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The Handoff is a weekly roundup of endocrinology and general medicine news covering various developments in subspecialties, as well as pharmaceutical industry, association, and society news.
–A mouse model study conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has found that type 2 immunity — responsible for maintaining healthy metabolism in fatty tissues — is a driver of obesity-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
–Biotech companies are continuing to examine alternatives to pancreas and islet cell transplants to treat type 1 diabetes. San Diego-based ViaCyte Inc., is set to begin clinical trials testing the use of progenitor cells. Meanwhile, Semma Therapeutics, Inc. in conjunction with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, is working on a method to generate “billions of insulin-making beta cells” in a lab setting.
–The New York Times continues its Patient Voices series, this time highlighting stories from 4 people with a variety of thyroid diseases from Graves’ disease to hypothyroidism.
–An analysis of data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study has found that the cardiovascular risk profile is similar among patients with thyroid disease, regardless of condition or severity of dysfunction. The research was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
–Retailers in Illinois have joined together to sue Cook County in response to the soon-to-be-implemented sweetened beverage tax. The Illinois Retail Merchants Association has sought an injunction on the grounds that the ordinance is invalid.
—The PRIDE Study — the first long-term LGBTQ health study — is underway, following a widespread expansion of enrollment options in order to encourage sign ups. More than 24,000 participants are currently enrolled, and researchers will have access to all data beginning in May 2018, according to American Heart Association News.
–New research from PNAS found that although multiparious female mice were at a higher risk for stroke, mice who had given birth recovered better than those who had never reproduced.
–People with type 2 diabetes are more likely to disclose their condition to their employers based on disease severity, according to research published in Diabetic Medicine. The researchers pointed out that disclosure is “necessary for optimal self-management during work hours.”
