Up to 40 percent of men with a big belly, a disturbed metabolism or type 2 diabetes mellitus lack the sex hormone testosterone. According to the latest findings, hormone deficiency and chronic diseases seem to be mutually dependent. In certain cases, therapy with testosterone is a way out of this cycle for those affected. However, all of them require comprehensive hormonal diagnostics, emphasizes the German Society for Endocrinology (DGE).

The level of the male sex hormone in men over 40 sinks annually by one to two percent: "As we now know, testosterone deficiency is not just a question of age," says Professor Dr. med. Christof Schöfl from the University Hospital Erlangen. Rather, it is also a consequence of being overweight and vice versa: "There is obviously a vicious circle of low testosterone and increased adipose tissue and the associated metabolic disorders," said the neuroendocrinologist from the DGE board of directors.

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Research results from Kiel

Whether a person suffers from old-age sugar (type 2 diabetes) depends both on their genetic makeup and on how their body absorbs the fat in their food. There are also substances such as lapacho that, in the form of functional foods, could help alleviate or prevent metabolic diseases. These are just two of the results of a seven-year joint scientific project that were presented at a symposium on March 20.03.09th, XNUMX in Kiel.

How do genes of lipid metabolism work, what significance do they have for the common diseases of obesity, old age sugar and high blood pressure? The scientists from the Christian Albrechts University (CAU) and the Max Rubner Institute (MRI) dealt with these questions as part of the project funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Nutritional physiologists, physicians and human geneticists researched the complex interactions between dietary fats, lipid metabolism and health risks.

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Study of the Heidelberg University Medical Center: Percentage of Participants in 73 Improve Complaints / Publication in "Pain Medicine"

Diabetics who suffer from nerve pain and leg discomfort can use a new method of electrical muscle stimulation. In a study conducted by the Heidelberg University Medical Center, 73 percent of participants stated after four weeks that their symptoms had improved considerably. The study, which first tested the therapy on a larger group of patients, has now been published in the journal "Pain Medicine".

"If the blood sugar is not optimally adjusted, a large part of the diabetics develops a nerve damage (polyneuropathy)", explains Privatdozent Dr. med. Per Humpert, Senior Physician of the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University Hospital Heidelberg. About 30 percent of all diabetics are affected. The complaints occur first on the feet and legs, in very advanced stages sometimes on the hands and arms. Patients complain of burning and stinging pain, especially at rest or at night, as well as tingling and numbness.

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Risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes type 2 are also common among healthy people. This is shown by the evaluation of current data of male executives in Hamburg, who took part in a health care program: One in two participants has an increased risk of developing a type 2 diabetes in the next few years. Timely nutritional change and control of body weight can prevent diabetes at this stage, explains the German Diabetes Association (DDG). The experts advise all adults to participate in appropriate programs, even when exercising and feeling healthy.

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Diabetics are at high risk of getting their diabetes really annoying: every second to third diabetic gets a nerve disorder, the so-called polyneuropathy, which usually manifests as tingling, burning, numbness or pain in the feet , A precursor of the vitamin B1, the benfotiamine, seems to be able to counteract the suffering of the nerves and to relieve the unpleasant discomfort. This is now confirmed by a placebo-controlled clinical study by a research team headed by Prof. Hilmar Stracke from the University Hospital Gießen and Marburg.

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Vitamin B1 precursor relieves nerve damage and pain

About half of all people with diabetes suffer from a so-called diabetic neuropathy. Cause of the nerve damage, in addition to chronically elevated levels of blood sugar and a vitamin deficiency B1. A study now promises improvement by taking the drug benfotiamine - a precursor of B1. This not only fixes the vitamin deficiency. It also reduces pain by existing nerve damage. Thereupon, the German Society of Endocrinology (DGE) out on the occasion of the current publication.

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Metabolic diseases, especially the increasingly common type 2 diabetes, are consequences of a complex interaction between genetic predisposition and unfavorable living conditions. Scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the LMU were able to show for the first time a connection between the genetic endowment of a human and the differences in the metabolic balance. An identification of these genetic variations may in the future allow for the individual prediction of risks with regard to certain diseases, for example diabetes.

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