Hormone

Malignancies arising from biliary tract epithelia, or cholangiocarcinoma, are rare tumors that have a poor prognosis. The incidence of these tumors is gradually increasing in many countries. Recent advances have been made in identifying some of the risk factors, and the need for appropriate classification is emerging. The diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma is often difficult and requires multiple complementary studies. The use of molecular approaches may improve the diagnostic utility of biliary cytology. Treatment of these tumors is complex, and there are many different treatment options. Although surgical resection can be curative, many patients with cholangiocarcinoma are diagnosed at an advanced stage when only palliative approaches can be used. Photodynamic therapy is emerging as a useful modality.

The marked increase of type 2 diabetes necessitates active development and implementation of efficient prevention programs. A European level action has been taken by launching the IMAGE project to unify and improve the various prevention management concepts, which currently exist within the EU. This report describes the background and the methods used in the development of the IMAGE project quality indicators for diabetes primary prevention programs. It is targeted to the persons responsible for diabetes prevention at different levels of the health care systems. Development of the quality indicators was conducted by a group of specialists representing different professional groups from several European countries. Indicators and measurement recommendations were produced by the expert group in consensus meetings and further developed by combining evidence and expert opinion. The quality indicators were developed for different prevention strategies: population level prevention strategy, screening for high risk, and high risk prevention strategy. Totally, 22 quality indicators were generated. They constitute the minimum level of quality assurance recommended for diabetes prevention programs. In addition, 20 scientific evaluation indicators with measurement standards were produced. These micro level indicators describe measurements, which should be used if evaluation, reporting, and scientific analysis are planned. We hope that these quality tools together with the IMAGE guidelines will provide a useful tool for improving the quality of diabetes prevention in Europe and make different prevention approaches comparable.

Childhood obesity has increased dramatically over the last several decades, particularly in industrialized countries, often accompanied by acceleration of pubertal progression and associated reproductive abnormalities (Biro et al., 2006; Rosenfield et al., 2009). The timing of pubertal initiation and progression in mammals is likely influenced by nutritional and metabolic state, leading to the hypothesis that deviations from normal metabolic rate, such as those seen in obesity, may contribute to observed alterations in the rate of pubertal progression. While several recent reviews have addressed the effects of metabolic disorders on reproductive function in general, this review will explore previous and current models of pubertal timing, outlining a potential role of endogenous timing mechanisms such as cellular circadian clocks in the initiation of puberty, and how these clocks might be altered by metabolic factors. Additionally, we will examine recently elucidated neuroendocrine regulators of pubertal progression such as kisspeptin, explore models detailing how the mammalian reproductive axis is silenced during the juvenile period and reactivated at appropriate developmental times, and emphasize how metabolic dysfunction such as childhood obesity may alter timing cues that advance or delay pubertal progression, resulting in diminished reproductive capacity.

1. The effect of starvation for 12 months on organo-somatic indices, glycogen, protein and water contents of several organs and the Na+/K+ ratio in muscle was studied in the South African clawed toad Xenopus laevis Daudin. 2. The liver- and ovary-somatic index were reduced by 30 and 70% of the initial value after 12 months. Fat bodies had disappeared after approximately 6 months of starvation. The indices of heart and kidney were not changed. 3. Glycogen concentration of the liver, ovaries and muscle were depleted nearly totally during the first half of the experimental time, whereas glycogen in the kidney seemed to be unaffected. 4. Protein concentration increased in the liver, decreased in the muscle and remained constant in the kidney. 5. Starvation caused an increase of the water concentration of the whole animal and different organs, especially at the end of the experiment. 6. The Na+/K+ ratio of the muscle increased significantly after 6 months of starvation and reached a maxi...

In all species, sexual behavior is directed by a complex interplay between steroid hormone actions in the brain that give rise to sexual arousability and experience with sexual reward that gives rise to expectations of competent sexual activity, including sexual arousal, desire, and performance. Sexual experience allows animals to form instrumental and Pavlovian associations that predict sexual outcome and thereby directs the strength of sexual responding. Although the study of animal sexual behavior by neuroendocrinologists has traditionally been concerned with mechanisms of copulatory responding, more recent use of conditioning and preference paradigms, and a focus on environmental circumstances and experience, has revealed behaviors and processes that resemble human sexual responses. In this paper, we review behavioral paradigms used with rodents and other species that are analogous or homologous to human sexual arousal, desire, reward, and inhibition. The extent to which these b...

Iodothyronine deiodinases (IDs) are mammalian selenoenzymes that play an important role in the activation and inactivation of thyroid hormones. The outer-ring (5’) deiodination of the prohormone thyroxine (T4) by the type 1 and 2 deiodinases (ID-1 and ID-2) produces the biologically active hormone, 3,5,3’-triiodothyronine (T3). These two enzymes also catalyze the outer-ring deiodination of 3,3’,5’-triiodothyronine (reverse T3, rT3) to produce 3,3’- diiodothyronine (T2) (Scheme 1).[2] The conversion of T4 into rT3 is an inner-ring deiodination process, which is catalyzed by the type 3 enzyme (ID-3).[2, 3] Importantly, ID-3 catalyzes the inactivation of T3 by inner-ring deiodination to produce T2, which is a key step in the maintenance of serum T3 concentration. This enzyme has been shown to contribute to
thyroid hormone homeostasis by protecting tissues from an
excess of thyroid hormone.