heart disease in patients with Parkinson’s disease. A gradual withdrawal is expected to provide time for implementation of alternative therapies. (For more information, see http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/advisory/pergolide.htm)
Nearly half of physicians reported not considering patients’ out-of-pocket costs when selecting diagnostic tests, according to surveys returned by 6,628 doctors. More than three-quarters of physicians claim to consider patients’ costs when prescribing drugs.
(Arch Intern Med [April 9, 2007] 167:663)[CrossRef]
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Endocrinologists
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David Cooper has become Chair of the Subspecialty Board on Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Diabetes.
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Endocrine Education & Training
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NIH announced the 2007 stipend levels for the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for undergraduate, predoctoral, and postdoctoral trainees and fellows remain unchanged from 2006. (For more information, go to: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-057.html).
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Milestones in Endocrinology
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Fifty years ago, Maurice Raben described a method for extracting human GH from the pituitaries of cadavers.
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In the Journal 25 Years Ago
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The prognostic and biological significance of cellular heterogeneity in medullary thyroid carcinoma: A study of calcitonin, L-dopa Decarboxylase, and histaminase. Lippman SM, Mendelsohn G, Trump DL, Wells SA, Baylin SB.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1982;54:233–240.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
"We conclude that cellular heterogeneity in medullary thyroid carcinoma tissue is associated with a distinct biochemical pattern, and its presence, whether in a primary or metastatic lesion, indicates a virulent neoplasm associated with a grave prognosis."
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Footnotes
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Readers are encouraged to suggest items for Endocrinology and Metabolism News by email (sherman{at}endo-society.org). Submissions will be considered based on their significance and timeliness.
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