Endocrine Society Fights Racism; Bisphosphonate Holiday; Tirzepatide Dual Branding?

An Endocrine Society policy perspective is calling for new policies aimed at fighting racial and ethnic inequities in the endocrinology workforce, as well as in access to care. “As endocrinologists, we have a responsibility to take actions to eliminate racism in our discipline and for our patients,” said the chair of the initiative, Ruban Dhaliwal, MD, MPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, in a statement. (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism)

Should transgender adolescents be required to go to therapy before taking hormone therapy? (New York Times)

Women with more severe menopause symptoms exhibited a lower cognitive performance than those with milder symptoms. This poorer cognition was also tied to depression and sexual dysfunction. (Menopause)

For older adults on long-term osteoporosis therapy — specifically 3 or more years — a drug holiday with risedronate (Actonel, Atelvia) was tied to a small but significantly higher risk of hip fracture versus alendronate (Binosto, Fosamax) drug holidays. (Annals of Internal Medicine)

Eli Lilly is contemplating a similar double-branding strategy in the future with its investigational GIP/GLP-1 agonist tirzepatide, much like Novo Nordisk’s strategy with semaglutide — Wegovy for obesity and Ozempic/Rybelsus for diabetes. (FiercePharma)

Rhythm Pharmaceuticals announced that the first patients have been dosed in the phase II DAYBREAK clinical trial with a weekly formulation of the MC4R agonist setmelanotide (Imcivree) for the treatment of severe obesity and hyperphagia potentially caused by a genetic variant that impairs function of the MC4R pathway.

According to a new study in rats, the consumption of artificial sweeteners during pregnancy increased the risk of obesity in offspring. “Even though the offspring never consumed the low-calorie sweeteners themselves, their gut bacteria and obesity risk were influenced by the sweeteners that their mothers consumed during pregnancy,” said study author Raylene Reimer, PhD, of the University of Calgary, in a statement. (Frontiers in Nutrition)

And a similar female mouse study found that exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemical BPA before and during pregnancy might affect fetal brain development. (Epigenomics)