The Thyroid Blog

News Tips From ACS Chemical Biology

Highlights from the American Chemical Society journal, ACS Chemical Biology, are now available on EurekAlert!, the online science news service for reporters. Below is a link to the October 2006 edition.

In the current issue we learn about a new technique to study how proteins interact in the cell, we report on a small molecule that binds to a specific thyroid hormone receptor and controls its activity, and we learn how to enhance an antibiotic so that it can no longer be pumped out of a bacterial cell. Other highlights in this issue include finding peptide-based modulators of signaling G Proteins.

Highlights from the American Chemical Society journal, ACS Chemical Biology, are now available on EurekAlert!, the online science news service for reporters. Below is a link to the October 2006 edition.

In the current issue we learn about a new technique to study how proteins interact in the cell, we report on a small molecule that binds to a specific thyroid hormone receptor and controls its activity, and we learn how to enhance an antibiotic so that it can no longer be pumped out of a bacterial cell. Other highlights in this issue include finding peptide-based modulators of signaling G Proteins.

http://www.eurekalert.org/jrnls/acs/index.php?page=chemicalbiology.

Source: American Chemical Society

CHEST 2006 Abstract Briefs

ASTHMA

Asthma May Be Overdiagnosed in Obese Patients

(Monday, October 23, 2006, 4:30 PM EST)

A new study reveals that, despite lack of evidence, obese patients are often diagnosed with asthma. Researchers at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey studied 20 patients, all of whom had a diagnosis of asthma, but none of whom exhibited any spirometric evidence of airway obstruction. The body mass index (BMI) was calculated, and bronchoprovocations tests were performed. In all, 90 percent of patients had an above-normal BMI. Of that, 61 percent were nonreactive to methacholine, suggesting an overdiagnosis of asthma in obese patients. Researchers suggest bronchoprovocation testing should be considered in such patients.

AACE/AIUM Join Forces To Enhance Quality And Safety In Thyroid/Parathyroid Ultrasound Procedures

The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) announced today a joint agreement for enhancing training, safety, and policies and procedures in ultrasound examinations. In the joint announcement, Dr. Lennard Greenbaum, President of AIUM, said that its Clinical Standards Committee had completed an extensive review of the AACE course requirements for thyroid/parathyroid ultrasound certification and recertification, and determined that those endocrinologists successfully completing the AACE course will be recognized by AIUM as having demonstrated satisfactory training in thyroid/parathyroid ultrasound examinations.

AACE President, Dr. Steven M. Petak, said that AACE is pleased to have the course recognized by AIUM, a preeminent national ultrasound accreditation body, as having met the educational standards for quality and patient safety in the performance of ultrasound procedures. AIUM standards serve as a benchmark for professionals seeking to meet nationally accepted protocols in performing ultrasound examinations. Dr. Petak said, "Achieving recognition by AIUM for meeting these high educational standards in ultrasound is a tremendous accomplishment, and a clear demonstration of AACE's commitment to helping endocrinologists provide the highest quality care in the diagnosis and treatment of their patients with thyroid disorders."

Anxiety Disorders Linked to Physical Conditions

Anxiety disorders appear to be independently associated with several physical conditions, including thyroid disease, respiratory disease, arthritis and migraine headaches, according to a report in the October 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. This co-occurrence of disorders may significantly increase the risk of disability and negatively affect quality of life.

Although depression has long been linked to physical illness, evidence supporting an association between anxiety disorders and physical health problems is more recent, according to background information in the article. Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, agoraphobia (fear of being in a situation where panic or anxiety may occur and escape from the situation might be difficult), social phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Studies have found that those with phobic (fearful) anxiety may be more likely to experience sudden cardiac death, and rates of anxiety disorders are higher than expected in patients with thyroid disease, cancer, hypertension and several other conditions.

JCI Table of Contents: Oct. 12, 2006

The muscular dystrophies are a group of genetic and hereditary diseases in which patients experience skeletal muscle weakness due to wasting and loss of muscle fibers. However, the signaling pathways involved in muscle wasting have remained elusive. Researchers have begun to focus on the potential role of proteins known as caveolins in muscle wasting. Caveolins come together to form a scaffold onto which many other types of signaling molecules can assemble at the cell plasma membrane. Caveolin-3 is a muscle-specific form of caveolins.

In a study appearing online on October 12, in advance of publication in the November print issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Yoshihide Sunada and colleagues from Kawasaki Medical School, Japan, show that loss of caveolin-3 in a mouse model of muscular dystrophy increases the intracellular activity of myostatin – a known inhibitor of muscle growth – and leads to muscle wasting. Conversely, the authors demonstrated that inhibition of myostatin rescued the muscle wasting in these mice. The study indicates that overactivation of myostatin signaling plays an important role in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophy in mice, and that a principal function of caveolin-3 in skeletal muscle is to inhibit myostatin signaling, thereby preventing muscle wasting. Future studies may show that myostatin inhibition may have potential as a promising therapy for patients with certain kinds of muscular dystrophy.

Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer Face Long-term Health Problems, Says Co-author of National Study

Children with cancer currently have survival rates approaching 80 percent – a much better rate than adults diagnosed with the disease today, and a major improvement over survival chances for children diagnosed 20 and 30 years ago. But survivors of childhood cancer may face long-term health problems well into adulthood, as reported today in a large multicenter study of over 10,000 adults who survived a childhood battle with cancer.

One of the co-authors of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study is a long-standing pioneer in the field. Anna T. Meadows, M.D., and colleagues at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia were the first researchers to investigate the late effects of childhood cancer, starting in the mid-1970s. An oncologist, Dr. Meadows is the medical director of the Cancer Survivorship Program at Children's Hospital.

Longer-lived Rodents Have Lower Levels of Thyroid Hormone

The thyroid may play an important role in longevity, with longer-lived rodents showing significantly lower levels of a thyroid hormone that speeds metabolism, a new study has found.

The study further strengthens the theory that the faster an animal's metabolism, the shorter its life, and vice versa, said Mario Pinto, the study's lead author. The thyroid releases hormones that regulate metabolic rate.

Identifying the 'Nuclear' In Nuclear Medicine As High Benefit

Say the word nuclear and it conjures up mistaken ideas about radiation, an invisible, odorless and intangible force that allows doctors to non-invasively see into the body. Say the words nuclear medicine, and its powerful reality is that it is highly beneficial to life, said Jonathan M. Links, former SNM president, who has written an overview on understanding radiological and nuclear terrorism in the October issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

"When people hear the words radiation and radioactivity, they initially think negative thoughts," said Links, professor and director of the Center for Public Health Preparedness at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Md. "The public's perception of the risks of radiation is that radiation is highly risky. It's best to get the scientific facts. In reality, radiation--a release of energy--allows doctors to effectively diagnose and treat disease," noted Baltimore's radiation terror expert and co-author of "Understanding Radiological and Nuclear Terrorism as Public Health Threats: Preparedness and Response Perspectives."