Endocrine Abstracts

Humans have 10 insulin-like genes, the most closely related being insulin and the adjacent gene, insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II). Despite insulin being at the vanguard of endocrinology, the role of IGF-II has remained an enigma. IGF-II was first discovered with the observation that after all detectable insulin was depleted from serum with very specific antibodies, the vast majority of insulin activity remained. While insulin is a very simple gene, the IGF-II gene is far...

The global obesity epidemic needs no introduction to endocrinologists, but there has also been a parallel growing epidemic in the common epithelial cancers (breast, colorectum and prostate) that has largely coincided in timing and geography. Obesity has some clear effects that may increase the propensity for the development of specific tumors. There are however broader effects that could impact more generally on the most common epithelial cancers. Epithelial cells form barrier...