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Infections have been proposed as triggers of inflammation that could predispose individuals to type 2 diabetes mellitus. In a prospective cohort study, Jeon and co-workers provide evidence of a role of Helicobacter pylori infection in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, but mechanistic insight is needed.
The prevalence of gestational hypothyroidism in the USA is higher than previously estimated, according to findings of a new study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. This surprising result raises the question: should all pregnant women be routinely tested for thyroid dysfunction during pregnancy?
Safety is an important issue for all drugs, but even more so for treatments of non-life-threatening conditions, such as growth hormone (GH) therapy to increase adult stature. Given the almost ubiquitous expression of receptors for GH and its effector, insulin-like growth factor I, GH treatment has the potential to influence several parameters of organism biology.
Statins are effective for cardiovascular disease prevention but have recently been associated with an increased risk of new-onset diabetes mellitus. However, until this association is confirmed, treatment discontinuation is not advisable. Lifestyle measures and treatment of risk factors that often cluster with dyslipidemia could ameliorate this potential adverse effect of statins.
Women with hypopituitarism treated with growth hormone (GH) traditionally receive estrogens for sex hormone replacement in tablet form. Oral estrogen therapy robs these patients of the therapeutic benefits of GH; however, the use of transdermal patches circumvents this problem. The wastage of GH therapy is even more pronounced with contraceptive doses of estrogen.
The extraskeletal benefits and harms of supplementation with calcium and vitamin D are unknown. The RECORD trial compared overall, vascular and cancer mortality and cancer incidence by supplement use and found no evidence of any harm or benefit. However, compliance was poor and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were low.
