Endocrinology

In states that expanded the number of low-income people eligible for Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, the number of people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes increased by 23 percent.

Obesity Week 2014 was the second annual combined meeting of The Obesity Society (TOS) and the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).

Levothyroxine is typically given before breakfast but interest is growing in recommending bedtime administration. Bedtime administration may reduce the likelihood of high gastric pH, food interference, or drug interactions.

Researchers investigating symptoms in people with self-reported aspartame sensitivity could find no substantive psychological or metabolic response to aspartame.

Monitoring blood glucose levels can be an important part of daily treatment for diabetes patients, but a recent look at one particular population considered whether some could be overly using their monitoring equipment.

Women with a history of depression could be more likely to develop gestational diabetes according to the results of a recent study.

When treating terminally ill patients, doctors are often faced with making difficult decisions.

Latest study results had revealed a new medication could potentially be a key tool in reducing benign thyroid nodules.

Male chronic pancreatitis patients receiving pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy are less likely to have osteopathy, according to research published in the Journal of the Pancreas.

The American Heart Association was one of the first organizations to advocate dietary changes to decrease the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). The organization's first recommendation appeared in 1957 advising a decrease in the amount of fat intake to decrease atherosclerosis risk. Today, a different approach is recommended, which considers the diet as a whole, with recommendations of what to both include and avoid. Among other nutritional and lifestyle recommendations, the AHA advises the consumption of 2 servings of fish weekly for both men and women.

Studies have identified lower-than-normal BMIs to be associated with higher mortality in comparison with normal body weight and overweight individuals in patients with coronary artery disease. This has given rise to the term "obesity paradox" in which being overweight/obese confers a survival advantage in individuals that have been diagnosed with a medical condition. Against this backdrop, this study attempted to evaluate whether there is an association between BMI and death risk among patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Working in an emergency room setting in the United States, in almost all circumstances provides doctors with at least most of the major needs they require to do their jobs on a daily basis. One organization is working to bring those basic needs to hospitals throughout Latin America.

Recent studies have shown strong links between patients who are obese and also have issues with sleep as part of their diabetes diagnosis.

Doctors around the world face their own individual challenges depending on where they are working with patients. In Africa those challenges include not only difficulty affording medication, but in some cases having proper ways to properly store them.

The field of medical technology is constantly expanding and changing requiring new equipment to be used in a variety of ways. That effort has been brought under one roof at Massachusetts General Hospital thanks in part to the efforts of one generous and appreciative patient.

Mental disorders predispose patients to weight gain, regardless of age. Psychiatric patients are more likely to develop metabolic syndrome and the poor health consequences that follow. For the most part, older patients develop metabolic syndrome, but adolescents with mental illness do, too.

Approximately 14% of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) also have type 2 diabetes mellitus. That number is expected to rise as the population of HIV-infected patients ages and develop associated chronic comorbidities.

Controversy is no rarity in the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Since its discovery and early clinical applications, everyone seemed to have (and still has) an opinion about in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures.

Superficial fat necrosis is a rare complication of insulin injections that can manifest with severe, persistent, and well-localized pain.

Secretin stimulated ultrasonography can assess pancreatic fluid flow and can combine with endoscopic short tests to evaluate exocrine pancreatic function, according to research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology.

Current osteoporosis guidelines don't recommend screening for men. However, researchers from National Jewish Health have identified men's smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as risk factors for osteoporosis and fractures of the vertebrae.

Falls are a constant health threat for older people. A study in Finland looked at whether vitamin D supplements, exercise, or both could lessen the risk of falling for women ages 70 to 80. The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that those at risk of falling should take vitamin D. A new study finds that does not help.

The reporting of PCI results is not a common practice for many reasons, and while some states require it of their doctors, there could be both medical and political barriers standing in the way of it becoming a nationwide program.

With New York and Massachusetts leading the way laws requiring public reporting of PCI results were recently expanded to Washington State as well. A recent study looked at the risks and benefits of other states starting similar programs.

Evaluating the status of lipoprotein may be able to predict a patient's risk for cardiovascular disease for up to 15 years, according to findings in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Obesity is associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) but the heart condition can be reduced if these patients shed pounds.

A new analysis of insurance company records indicates that doctors frequently give testosterone therapy to men with "normal" hormone levels and that they fail, more often than not, to screen patients for prostate cancer each year.

A review of research conducted over the past 75 years finds no definitive answers about the link between testosterone supplements and cardiovascular health, but it does find far more evidence of benefit than harm.

Up to 65% of all thyroidectomies are now done as outpatient procedures, and high-volume surgeons have very low complication rate with these surgeries.

Patient care continues to make dramatic changes including the way information is shared not only between doctors and patients, but also other doctors treating the same people. Technology making that happen continues to evolve as well.