Haemangiopericytoma (HPC) is a rare tumour with a predilection for the central nervous system. Though previously thought to originate from the meninges and ventricular walls, HPC's are currently accepted as distinct mesenchymal neoplasms unrelated to meningiomas. Haemangiopericytomas have been previously reported to be associated with the production of insulin like ...

BACKGROUND: Treatment with high doses (2-6 mg day(-1)) of human growth hormone (hGH) in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated lipodystrophy syndrome (HALS) has been shown to increase concentrations of total insulin-like growth-factor-I (IGF-I) more than twofold greater than the normal upper range and is accompanied by adverse effects such ...

Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEACAM6) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-linked immunoglobulin superfamily member that is overexpressed in a variety of human cancers. We have recently reported that suppression of CEACAM6 expression impairs pancreatic adenocarcinoma progression in vivo. In order to characterize the mechanisms through which CEACAM6 influences the malignant phenotype, ...

The vasculoprotective effects of hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG)-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) correlate with cholesterol lowering. HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors also disrupt cellular processes by the depletion of isoprenoids and dolichol. Insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling appear particularly prone to such disruption as intracellular receptor processing requires dolichol for correct N-glycosylation, whereas ...

OBJECTIVE: Modest elevations in circulating IGF-I levels have been suggested to protect against the development of glucose intolerance in insulin-resistant subjects. To further understand the interactions of GH and IGF-I on beta-cell function and post-load glucose tolerance in glucose-intolerant subjects predisposed to diabetes, we performed a pilot study in 12 ...

BACKGROUND: Glucose intake has been shown to cause an increase in intranuclear nuclear factor-kappa B and a decrease in inhibitor kappa B that are consistent with a proinflammatory effect. We investigated the effect of glucose intake on 2 other proinflammatory transcription factors, activator protein 1 (AP-1) and early growth response ...

OBJECTIVE: Animal and clinical studies have shown that excessive amounts of growth hormone or insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) promote the development of diabetes and diabetic retinopathy. Forthwith, we present two patients with congenital IGF-I deficiency who developed type II diabetes and subsequently retinopathy. METHODS: Eighteen adult patients with classical Laron ...

OBJECTIVE: It has been suggested that the threshold of 1 micro g/l of GH nadir after glucose load for definition of controlled acromegalic disease proposed in the 2000 consensus statement should be lowered to 0.30. We evaluated these two cut-off values in comparison with IGF-I, ALS and IGFBP-3 in a ...

In a recent Nature paper, Tatar and colleagues show that inhibition of insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling specifically in the adipose tissue of Drosophila melanogaster retards organismal aging, increases resistance to oxidative stress, augments lipid deposition, and restricts insulin signaling in peripheral tissues by a cell-non-autonomous mechanism. Consistent with recent ...

Since insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) was first discovered as a mediator of glucose homeostasis, it has been extensively investigated in diabetes research in humans, rodents and primates. To date, however, relatively little work has been carried out on this hormone in the cat, despite the pathophysiological similarities between human and ...

The development of sensitive and specific growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) assays opened a new page in the diagnosis and surveillance of acromegaly. Currently, it is possible to make an accurate pre-operative diagnosis even in patients with virtually no typical clinical signs of the disease and ...

The present study was carried out to compare serum levels of leptin, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3), homeostasis model assessment--(pancreatic beta-cell function) (HOMA-(%B)) and homeostasis model assessment--(tissue insulin sensitivity) (HOMA-(%S)) in women with mild and severe pre-eclampsia and normotensive pregnant women; and to evaluate the ...

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Type 2 diabetes risk is associated with low birth weight, rapid weight gain during childhood, and shorter stature and lower circulating IGF-I levels in adults. The largest variations in growth rates occur during the first postnatal years. We hypothesised that early postnatal variations in height and weight gain and ...

OBJECTIVES: Many studies have shown that nitric oxide (NO) and growth factors including insulin growth factors (IGFs) may be involved in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and neurodegenerative diseases. Our previous studies suggested a relationship between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) NO metabolites (nitrates and nitrites, NN(x)) and IGF-1 in patients ...

OBJECTIVE: Ghrelin exerts potent GH-releasing activity and stimulates food intake. Circulating ghrelin levels are increased in anorexia and cachexia, reduced in obesity and restored by weight recovery. Newborns are characterized by GH hypersecretion associated with low IGF-I levels reflecting peripheral GH resistance. STUDY DESIGN: The aim of our study was ...

A new antimalarial quassinoid, namely, orinocinolide (1), was isolated from the root bark of Simaba orinocensis, together with the previously reported simalikalactone D (2). The structure of 1 was determined primarily from 1D and 2D NMR analysis, as well as by chemical derivatization. Compound 1 was found to be as ...

After parturition, increased growth hormone (GH) secretion is important to preserve the metabolic homeostasis of energy-deficient dairy cows. Elevated plasma GH promotes lipid mobilization from adipose tissue, but paradoxically, is associated with depressed concentration of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), a growth factor produced in a GH-dependent fashion in liver. Primary ...

OBJECTIVE: Adiponectin (ApN) is an adipocytokine expressed in human adipose cells with anti-atherogenic and anti-inflammatory properties that plays a role in the pathophysiology of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and coronary artery disease. The aim of the study was to evaluate ApN secretion in patients with acromegaly, a chronic disease associated ...

Aging is associated with a decline in the activity of the growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) axis. As aging also coincides with a decline in specific cognitive functions and as some of these dysfunctions are also observed in subjects with GH deficiency, it has been hypothesised that a causal ...

Cellular and molecular processes leading to abnormal accumulation of beta amyloid in the brain are slowly being uncovered. A potential involvement of insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) in this plausible pathogenic process in Alzheimer's disease has recently been proposed. Evidence favoring this idea stems from the ability of ...

OBJECTIVES: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance, compensatory hyperinsulinemia, and increased levels of free insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), presumably due to a decline in IGF binding protein 1 (IGFBP-1). This study was designed to evaluate effects of metformin therapy on serum levels of IGFBP-1 and IGF-I. ...

Diets rich in hydrolyzable carbohydrates induce a hyperglycemic/insulinemic response and may increase the incidence of metabolic disorders associated with some types of laminitis, exertional rhabdomyolysis and osteochondrosis in horses. This study applied the minimal model of glucose and insulin dynamics to determine the effect of diet on metabolites and hormones ...

In aging humans and rodents, inter-individual differences in cognitive function have been ascribed to variations in long-term glucocorticoid exposure. 11beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11beta-HSD1) regenerates the active glucocorticoid cortisol from circulating inert cortisone, thus amplifying intracellular glucocorticoid levels in some tissues. We show that 11beta-HSD1, but not 11beta-HSD2, mRNA is ...

Postnatal development of the ovine uterus between birth and postnatal day (PND) 56 involves budding differentiation of the endometrial glandular epithelium from the luminal epithelium (LE) followed by extensive coiling and branching morphogenesis of the tubular glands. To determine the short- and long-term effects of estrogen on neonatal ovine uterine ...

OBJECTIVES AND DESIGN: Ghrelin is a novel 28 amino acid peptide which is reported to have several endocrine and non-endocrine actions. It possesses strong growth hormone (GH)-releasing activity, which is mediated via the GH secretagogue receptor type 1a (GHS-R1a). We hypothesised that there might be functional sequential variations in the ...

BACKGROUND: Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) in adult life has been associated with increased central adiposity, decreased insulin sensitivity, dyslipidaemia and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The effects of GH replacement on adiponectin and resistin, adipokines which have a role in modulating insulin sensitivity have not been previously reported. AIM: To ...

OBJECTIVE: Determine the effect of insulin on the systemic inflammatory response, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and hepatic acute-phase-response in severely burned pediatric patients. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: The systemic inflammatory and hepatic acute-phase-response contribute to hypermetabolism, multi-organ failure, and mortality. Insulin has been recently shown to decrease mortality and to prevent ...

Abstract Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) have been implicated in normal growth, and especially foetal pancreas beta-cell development. As low birth weight has been implicated in the development of obesity and type 2 diabetes, much research has evolved into the importance of IGF and their signalling pathways for pancreas beta-cell development, ...

De novo adipose tissue formation appears to proceed via two different biological events: neovascularization and spontaneous accumulation of preadipocytes and subsequent differentiation to mature adipocytes. In this article, we perform accelerated de novo adipose tissue engineering using photocured, styrenated, gelatin-based microspheres (SGMs) with different drug release rates of immobilized angiogenic ...

OBJECTIVE: To review the possible mechanisms for the reported clinical finding of better outcomes for hospitalized and critically ill patients as the result of improved metabolic control. RESULTS: Insulin inhibits free fatty acids, proinflammatory cytokines, and inflammatory growth factors, all of which may be detrimental in critically ill patients. Furthermore, ...

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether the serum concentrations of insulin, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) were altered in women with mild pre-eclampsia, severe pre-eclampsia, and eclampsia. METHODS: In this prospective study, we investigated 20 mild pre-eclamptic, 20 severe pre-eclamptic, and 20 eclamptic patients in the ...

Over the past several years, the insulin/insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway has become a central figure in the study of organismal aging. Mutations in components of this pathway have led to enhanced longevity in several organisms, but it is still not clear whether and how this pathway contributes to ...

Ghrelin is secreted primarily by the stomach, although other tissues such as the pancreas synthesize a minor proportion. The discovery of a new cell type that produces ghrelin in the human pancreas and that this organ expresses GHS-R opens new perspectives in the understanding of the control of glucose metabolism. ...

The insulin-like growth factor axis is highly responsive to nutritional status and may be involved as one of the underlying mechanisms through which caloric restriction could affect cancer risk. High levels of circulating insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, or IGF-I relative to IGF binding protein (IGFBP)-3 have been related to various ...

Arthropathy is the major cause of morbidity in acromegaly. To feature the spinal involvement, 54 patients with active acromegaly (27 men, 27 women; age range, 21-69 yr) and 54 sex-, age-, and body mass index-matched healthy controls were enrolled in this observational analytical prospective case-control study. A questionnaire to describe ...

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a genetic disorder characterized by mild mental retardation, short stature, abnormal body composition, muscular hypotonia and distinctive behavioural features. Excessive eating causes progressive obesity with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In the PWS genotype loss of one or more normally active paternal genes in region q11-13 ...

BACKGROUND: Severe burn induces the hepatic acute phase response. In this study, we wondered whether continuous insulin treatment decreases acute phase protein levels in the severely burned. METHODS: Eighteen children aged 2 to 17 years with burns >40% of total body surface area were randomized to receive either insulin (n=9) ...

Assessment of postoperative disease activity of acromegaly is a major challenge. The consensus criteria for cure, which are glucose-suppressed GH less than 1 micro g/liter and normal IGF-I levels, might be discrepant, and their respective relationship to acromegaly-related morbidity is not well known. The aims of our study were: firstly, ...

Pegvisomant is a GH analogue that includes a single amino acid substitution at position 120 that generates the GHR antagonist. Additional changes include amino acid substitutions within binding site 1 and a further modification by the addition of polyethylene glycol moieties that increase the half-life and reduce the immunogenicity of ...

In pregnancy, pituitary growth hormone (GH) is gradually replaced by placental growth hormone (hPGH). GH deficient pregnant women may take advantage of GH substitution during pregnancy, but this issue still remains unresolved. Also, in pregnancy diabetes may cause macrosomia. The combination of GH deficiency, GH substitution therapy and type 1 ...

IGFs are important regulators of pancreatic beta-cell development, growth, and maintenance. Mutations in the IGF genes have been found to be associated with type 2 diabetes, myocardial infarction, birth weight, and obesity. These associations could result from changes in insulin secretion. We have analyzed glucose-stimulated insulin secretion using hyperglycemic clamps ...

The relative function of IGF-I and insulin on fish muscle metabolism and growth has been investigated by the isolation and culture at different stages (myoblasts at day 1, myocytes at day 4, and myotubes at day 10) of rainbow trout muscle cells. This in vitro model avoids interactions with endogenous ...

Insulin and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) both play important roles in vascular remodeling. Moreover, nitric oxide (NO) is well established as a counterregulatory agent that opposes the actions of several vascular agonists, in part by decreasing smooth muscle motility. We tested the hypothesis that NO blocks insulin or IGF-I-induced ...

The causes and control of type 2 diabetes mellitus are not clear, but there is strong evidence that dietary factors are involved in its regulation and prevention. We have shown that extracts from cinnamon enhance the activity of insulin. The objective of this study was to isolate and characterize insulin-enhancing ...

Micro- and macroangiopathy are major causes of morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes. Our aim was to characterize IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR) and insulin receptor (IR) in human micro- and macrovascular endothelial cells. Cultured human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMVEC) and human aortic endothelial cells (HAEC) were used. Gene expression ...

There is evidence of a metabolic role for IGF-I in type 1 diabetes, but it is unclear whether IGF-I acts indirectly by reducing GH secretion or has direct effects. Using stable isotopes we have investigated, on three separate occasions, the effect of a pulse of recombinant human GH, a sc ...

OBJECTIVES: To determine if treatment with licofelone, a combined 5-lipoxygenase and cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor, in vivo in experimental dog osteoarthritis can modify bone cell metabolism in long term in vitro subchondral osteoblast cell cultures (Ob). METHODS: Group 1 received sectioning of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) of the right knee with ...

Recombinant human (rh) insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is being developed as a therapy for short stature caused by IGF deficiency (IGFD) and also for diabetes mellitus. To complement the human efficacy and safety data, a large amount of information is available regarding the pharmacology and toxicology of rhIGF-I in ...

Fetal growth has been linked with increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease later in life. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis has recently been proposed as a predictor of risk of subsequent cancer and cardiovascular disease. However, only few data are available on the possible association between fetal growth ...

The proposed insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP) superfamily are a group of secreted proteins that are structurally, functionally and evolutionarily related, and include six IGFBPs and over 10 IGFBP-related proteins. The IGFBPs have high affinities for insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), thereby modulating the mitogenic, anti-apoptotic and metabolic actions of ...