US ENDOCRINOLOGY VOLUME 12 ISSUE 1 – SUMMER 2016

A cure for diabetes remains the ultimate aim for many diabetes researchers. Advances in closed loop/artificial pancreas (CL/AP) therapy and stem-cell research are bringing some hope for patients with type 1 diabetes. Better understanding of the nutrients effect on diabetes and body weight may also open new venues for prevention and management of type 2 […]

A search of PubMed shows that in 1960, the year I was born, there were 110 publications on obesity. In 1991, the year I graduated from Mayo Medical School, the number had risen to 406 publications. By contrast, in 2015 there were 5470 publications on obesity. The last quarter of a century has led to […]

Almost four decades ago, the American medical establishment was bamboozled into believing that consumption of dietary fat and cholesterol were critical factors in cardiovascular disease. Many trace the confusion to Ancel Keys, who strongly believed that dietary fat and cholesterol were closely related to the development of heart disease. In 1970, Keys published the Seven […]

The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity in the United States has been well documented,1 as have the resulting negative effects on increased risk for several chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes.2 Therefore, addressing overweight and obesity is an important strategy in the primary and secondary prevention of type 2 diabetes, as well as for […]

An avalanche is “a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities”.1 Is this an accurate description of the emerging complications seen in those with youth-onset type 2 diabetes? Type 2 diabetes of youth onset (diagnosed 12 years of age have developed type 2 diabetes (personal communication, Brandy Wicklow, Winnipeg, 2016). In addition, exposure […]

Statins, first approved for general use in 1987 based on their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering ability, took another decade to demonstrate cardiovascular disease (CVD) benefit.1–4 Since 1990 there have been more efficacious statins but only one other modestly effective LDL-C-reducing drug, ezetimibe, has been shown to significantly reduce CVD events compared to statin alone.5–8 […]

Recent developments in diabetes technology— CSII, AP and CGM We are currently in an extremely exciting time for diabetes technology which holds near-term promise to substantially improve the lives of children with type 1 diabetes (T1D). Recent data published by the Type 1 Diabetes Exchange confirms what clinical experience has shown for years, that diabetes […]

The Management Guidelines for Childhood Differentiated Thyroid Cancer by the American Thyroid Association (ATA) Pediatric Thyroid Cancer Task Force1 built up a system for evaluation, treatment, and follow-up of children with papillary carcinoma. For this approach, recommendations based on scientific evidence and expert opinion play a crucial role in identifying patients at risk of persistent […]

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder in reproductive age women.1 According to National Institutes of Health (NIH) criteria (presence of ovulatory dysfunction and hyperandrogenism, after exclusion of related disorders), PCOS is estimated to affect 6–8% of women in the US, the prevalence is estimated to be almost doubled to 15% when […]

Creation of a working closed loop/artificial pancreas (CL/AP) system is one of the holy grails of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). In essence, this would be a mechanical cure for a potentially devastating chronic disease. While the CL/AP still has its limitations, the results of recent research studies are encouraging. The CL/AP system also has […]

Case presentation A 26-year-old woman with differentiated papillary thyroid carcinoma received 192 mCi of radioiodine 131 (I-131) under recombinant thyroidstimulating hormone (TSH) treatment for persistent upper mediastinal metastasis. Radioiodine whole-body scintigraphy (WBS) was performed nine days later and showed targeting of the I-131 at the mediastinal metastasis, but also demonstrated an additional focus of significantly […]

Thyroid nodules and thyroid cancers are more common in children than has been previously appreciated, and represent a significant health issue. Older studies used palpation to identify thyroid nodules and reported a childhood prevalence of 2%. However, high-resolution ultrasound identifies thyroid abnormalities in 18% of children.1 Ultrasound also detects thyroid nodules in 13–31.5% of children […]

Type 2 diabetes is a progressive chronic disease leading to vascular complications over the years when treated insufficiently.1,2 Treatment consists of a lifestyle intervention aimed at improving physical activity and healthy nutrition, later followed by oral antidiabetic drugs and injectable medications (glucagon-like peptide [GLP]-1 receptor agonists or insulin).3,4 Novel antidiabetic agents have had to prove […]

Medullary Thyroid Cancer (MTC) is a rare cancer of the thyroid parafollicular or ‘C’ cells, and is estimated to make up around 5–10% of all thyroid cancers.1 MTC was first described in 1906 by Jacquet as a thyroid tumour with amyloid, but the term MTC and its histological description of a solid non-follicular tumour with […]

Neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) represent a heterogeneous group of neoplasms that originate from different types of neuroendocrine cells throughout the body.1 While previously considered to be relatively uncommon, their overall incidence has been reported as increasing for reasons which are unclear.2–4 Surgery is the only truly curative therapy, but there are now a variety of other […]