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One in five Americans regularly reach for vitamin D supplements, yet most are unaware that they’re taking not just a vitamin - but a hormone.While renowned for bolstering bone strength and immune health, vitamin D’s story is not straightforward. A blend of myth and established science invites a closer look into its true nature and impact.Vitamin D: Understanding Its Dual RoleVitamin D stands apart in the world of nutrients. It’s a sun-sourced substance acting as both a nutrient and a hormone. This dual role is significant, as hormones, which orchestrate many bodily functions, aren’t typically taken as supplements like vitamins.Endocrinologist...

Prolonged use of certain progestogen hormone drugs is associated with an increased risk of developing a type of brain tumor known as an intracranial meningioma, finds a study. Progestogens are similar to the natural hormone progesterone. Meningiomas are mostly non-cancerous tumors in the layers of tissue (meninges) that cover the brain and spinal cord. Researchers set out to evaluate the real life risk of intracranial meningioma requiring surgery in women associated with use of several progestogens with different routes of administration. They used data from the French national health data system (SNDS) for 18,061 women (average age 58) who underwent...

Combining testosterone-blocking drugs in patients with prostate cancer relapse prevents the spread of cancer better than treatment with a single drug, a multi-institution, Phase 3 clinical trial led by researchers has found. The approach can extend the time between debilitating drug treatments without prolonging the time it takes to recover from each treatment. Prostate cancer is usually treated with one of several testosterone-lowering drugs for a set period of time. "This adds to a growing body of evidence in favor of more intensive testosterone-blocking therapy in patients with higher-risk prostate cancer," said Rahul Aggarwal, MD. The new study focused on...

Research has found that hormone levels, measured through blood tests, are an important indicator of whether women will benefit from recently licensed medication for the prevention of breast cancer. Aromatase inhibitors such as anastrozole are recommended as an option for preventive therapy in post-menopausal women at high risk of breast cancer. Post-menopausal women who have higher concentrations of the hormone estrogen in their bloodstream are at higher risk of developing breast cancer. Aromatase inhibitors stop the production of estrogen and reduce the amount made in the body. They are currently the most effective preventive agent for estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer,...

Researchers found when ribociclib, a targeted therapy drug, is added to hormone therapy there are a significant invasive disease-free survival benefit in patients with early hormone-receptor (HR) positive/HER2 negative breast cancer. Researchers found that patients who took the combination therapy had substantially longer invasive disease-free survival compared to those who were treated with the hormone therapy alone, regardless of whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. The addition of the targeted therapy reduced the risk of recurrence by 25%. "The results from the clinical trial have immediate implications for patients," said Slamon. "The findings show this combination is...

An article shows that melatonin, despite its antioxidant effects and role in regulating sleep cycles, can worsen inflammation of the intestine and impair the action of gut microbiota. Melatonin is popularly known as the "sleep hormone" and is often taken as a so-called food supplement without a doctor's prescription by people with sleep problems. "It's generally thought to be harmless. However, our study shows that the ingestion of melatonin supplement can have adverse effects on health," said Cristina Ribeiro de Barros Cardoso. Melatonin can act as an antioxidant and improve several physiological or pathological conditions. "We started out in this...

Controversies surrounding hormone therapy (HT) and its benefits and risks have dominated the women's health field for more than 2 decades. A large new study demonstrates that, despite some commonly held misperceptions, HT doesn't increase a woman's risk of developing lung cancer, and it could actually help reduce the risk. Lung cancer remains one of the most common malignancies and the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. After breast cancer, it is the most common cancer in women, with its incidence increasing in women over the past few decades. Although smoking remains the number-one risk factor for developing lung cancer,...

Researchers found that patients who were assigned to the highest dose of the new medication saw the top blood pressure number drop by a full 20 points. Some patients with high blood pressure can't get it under control with standard medications, but a new study shows an experimental drug is up to the task of treating these tough-to-treat cases. Why do some folks struggle more with managing their high blood pressure than others? When the hypertension is caused by the hormone aldosterone, which is responsible for how much salt the body retains, it is much harder to control, researchers explained....

Hormone therapy for prostate cancer increases the risk of cardiovascular disease-related death especially in older men, according to a population study involving more than 13,000 patients. The highest risk was for coronary heart disease and stroke. The increased risks were apparent from the second year after cancer diagnosis and were more pronounced in older men. "Hormone therapy is often used for patients with prostate cancer," says lead author Justinas Jonusas. "Our results suggest clinicians should consider risk reduction and mitigation strategies for cardiovascular disease when developing a treatment plan for men diagnosed with prostate cancer, particularly for older patients." The...

Gourmands and foodies everywhere have long recognized ginger as a great way to add a little peppery zing to both sweet and savory dishes; now, a study from researchers at Columbia University shows purified components of the spicy root also may have properties that help asthma patients breathe more easily. Asthma is characterized by bronchoconstriction, a tightening of the bronchial tubes that carry air into and out of the lungs. Bronchodilating medications called beta-agonists (β-agonists) are among the most common types of asthma medications and work by relaxing the airway smooth muscle (ASM) tissues. This study looked at whether specific...

