Volume 5 Issue 7, July 2009

Traditional methods of male contraception, such as condoms and vasectomy, are unacceptable to many couples as they can be unreliable or the effects not easily reversed. Depot administration of male hormonal contraception could provide a safe, effective, reliable and reversible alternative, report researchers in China.

Intensive insulin therapy to maintain tight glucose control is associated with reduced morbidity and mortality in adult patients hospitalized with critical illnesses. Can the same rationale also be applied to critically ill children admitted to the pediatric intensive-care unit?

The traditional view of nonclassic congenital adrenal hyperplasia is that affected individuals are not glucocorticoid-deficient. The results of a French study now cast doubts on this assumption, however, and raise important issues for classification and management of patients with this common genetic disorder.

Evidence of gradual increases in serum concentration of C-peptide as pregnancy progresses in women with type 1 diabetes mellitus provides novel insight into mechanisms of β-cell failure and regeneration, and the potential role of C-peptide in diabetes mellitus and health.

Aspirin is probably the most commonly used drug worldwide and has major analgesic, antipyretic and antiplatelet activities. Data from the Physicians' Health Study now suggest that regular use of low-dose aspirin might help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus by around 14% in otherwise healthy men.

SIRT1, a mammalian sirtuin that is known to be involved in the regulation of lifespan, DNA damage response and carcinogenesis, is also likely to influence insulin action. Moreover, increasing evidence suggests that decreased SIRT1 expression or activity might contribute to the pathogenesis of insulin-resistance-related diseases. This review explores the effects of SIRT1 on adiponectin and inflammation, the role of SIRT1 in insulin signaling, and the relationship between SIRT1 and mitochondrial function, which is a potential link with insulin resistance.

Physical or emotional effects that potentially threaten homeostasis activate various compensatory mechanisms coordinated by the stress system. This article provides an overview of the conceptual evolution and current understanding of homeostasis and stress, the main effectors and targets of the stress response and the effects of stress on the organism.

Peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) with radiolabeled somatostatin analogs, such as octreotide, is a promising option for the treatment of somatostatin-receptor-positive endocrine tumors. Here, van Essen et al. evaluate data from preliminary studies of PRRT, and discuss the pros and cons of this approach. The authors propose that PRRT might soon become the treatment of choice for patients with metastatic or inoperable endocrine tumors.

Nonvasive imaging of insulin-producing β cells, although not currently used in clinical practice, is a useful tool that can complement information gained by other methods to assess the insulin secretory response in patients with diabetes mellitus and in people at high risk of developing this condition. This Review discusses the currently available methods for noninvasive imaging and quantification of insulin-producing β cells.

An organism's ability to adjust its phenotypic development to the environment is partly determined by epigenetic changes that are established in early life and modulate gene expression during development and maturity. A mismatch between the inducing and the mature environment may result in inappropriate patterns of epigenetic marks and of gene expression that increase the organism's susceptibility to chronic noncommunicable disease. The authors review the relationships between environmental influences during mammalian development, epigenetic changes and metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, and discuss the implications for prevention and treatment.