Beware of Sustained Ibuprofen Use in Men

INSERM: A recent study conducted by Inserm researchers within Irset has shown that sustained ibuprofen use in young male athletes induces a hormonal imbalance known as “compensated hypogonadism”, usually observed in elderly males. This situation arises due to the negative effects of ibuprofen on testosterone production, and on the production of two other testicular hormones. These results have been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

When Minnie met Mickey: is rodent romance all in the mind?

NHS. UK: With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, the Mail Online thoughtfully cushions its readers against possible rejection ahead of time: “You may have lit the candles, opened the wine and dimmed the lights. But, inexplicably, your partner still doesn't want to have sex ... Don't worry, it's not you – it’s your partner's hormones”. Unless Mail Online readers are amorous hairy-backed rodents with groundbreaking wine opening and fire making skills, these statements are wide of the mark. The study it is reporting on didn’t involve people at all, only mice.

Sugary soft drinks linked to earlier periods in girls

NHS. UK: “Sugary drinks may cause menstruation to start earlier, study suggests,” reports The Guardian, reporting on a US study looking at the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in teenage girls. This study included over 5,000 girls. It first assessed them when they were aged 9-14 years, asking them whether they had started their periods and assessing their consumption of SSBs. The girls were followed up annually.

FDA permits marketing of first system of mobile medical apps for continuous glucose monitoring

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first set of mobile medical apps that allow people with diabetes to automatically and securely share data from a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) with other people in real-time using an Apple mobile device such as an iPhone.

FDA approves Natpara to control low blood calcium levels in patients with hypoparathyroidism

FDA. US: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Natpara (parathyroid hormone) to control hypocalcemia (low blood calcium levels) in patients with hypoparathyroidism, a rare disease that affects approximately 60,000 people in the United States.

Genetics research demystifies Cushing's disease

TIT. Japan: Researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology have identified genetic mutations responsible for Cushing's disease, a potentially fatal glandular condition.

Hunger Hormone in Infancy May Link to Lifelong Obesity Risk

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. US: Our subconscious motivation to eat is powerfully and dynamically regulated by hormone signals.  The gut-derived hormone ghrelin is one such key regulator, promoting appetite through its effects on neurons in a small region of the brain called the hypothalamus. Researchers at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles now reveal an unexpected role for ghrelin in early brain development and show its long-term impact on appetite regulation. Their study will be published online January 20 by The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Mount Sinai Launches Artificial Pancreas Research Study

Mount Sinai. US: A newly launched clinical research study at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is examining whether an artificial pancreas (AP) can prevent too low blood sugar levels or hypoglycemia in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) as they sleep.

One-size-fits-all approach can lead to over-treatment in older diabetes patients

Yale. US: Diabetes treatments have saved many lives, but in older patients with multiple medical conditions, aggressively controlling blood sugar with insulin and sulfonylurea drugs, could lead to over-treatment and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), according to new research by Yale School of Medicine researchers. More about diabetes type 1 / type 2

Post traumatic stress disorders doubles diabetes risk in women

Columbia University. US: Women with post-traumatic stress disorder are nearly twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes compared with women who don’t have PTSD, according to researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University and Harvard School of Public Health. The longitudinal cohort study provides the strongest evidence to date of a causal relationship between PTSD and type 2 diabetes. Results are published online in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.

Vitamin B and its derivatives for diabetic kidney disease

Cochrane: Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a disorder which results in excessive protein, mainly albumin, loss in urine. DKD is a major cause of kidney failure and cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes. Although vitamin B is commonly used in DKD, its effects are unclear.

Pancreatic Islet Cell Transplantation Restores Type 1 Diabetes Patients' Ability to Defend Against Life-Threatening Low Blood Sugar

University of Pennsylvania. US: Findings Demonstrate Effective Treatment for Type 1 Diabetes Patients with Severe Hypoglycemia. Type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients who have developed low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) as a complication of insulin treatments over time are able to regain normal internal recognition of the condition after receiving pancreatic islet cell transplantation, according to a new study led by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, published online in Diabetes.

