The New England journal of medicine
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Insulin resistance in the offspring of parents with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is the best predictor of development of the disease and probably plays an important part in its pathogenesis. We studied the mechanism and degree to which exercise training improves insulin sensitivity in these subjects. ⋯ Exercise increases insulin sensitivity in both normal subjects and the insulin-resistant offspring of diabetic parents because of a twofold increase in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis in muscle, due to an increase in insulin-stimulated glucose transport-phosphorylation.
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Although the numbers of women in training and in entry-level academic positions in medicine have increased substantially in recent years, the proportion of women in senior faculty positions has not changed. We conducted a study to determine the contributions of background and training, academic productivity, distribution of work time, institutional support, career attitudes, and family responsibilities to sex differences in academic rank and salary among faculty members of academic pediatric departments. ⋯ Lower rates of academic productivity, more time spent in teaching and patient care and less time spent in research, less institutional support for research, and lower rates of specialization in highly paid subspecialties contributed to the lower ranks and salaries of female faculty members.
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Friedreich's ataxia, the most common inherited ataxia, is associated with a mutation that consists of an unstable expansion of GAA repeats in the first intron of the frataxin gene on chromosome 9, which encodes a protein of unknown function. ⋯ The clinical spectrum of Friedreich's ataxia is broader than previously recognized, and the direct molecular test for the GAA expansion on chromosome 9 is useful for diagnosis, determination of prognosis, and genetic counseling.