• Question: What is, in your opinion, the most important hormone discovery of the last ten years ?

    Asked by _________________________ to Craig, Laura, Saffron on 25 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Craig Doig

      Craig Doig answered on 25 Jun 2015:

      Well ___________

      thats a pretty difficult question to answer. New hormones and new functions of existing hormones are being found all the time. In my opinion there are classes of hormones released by muscle and fat cells called myokines and adipokines. Their presence and activity has recently been identified. These have lots of actions that are still being explored and I think they might turn out to have a lot of uses to doctors trying to treat some diseases where muscle or fat are a part of the problem.

    • Photo: Saffron Whitehead

      Saffron Whitehead answered on 25 Jun 2015:

      The really exciting thing about hormones is that new ones are being discovered. As Craig said we know know that hormones ae produced not only be the ‘classic’ endocrine glands but by fat, muscle cells, bone, the immune system and other systems. Which one is more important? Well I like to think it is those hormones that we can specifically target to treat diseases.

    • Photo: Laura Wales

      Laura Wales answered on 26 Jun 2015:

      I agree with Saffron and Craig. There are continually discoveries of hormones or how they act.

      I got quite excited about one. It was called “betatrophin”. It appeared to cause mice to produce insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells at up to 30 times the normal rate. It could replace insulin injections by increasing the number of endogenous insulin-producing cells in diabetics.

      However…..a follow-up study by an independent group of researchers found that the hormone is not required for β cell function or growth. Betatrophin is now called Angiopoietin-like protein 8 (ANGPTL8).

      That’s science for you – sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s then a case of finding out why it didn’t work and what can be done to change things….or what can be looked at next!

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