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Endocrine Section

Contact Information

Endocrine Section
Laboratory of Clinical Investigation
NCCAM/NIH
Building 9, Room 1N105
9 Memorial Drive, MSC 1302
Bethesda, MD 20892-1302

Phone: 301-435-6760
Fax: 301-480-3159
E-mail: nussenblattr@mail.nih.gov

Current Research

The Endocrinology Section conducts clinical and laboratory-based investigations related to the influences of diverse CAM interventions on neuroendocrine-immune interactions, stress hormones, and biomarkers of aging. Ongoing or planned clinical investigations include studies of the effects of:

  1. Endocrine-immune dysfunction on articular and extra-articular (bone, muscle, fat, vascular) functions in premenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis
  2. Oral DHEA administration on body composition, endocrine-metabolic, vascular, and musculoskeletal functions in healthy aged individuals
  3. Oral carnitine administration on body fat, glucose and insulin homeostasis, and vascular endothelial function in obese individuals and patients with HIV lipodystrophy
  4. Placebo treatment in patients with chronic low back pain, as assessed by neuroimaging, neuropsychologic, neuroendocrine, and neuroimmune outcomes.

Current and planned laboratory-based and translational studies center on evaluating effects of:

  1. DHEA versus testosterone, DHT and estrogen on cell proliferation, and cellular, biochemical, and molecular functions in human prostate cancer and stromal cells
  2. Carnitine on adipokine and cytokine release, glucose disposal, and mitochondrial gene expression in human preadipocytes and adipocytes
  3. Carnitine on mitochondrial gene expression in human skeletal muscle cells and skeletal muscle biopsies from healthy young and aged men, before and after exercise or anabolic hormone administration.

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