Women with hormone-receptor positive, metastatic breast cancer may take medications for years to help keep their cancer at bay, but when the tumor becomes resistant to anti-hormonal drugs, treatment with chemotherapy becomes the only option. But a study presented today at the 2008 ASCO Breast Cancer Symposiummay change this approach. Early data suggests a new treatment approach can "re-sensitize" the tumor, allowing anti-hormonal drugs to do their job once again.

New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) implicates the primary chemical used to produce hard plastics - bisphenol A (BPA) - as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and its consequences. In a laboratory study, using fresh human fat tissues, the UC team found that BPA suppresses a key hormone, adiponectin, which is responsible for regulating insulin sensitivity in the body and puts people at a substantially higher risk for metabolic syndrome.

Getting pregnant with her first child was difficult, but when Rebecca Killmeyer of Charlottesville, Va. experienced a miscarriage during her second pregnancy, she wasn't sure if she would ever have another baby. When she decided to enter a study testing the impact of acupuncture on women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) at the University of Virginia Health System, she came out with a miracle.

Mammalian fatty acid synthase is one of the most complex molecular synthetic machines in human cells. It is also a promising target for the development of anti-cancer and anti-obesity drugs and the treatment of metabolic disorders. Now researchers at ETH Zurich have determined the atomic structure of a mammalian fatty acid synthase. Their results have just been published in Science magazine.

Men are more prone to and likely to die of - heart disease compared with women of a similar age and sex hormones are to blame, according to a new University of Leicester led study The findings of a study by Dr Maciej Tomaszewski, New Blood Lecturer in Cardiovascular Medicine in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester, suggest that this "male disadvantage" may be related to the sex-specific effects of naturally occurring sex hormones.

Background Many of the psychiatric disorders observed in adults have their onset in childhood or adolescence. In fact some studies show that at least 20% of children and adolescents will fulfil a diagnostic criterion for a mental disorder before reaching adulthood. The presence of a major mental illness is certainly no less serious in children than in adults - in fact, childhood onset of several psychiatric disorders predicts a worse illness course.

Men are more prone to - and likely to die of - heart disease compared with women of a similar age - and sex hormones are to blame, according to a new University of Leicester led study The findings of a study by Dr Maciej Tomaszewski, New Blood Lecturer in Cardiovascular Medicine in the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Leicester, suggest that this "male disadvantage" may be related to the sex-specific effects of naturally occurring sex hormones.

The response to insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I) in breast cancer cells predicts an aggressive tumor that is less likely to respond to treatment, said researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The finding gives impetus to the movement to tailor cancer treatments to attributes of the various tumors. "These findings come at a critical time," said Dr.

HIV-infected patients have a higher prevalence of fractures than non HIV-infected patients, across both genders and critical fracture sites according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). "Prior studies have indicated reduced bone density in HIV-infected patients, but little was known whether fracture risk increased in this population," said Dr. Steven Grinspoon, M.D.

The Endocrine Society has released a new clinical practice guideline for the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with primary aldosteronism. The guidelines appear in the September issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM), a publication of The Endocrine Society. Primary aldosteronism (PA) refers to conditions in which production of aldosterone, a steroid hormone produced in the adrenal gland, is inappropriately high.

Young men with type 2 diabetes have significantly low levels of testosterone, endocrinologists at the University at Buffalo have found - a condition that could have a critical effect on their quality of life and on their ability to father children. This study follows research published earlier by these scientists reporting that one-third of middle-aged men with type 2 diabetes have low testosterone levels, requiring treatment for erectile dysfunction.

New findings published in the August 27 issue of JAMA call into question the tight glucose control that many professional societies recommend for critically ill adults. Researchers performed a meta-analysis and found that tight glucose control is not associated with a significant reduction in risk of death in the hospital, but it is linked to an increased risk of hypoglycemia (lower than normal glucose sugar levels).

President Bush has named Robert J. Lefkowitz, M.D., Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Duke University Medical Center, a recipient of the National Medal of Science for contributions to the biological sciences. Dr. Lefkowitz is being honored for a lifetime of research into understanding the largest, most important and most therapeutically accessible receptor system that controls the body's response to drugs and hormones. President Bush will present Dr.

Some of the drugs given to many men during their fight against prostate cancer can actually spur some cancer cells to grow, researchers have found. The findings were published online this week in a pair of papers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The results may help explain a phenomenon that has bedeviled patients for decades.

One of the world's longest and largest trials of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has found that post-menopausal women on HRT gain significant improvements in quality of life. The results of the latest study by the WISDOM research team (Women's International Study of long Duration Oestrogen after Menopause) are published today on the British Medical Journal website http://www.bmj.com.

A Monash University scientist has discovered key appetite control cells in the human brain degenerate over time, causing increased hunger and potentially weight-gain as we grow older. The research by Dr Zane Andrews, a neuroendocrinologist with Monash University's Department of Physiology, has been published in Nature.

The recent report from the LIFT study1, a large, randomized, controlled trial of the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) tibolone in older postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, provides some good news and some bad news. The primary aim of the study was to confirm that tibolone reduces the risk of osteoporotic vertebral fracture.

The recent report from the LIFT study1, a large, randomized, controlled trial of the hormone replacement therapy (HRT) tibolone in older postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, provides some good news and some bad news. The primary aim of the study was to confirm that tibolone reduces the risk of osteoporotic vertebral fracture.

If you're over 55 and have spent more than a few sleepless nights, you're not alone -- insomnia affects about half of all people over 55 -- but you may also be at increased risk for physical and mental ailments. Many older adults don't get enough restorative sleep, leading to serious health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, memory problems and increased rates of depression.

If you're over 55 and have spent more than a few sleepless nights, you're not alone -- insomnia affects about half of all people over 55 -- but you may also be at increased risk for physical and mental ailments. Many older adults don't get enough restorative sleep, leading to serious health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, memory problems and increased rates of depression.

An article published in The Lancet Oncology reports that postmenopausal women with breast cancer who are on endocrine treatment are likely to experience arthralgia and arthritis (joint symptoms) if they previously have used hormone replacement therapy (HRT), received a hormone-receptor positive tumor diagnosis, undergone chemotherapy, received treatment with anastrozole versus tamoxifen, or been obese.

An article published in The Lancet Oncology reports that postmenopausal women with breast cancer who are on endocrine treatment are likely to experience arthralgia and arthritis (joint symptoms) if they previously have used hormone replacement therapy (HRT), received a hormone-receptor positive tumor diagnosis, undergone chemotherapy, received treatment with anastrozole versus tamoxifen, or been obese.

Tibolone, a synthetic drug used in many countries mainly to treat menopausal symptoms, reduces the risk of fractures and breast cancer, but also increases the risk of stroke in older women. Those are the findings of a study published in the August 14th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine Researchers recruited 4,538 women, between the ages of 60 and 85 years, in 22 countries for this randomized, double-blind study. Half were given 1.

Tibolone, a synthetic drug used in many countries mainly to treat menopausal symptoms, reduces the risk of fractures and breast cancer, but also increases the risk of stroke in older women. Those are the findings of a study published in the August 14th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine Researchers recruited 4,538 women, between the ages of 60 and 85 years, in 22 countries for this randomized, double-blind study. Half were given 1.

The contraceptive pill may disrupt women's natural ability to choose a partner genetically dissimilar to themselves, research at the University of Liverpool has found. Disturbing a woman's instinctive attraction to genetically different men could result in difficulties when trying to conceive, an increased risk of miscarriage and long intervals between pregnancies. Passing on a lack of diverse genes to a child could also weaken their immune system.