‘Love hormone’ nasal spray could reduce calorie intake in men

Posted in News, World

A study has found that a single dose of nasal spray containing the hormone oxytocin led to reduced caloric intake in healthy men. In particular, the synthetic nasal formulation reduced the consumption of fatty foods.

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The findings were presented at the 97th annual meeting of the Endocrine Society and confirmed the findings of previous animal studies demonstrating that oxytocin reduces food intake.

“Our results are really exciting,” says lead investigator Dr. Elizabeth Lawson of Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. “Further study is needed, but I think oxytocin is a promising treatment for obesity and its metabolic complications.”

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Apple announces ResearchKit app software for medical researchers

Posted in News, World

By Theresa Pablos, DrBicuspid.com assistant editor

March 9, 2015 — Apple introduced ResearchKit, an open-source software framework designed to benefit medical researchers, at its March 2015 Special Event on Monday. Using ResearchKit, researchers will be able to more easily design apps that allow patients to remotely consent to join clinical trials and provide data.

“Some researchers see patients only once a quarter, making it difficult to get a complete picture of their health,” Apple said in its live event coverage. “Finding volunteers for medical studies has always been tough. And low participation can make understanding a disease more difficult.”

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