Volume 8 Issue 6, June 2012

Infections have been proposed as triggers of inflammation that could predispose individuals to type 2 diabetes mellitus. In a prospective cohort study, Jeon and co-workers provide evidence of a role of Helicobacter pylori infection in the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus, but mechanistic insight is needed.

Hypopituitarism, including growth hormone (GH) deficiency, is accompanied by increased morbidity and mortality. These factors may be due to the underlying disease and treatments such as surgery or radiotherapy, but can also arise from GH substitution therapy at nonphysiological doses. Nevertheless, emerging long-term data on GH replacement therapy now indicate benefits for bone health.

Peptide-receptor radionuclide therapy with radiolabelled somatostatin analogues is a successful new treatment modality for patients with neuroendocrine tumours. Usually, ⁹⁰yttrium (⁹⁰Y)-coupled or ¹⁷⁷lutetium (¹⁷⁷Lu)-coupled somatostatin analogues are used, but a new study claims that combining the two radiopharmaceuticals results in improved overall survival.

A recent consensus workshop did not include metformin in the recommended therapeutic approach for the treatment of infertility in women with PCOS. However, encouraging findings by Morin-Papunen et al. suggest that metformin could reclaim its place, especially for the infertility treatment of women with PCOS who are obese.

A marker that predicts whether women are at risk of primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) would aid in early diagnosis and fertility counselling. This Review summarizes the current studies on anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in women with POI of various aetiologies and discusses its possible application as a marker to determine ovarian reserve.

This Review describes developments in the role of estrogen receptors (ERs) in islet insulin biosynthesis and secretion, lipid homeostasis and survival. Moreover, the authors discuss why and how enhancing ER action in β cells without the undesirable effect of general estrogen therapy is a therapeutic avenue to preserve functional β-cell mass in patients with diabetes mellitus.

This Review outlines the individual genes that have been described in familial combined hyperlipidaemia (FCHL) and how these genes can be incorporated into the current concept of metabolic pathways resulting in FCHL: adipose tissue dysfunction, hepatic fat accumulation and overproduction, disturbed metabolism and delayed clearance of apolipoprotein B-containing particles.

Several challenging barriers for diabetes prevention exist in real-world clinical practice, making it necessary to focus on identifying efficient intervention methods and delivery mechanisms. In this Review, the authors discuss these mechanisms and consider the implications for public-health strategy and policy.

Controversy on the optimal target for blood glucose control in patients admitted to the intensive care unit remains. The debate has been fierce, given the universally present risk of hypoglycaemia and its associated adverse outcomes. In this Perspectives article, the author endeavours to reconcile the currently available evidence on stress-induced diabetes mellitus.