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Cold exposure enhances brown adipose tissue activity, the beiging of white adipose tissue and might have antidiabetic and antiobesity effects. In new data, cold exposure induces and sustains brown adipose tissue in metabolically healthy individuals with obesity, suggesting that cold treatment might be clinically beneficial, even for those with increased BMI.
Diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperglycaemic osmolar state and hypoglycaemia are serious complications of diabetes mellitus. Here, Guillermo Umpierrez and Mary Korytkowski discuss the clinical presentation, precipitating causes, diagnosis and acute management of these diabetic emergencies and suggest practical strategies for their prevention.
Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) have been implicated in almost all aspects of bone, cartilage and joint biology. Here, Valerie Salazar and colleagues discuss BMP superfamily signalling in the context of skeletal development and joint morphogenesis, and summarize the status of the BMP pathway as a therapeutic target for treating skeletal trauma and disease.
Hypophosphatasia — a form of metabolic bone disease characterized by low serum alkaline phosphatase activity — results from loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding the tissue-nonspecific isoenzyme of alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP). Here, Michael Whyte discusses the aetiology, nosology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of hypophosphatasia, which is particularly timely given the recently reported successes and approvals of treating the disease using asfotase alfa, a bone-targeted, recombinant TNSALP.
Since mutations in theRET proto-oncogene were discovered in thyroid carcinoma 20 years ago, research has focused on determining the prevalence of these alterations, their role in disease development and potential clinical applications. In this Review, the authors discuss these findings with respect to the pathogenic, diagnostic and prognostic roles of RETin patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma and medullary thyroid carcinoma.
The ability of people to resist the consequences of psychological stress and cope effectively with the challenges of life might be associated with reduced risk of future type 2 diabetes mellitus, according to a very large study of young men followed-up into middle age.