Early blood glucose control lengthens life in people with type 1 diabetes

NIH. US: People with type 1 diabetes who intensively control their blood glucose (blood sugar) early in their disease are likely to live longer than those who do not, according to research funded by the National Institutes of Health. The findings are the latest results of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) and its follow-up, the Epidemiology of Diabetes Control and Complications (EDIC) study. Results were published online Jan. 6 in the Journal of the American Medical Association

Fathers-to-be experience hormone changes

NHS. UK: “Men suffer pregnancy symptoms too: Fluctuating hormones make fathers-to-be … more caring,” the Mail Online reports. A small US study found evidence of changes in hormonal levels that may make fathers-to-be more able to cope with the demands of fatherhood. The story comes from a study that looked at whether expectant fathers and their partners experience any changes in their hormone levels during pregnancy. It found that, as expected, women experienced a large increase in four hormones associated with pregnancy. Their male partners also experienced small changes in the hormones testosterone and oestradiol.
The researchers, as well as the media, speculate that these small changes in hormone levels could lead to men becoming less aggressive, less interested in sex, and more caring. Though whether such changes are linked to subsequent changes in their behaviour is unproven.

Weight loss surgery 'not a quick fix' for good health

Weight loss surgery, such as fitting a gastric band, usually results in significant weight loss.
But this weight loss doesn't automatically lead to improvements in important markers for metabolic health, such as insulin sensitivity.
A low level of insulin sensitivity is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
In a new study, 128 adults were randomised into two groups. One group received a six-month moderate

exercise programme, while the other received a six-month health education programme.
After six months, those that followed the exercise programme had better insulin sensitivity than those following the educational programme.
But the picture was not completely clear. Quite a few people dropped out of the study or did not adhere to the six-month exercise programme fully.
This could mean the programme as a whole would not yield any significantly better improvements at a population level.
More on NHS choices

Pheochromocytoma

Pheochromocytoma is a rare tumor that usually starts in the cells of one of your adrenal glands (glands on top of the kidneys).

Their frequency is about 0.1% in patients with hypertension and 4% in patients with a fortuitously discovered adrenal mass.

The cause is unknown although valuable information has recently been provided by work on the genomics of familial diseases including these tumors.

Although they are usually benign, pheochromocytomas often cause the adrenal gland to make too many hormones (dopamine, epinephrine and norepinephrine). This can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes and cause symptoms such as

• Headaches
• Sweating
• Pounding of the heart (palpitations)
• Being shaky
• Being extremely pale
• Weight loss

Sometimes pheochromocytoma is part of another condition called multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome (MEN) and von Hippel-Lindau disease. People with MEN often have other cancers and other problems involving hormones.

Doctors use lab tests and imaging tests to diagnose it.
The purpose of pre-operative imaging tests is to locate the tumor, ascertain whether it is single or multiple, adrenal or ectopic (outside the adrenal gland), benign or malignant, and isolated or present with other neoplasms (tumors) in the context of familial syndromes. 

Surgery is the most common treatment. Other options include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. Targeted therapy uses substances that attack cancer cells without harming normal cells.

Source: Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases

Hashimoto's thyroiditis

Thyroiditis is the medical term for inflammation (swelling) of the thyroid gland, which can either cause abnormally low or high levels of thyroid hormones in the blood.

The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland found in the neck. It produces hormones that are released into the bloodstream to control the body's growth and metabolism. They affect processes such as heart rate and body temperature, and help convert food into energy to keep the body going.
Symptoms vary depending on the type of thyroiditis.

Thyroiditis

Thyroiditis is the medical term for inflammation (swelling) of the thyroid gland, which can either cause abnormally low or high levels of thyroid hormones in the blood.
The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland found in the neck. It produces hormones that are released into the bloodstream to control the body's growth and metabolism. They affect processes such as heart rate and body temperature, and help convert food into energy to keep the body going.
Symptoms vary depending on the type of thyroiditis.
More about Thyroiditis

Catecholamine-producing tumors

Source:  Pr Anne-Paule GIMENEZ-ROQUEPLO MD; Pr Pierre-François PLOUIN MD. Orphanet

Catecholamine-producing tumors may arise in the adrenal gland (pheochromocytomas) or in extraadrenal chromaffin cells (secreting paragangliomas).

Addison disease

Addison disease is also called: Adrenal insufficiency, Adrenocortical hypofunction, Hypocortisolism

Your adrenal glands are just above your kidneys. The outside layer of these glands makes hormones that help your body respond to stress and regulate your blood pressure and water and salt balance. Addison disease happens if the adrenal glands don't make enough of these hormones.

A problem with your immune system usually causes Addison disease. The immune system mistakenly attacks your own tissues, damaging your adrenal glands. Other causes include infections and cancer.

Symptoms include

• Weight loss
• Muscle weakness
• Fatigue that gets worse over time
• Low blood pressure
• Patchy or dark skin

Lab tests can confirm that you have Addison disease. If you don't treat it, it can be fatal. You will need to take hormone pills for the rest of your life. If you have Addison disease, you should carry an emergency ID. It should say that you have the disease, list your medicines and say how much you need in an emergency.

More about Addison disease