Endocrine Abstracts

Stem cell therapy offers a far-sighted opportunity to cure Type 1 diabetes. To achieve this ambitious goal, an in depth understanding of how human beta cells normally develop is critical, as it provides the perfect model for the differentiation of stem cells down normal safe developmental pathways. Our data provide a framework of human pancreas development and islet formation, highlighting subtle differences from the parallel process in mouse. Key genes have been identified th...

Background: Military personnel on operational deployment commonly lose weight despite the adequate supply of rations. Moderate weight loss (~5% body mass) occurred during the initial phase of a 6-month deployment to Afghanistan without affecting physical fitness. Reasons for this weight loss are presently unknown. We sought to establish whether changes in appetite regulatory hormones contribute to the observed weight loss.Methods: Body mass and body comp...

Background: Military training has been associated with changes in the hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis that are consistent with central hypogonadism (fall in testosterone, LH and FSH concentrations). The effects on the hypothalamic–pituitary–testicular axis of deployment to a combat zone are not known. The aim of this study was to clarify this situation.Methods: Military personnel were investigated pre-deployment (Pre-) and foll...