The Endocrine Society’s 97th Annual Meeting and Expo
The annual meeting of The Endocrine Society (ENDO 2015) was held from March 5 to 8 in San Diego and attracted more than 9,000 participants from around the world, including clinicians, academicians, allied health professionals, and others interested in endocrine and metabolic disorders. The conference highlighted recent advances in the diagnosis and management of endocrine and related disorders, including obesity, diabetes, growth hormone abnormalities, and thyroid diseases.
In one study, Jean-Marc Schwarz, Ph.D., of the Touro University California College of Osteopathic Medicine in Vallejo, and colleagues found that reduction of fructose consumption and its conversion to fat may be a strategy to reduce risk for cardiovascular disease and hepatic steatosis.
The investigators found that fructose restriction (substitution of fructose by complex carbohydrate without any change in energy intake) for 10 days in obese Latino and African-American children with habitual high soda/fructose intake led to the following: (1) conversion of sugar to fat by the liver was reduced by more than 50 percent; (2) liver fat was decreased by more than 22 percent; and (3) fasting triglyceride levels were reduced by more than 25 percent.
“Improvements of liver fat and lipid profiles are achievable by decreasing intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and processed food with high fructose content,” Schwarz said. “This can be explained and supported by the rapid reduction in the hepatic conversion of fructose/sugar to fat.”
In another study, Leonardo Trasande, M.D., of the New York University Langone Medical Center in New York City, and colleagues evaluated the burden and economic costs associated with conditions caused by endocrine disruption due to chemical exposures in Europe. The investigators found that costs associated with these conditions, including obesity, diabetes, and reproductive dysfunctions, totaled €157 billion ($209 billion) each year.
“These results suggest that policies that reduce toxic chemicals will lead to a reduction in costs associated with these conditions and provide a health and economic benefit,” Trasande said.
According to Trasande, exposures in the United States are similar based upon data from the U.S. Centers from Disease Control and Prevention, and therefore the costs in the United States are likely similar.
“To reduce these exposures, clinicians can make recommendations to their patients to reduce exposure to endocrine disruption chemicals. Physicians can inform patients to eat organic, not to use aluminum canned food or beverages, avoid using plastic in the microwave, and recirculate air in the house,” Trasande said. “These are safe and simple steps to eradicate exposure to known endocrine disruptors. It is also important to educate policy makers to act to reduce these exposures.”
As part of the ACTIVE fracture prevention trial, Paul Miller, M.D., of the Colorado Center for Bone Research in Lakewood, and colleagues found that a drug in development for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis, abaloparatide-SC, reduced the risk of fractures in the spine and other parts of the body.
The investigators evaluated the rates of new fractures in 690 women who were administered abaloparatide (80 micrograms) once daily and 711 women who were administered placebo over an 18-month period. The investigators found that patients who received abaloparatide demonstrated an 86 percent reduction in the rate of new vertebral fractures.
“We believe this reduction seen in the abaloparatide-SC-treated group could be the largest reduction ever demonstrated in the vertebral fracture rate for any potential therapeutic drug being researched for the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis,” Miller said in a statement.
In addition, the investigators also found a 43 percent fracture rate reduction for nonvertebral fractures of the hip, wrist, and femoral neck among those who received abaloparatide as compared to placebo. Lastly, the investigators found that the time to the first nonvertebral fracture was significantly delayed for those administered abaloparatide as compared to those who received placebo.
The study was funded by Radius, the developer of abaloparatide; several authors disclosed financial ties to Radius.
In a new study testing a synthetic nasal formulation of oxytocin, researchers found the hormone treatment reduced the number of calories that men consumed, especially calories from fatty foods.
“We are seeing early signs that oxytocin reduces how much food someone eats at a meal and improves the way their body handles blood sugar,” study lead author Elizabeth Lawson, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, told HealthDay. “Our results are really exciting,” she added. “Further study is needed, but I think oxytocin is a promising treatment for obesity and its metabolic complications.”
ENDO: Encourage Teens to ‘Go Nuts’ for Better Health
MONDAY, March 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Eating a modest amount of nuts appears to lower the risk for adolescents of developing conditions that raise the chances of heart disease later in life, new research suggests. The findings were scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society, held from March 5 to 8 in San Diego.
ENDO: Breast Cancer Linked to Higher Risk of Thyroid Cancer
MONDAY, March 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Women who survive breast cancer may have a higher-than-average risk of developing thyroid cancer in the next several years, a new study suggests. The findings were scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society, held from March 5 to 8 in San Diego.
ENDO: HRT May Not Be As Risky As Once Thought
MONDAY, March 9, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Hormone replacement therapy for women may not be as potentially risky as previously thought, a new Mayo Clinic review contends. The findings were scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society, held from March 5 to 8 in San Diego.
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