News Briefs: Preterm Birth, Diabetes Risk, Testosterone and Growth Hormone News

1. Researchers Discover Method to Predict Preterm Birth

Researchers have identified a definitive marker to predict preterm delivery, according to a new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

"Preterm birth remains a significant management problem and a large number of markers of the disease have been investigated," said Pasquale Florio, Ph.D., of the University of Siena in Siena, Italy and lead author of the study. "We have found that urocortin had a positive predictive value of 100 percent as a marker for preterm delivery."

This is the first study to report that maternal plasma urocortin levels were increased in women with threatened preterm delivery, and that those with highest concentrations delivered within seven days of hospitalization for painful regular uterine contractions.

A rapid release version of this paper has been published on-line and will appear in the December issue of JCEM, a publication of The Endocrine Society.

Title Prediction of Preterm Delivery Based on Maternal Plasma Urocortin

AuthorsOther researchers involved in this study include Michela Torricelli, Elisa Faldini, Fernando Reis, Alberto Imperatore, Giulia Calonaci, Enrico Picciolini, and Felice Petraglia of the University of Siena in Siena, Italy and Elizabeth Linton of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England.

2. Diabetes Risk is More Nurture than Nature

Elevated levels of insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes, are influenced more by current body size than birth weight, according to a new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). The study also indicates that postnatal growth is potentially more important than fetal growth in the development of insulin resistance.

"Previous research has shown that those who are small at birth are more likely to experience rapid weight gain in childhood, which is strongly related to obesity and increased insulin resistance in adulthood," said Paula Skidmore, Ph.D., of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. "Our data show that this postnatal weight gain and current body size are the chief influencers of insulin resistance."

A rapid release version of this paper has been published on-line and will appear in the February issue of JCEM, a publication of The Endocrine Society.

TitleRelation of Birth Weight, BMI and Change in Size from Birth to Adulthood to InsulinResistance in a Female Twin Cohort.

AuthorsOther researchers involved in this study include Alex MacGregor, M.D., and Aedin Cassidy, Ph.D., of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England; Ramasamyiyer Swaminathan, M.D., and J. Brent Richards, M.D., of Kings College in London, England.

3. Testosterone Therapy Can Improve Skeletal Muscle Mass and Decrease Abdominal Fat

Testosterone therapy may increase skeletal muscle mass and decrease visceral (abdominal) fat, which is associated with an increased risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, in aging men with low "normal testosterone levels according to a new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

"Though use of testosterone therapy as a means of defying the aging process is gaining in popularity, data from scientific trials have been very limited in this area," said Carolyn Allan, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Research Fellow at Prince Henry's Institute in Victoria, Australia and lead author of the study. "Our findings indicate that maintaining testosterone at 'young adult' levels may indeed prevent the adverse changes in body composition associated with the aging process."

Allan and her colleagues note that given the strong association of visceral adipose tissue with metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease, these findings suggest testosterone may be used to modify the age-related increase in visceral adipose tissue, and possibly the associated adverse metabolic changes.

A rapid release version of this paper has been published on-line and will appear in the January 2008 issue of JCEM, a publication of The Endocrine Society.

TitleTestosterone Therapy Prevents Gain in Visceral Adipose Tissue and Loss of Skeletal Muscle in Non-Obese Aging Men

AuthorsOther researchers involved in the study include Prince Henry Institute researchers H.G. Burger, E.A. Forbes, and R.I. McLachlan and B.J.G. Strauss of Monash University.

4. Human Growth Hormone Boosts Energy Production in Muscle Cells

A new study accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) reveals that short-term infusions of human growth hormone (GH) can boost the chemical energy produced by mitochondria in normal, healthy human muscle tissue. The study also indicates that GH ramps-up muscles' fat-burning metabolism while cutting down on the amount of carbohydrates muscles use for fuel.

Mitochondria are the energy-producing organelles found in every cell in the human body. They convert energy derived from nutrients such as fat and carbohydrates into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the energy source for all known organisms.

"This study, for the first time, shows that growth hormone enhances mitochondrial ATP production," said Sreekumaran Nair, M.D., Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine in Rocheter, M.N., and senior author of the study. "This was a very controlled, very short-term study to gauge the impact on growth hormone on metabolism; it does not indicate that people should start taking growth hormone."

The paper will be published in the February 2008 issue of JCEM, a publication of The Endocrine Society.

TitleEnhancement of Muscle Mitochondrial Function by Growth Hormone

AuthorsOther study authors include Drs. Kevin R. Short, Niels Moller, Maureen L. Bigelow, and Jill Coenen-Schimke, also from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine