Content about Endocrine system

WASHINGTON — Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., on Wednesday introduced the Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act, a bill that will protect consumers by providing the Drug Enforcement Administration with new enforcement tools to identify and quickly respond when new designer anabolic steroids are created and marketed as dietary supplements.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has accepted a regulatory approval application for a drug made by Shionogi for treating vulvar and vaginal atrophy due to menopause.

Shionogi, the U.S. division of Japanese drug maker Shionogi & Co., said Wednesday that the FDA had accepted for review its application for ospemifene, which the company touts as potentially the first oral alternative to vaginal estrogen treatments.

CHEVY CHASE, Md. — A study recently published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism suggests that vitamin D — when taken with calcium — can reduce the rate of mortality in seniors, thereby providing a possible means of increasing life expectancy, the society reported Friday.

PARSIPPANY, N.J. — Watson has launched an authorized generic drug for treating postmenopausal women, the company said Friday.

Watson announced the launch of progesterone capsules in the 100-mg and 200-mg strengths, an authorized generic version of Abbott Labs' Prometrium, under an agreement with Abbott. Abbott will manufacture the drug and supply it to Watson, which will market and distribute it and share profits. Other terms were not disclosed, the companies said.

BOSTON — It seems insulin production and beta cell functioning may persist despite the onset of Type 1 diabetes, according to research conducted at the Massachusetts General Hospital and published in the March issue of Diabetes Care.

NEW YORK — A new study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology examined the possible link between pancreatic cancer and drugs designed to treat diabetes, and found the association to be unclear.

Researchers conducted a case-control study based on the British-based General Practice Research Database, which included drug prescriptions, diagnostics, hospitalizations and fatality information. The researchers also took into consideration such factors as body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption and diabetes duration.

ATLANTA — CinSulin, based in Issaquah, Wash., is in the process of launching a cinnamon water extract to help maintain healthy blood-glucose levels for patients with prediabetes or Type 2 diabetes.

The extract contains a concentrated cinnamon extract through a proprietary process that separates the water-soluble components from unwanted fat-soluble components. The result is an extract that is on average 10 times stronger than the average cinnamon supplement, the company stated.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The Food and Drug Administration's latest message to consumers and healthcare professionals seems like a no-brainer: "Insulin pens are not for sharing."

But the agency said it knew of two undisclosed hospitals that it said had reused the cartridge components of insulin pens in administering insulin to more than 2,000 patients, though the hospitals reportedly changed the pens themselves.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A combination of two insulins made by Novo Nordisk reduced abnormally low blood sugar in diabetes patients, according to study results presented at a medical conference.

INDIANAPOLIS — Many people with Type 2 diabetes have managed to integrate the treatments they must take into their daily lives, but many do not reach their blood-glucose goals after they start insulin therapy.

Drug maker Eli Lilly is partnering with Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in a study that started in July and has enrolled 4,500 people in 17 countries to find out why many people with the disease resist a progression of insulin therapy.

SAN DIEGO — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new insulin-delivery system for Type 1 diabetes made by Tandem Diabetes Care, the company said Wednesday.

Tandem announced the approval of the T:slim, a pump that the company said is the first to have a color touch screen and is the smallest insulin pump system available, in addition to being one of the first to be approved under the FDA's new Infusion Pump Improvement initiative.

ALLEGAN, Mich. — Drug maker Perrigo has filed for regulatory approval of a generic topical drug for treating testosterone deficiency, prompting a patent infringement suit from the branded version's manufacturer.