Dietary intake of two fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6, may have opposite effects on the severity of asthma in children and may also play opposite roles in modifying their response to indoor air pollution, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. In "Omega-3 and Omega-6 Intake Modifies Asthma Severity,” authors report that children with higher levels of omega-3 in their diets had less severe asthma and fewer symptoms in response to higher levels of indoor particulate air pollution. Conversely, children with higher levels of omega-6 in their diets...

A new study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers has found that leptin, a hormone that plays a key role in energy metabolism, fertility, and bone mass, also regulates airway diameter. The findings could explain why obese people are prone to asthma and suggest that body weight-associated asthma may be relieved with medications that inhibit signaling through the parasympathetic nervous system, which mediates leptin function. "Our study started with the clinical observation that both obesity and anorexia can lead to asthma," said Gerard Karsenty MD, PhD. "This led us to suspect that there must be a signal coming...

For the first time, a study shows how glucocorticoid hormones, such as cortisol, control sugar and fat levels differently during day and night, feeding and fasting, rest and activity, over the course of 24 hours. The research conducted in mice found that the time-of-day dependent metabolic cycle is altered by high caloric diet. Since glucocorticoids are widely used drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, these findings published in Molecular Cell suggest that lean and obese patients might respond differently to steroid therapy. Finally, it reveals the biological function of daily rhythms of hormone secretion (high before awakening and feeding,...

Bethany Mandel recently wrote an article at Ricochet, “What Does It Mean to Be a Woman?“ in which she responded to a tweet by a transgender person, @LifeofBria, who claimed that, just like all other women, he gets “periods”: (snip) But here’s the thing: a period is the flow of menstrual blood approximately two weeks after ovulation. If you don’t ovulate, you don’t have a period. Strictly speaking, even women who are on the pill and don’t ovulate don’t have “periods” even if, due to the pattern of their pills, they bleed on a four-week cycle. Instead, they experience breakthrough...

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Minnesota mother against her teenage child along with school officials and healthcare providers on the grounds that they violated her parental rights by treating her son with a hormone therapy to start transitioning into a girl even though he hadn't been granted court approval to be legally emancipated from his parents. Senior U.S. District Judge Paul A. Magnuson dismissed the suit this week, saying Anmarie Calgaro's claim was "meritless," according to the StarTribune. Calgaro filed the suit, with the help of lawyers from the Thomas More Society last November, against...

A team at Yale School of Medicine have identified a hormone, produced by the thymus glad, extends lifespan by 40 per cent. Their findings reveal increased levels of the hormone, known as FGF21, protects the immune system against the ravages of age. Researchers said the study could have implications in the future for improving immune function in the elderly, for obesity, and for diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes. When it is functioning normally, the thymus produces new T cells for the immune system. But with age, the gland becomes fatty and loses its ability to produce the...

If the thought of running on a treadmill makes you shudder, then you may soon have an excuse to avoid it altogether. US researchers claim they have found a hormone that mimics the effects of exercise, allowing people to lose weight and regulate their blood sugar. The hormone, dubbed MOTS-c, has been proven to work in mice and clinical trials on humans could begin in three years. The discovery of MOTS-c - a molecule that acts as a signal for the body - was made by scientists at the University of Southern California. MOTS-c works by increasing insulin sensitivity, allowing...

Brain plaques may have been seeded by contaminated hormone extracts from cadavers. Only a decade ago, the idea that Alzheimer’s disease might be transmissible between people would have been laughed off the stage. But scientists have since shown that tissues can transmit symptoms of the disease between animals — and new results imply that humans, at least in one unusual circumstance, may not be an exception. The findings, published in this issue of Nature, emerged during autopsy studies of the brains of eight people who had died of the rare but deadly Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD; Z. Jaunmuktane et al. Nature...

Newly discovered hormone mimics the effects of exercise Enlarge Credit: Martha Sexton/public domain Scientists at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology have discovered a new hormone that fights the weight gain caused by a high-fat Western diet and normalizes the metabolism - effects commonly associated with exercising. Hormones are molecules that act as the body's signals, triggering various physiological responses. The newly discovered hormone, dubbed "MOTS-c," primarily targets muscle tissue, where it restores insulin sensitivity, counteracting diet-induced and age-dependent insulin resistance."This represents a major advance in the identification of new treatments for age-related diseases such as diabetes," said Pinchas...

A Chinese girl with a rare medical problem has the appearance of a child - despite being 19-years-old. Zeng Yushan was born in June 1994 in the township of Huzhu in Fushun County in south-western China's Sichuan Province. At seven years old, she stopped growing and was diagnosed with a tumour on her pituitary gland, which caused a deficiency in growth hormones. The pituitary gland is found behind the bridge of the nose and below the base of the brain, and is about the size of a pea. It releases hormones growth and puberty hormones, among others, directly into the...