Volume 11 Issue 4, April 2015

A prospective randomized controlled trial in patients with papillary thyroid cancer without lymph node metastases demonstrated similar oncologic outcomes in patients who underwent total thyroidectomy with prophylactic central compartment lymph node dissection (pCCND) and in those who underwent total thyroidectomy without pCCND. However, pCCND was associated with an increased rate of complications.

An innovative strategy that uses a well-balanced monomeric peptide triagonist to target three metabolically related hormone receptors has been developed. This strategy seems to be the most effective pharmacological approach to reverse obesity and its metabolic comorbidities in rodents and could open new ways to tackle the dual burden of obesity and diabetes mellitus in humans.

Exercise training is one of the key interventions for preventing and treating type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although the health-promoting effects of exercise are largely ascribed to improvements in skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity, new data published in Diabetes suggest 'exercise-trained' subcutaneous adipose tissue might also have an important role in enhancing glucose homeostasis.

The replacement or regeneration of pancreatic β cells has the potential to reverse the progression of diabetes mellitus. This Review discusses the physiology of normal β-cell replication, the signalling pathways and epigenetic mechanisms that regulate entry to the cell cycle in β cells, and approaches for discovering novel molecules that drive β-cell replication. The potential and challenges of implementing strategies that replace or regenerate β-cells in humans is also discussed.

In contemporary society, the ready availability of calorie-dense, highly palatable foods has contributed to the global obesity epidemic. Individuals with obesity often consume an excess of food, despite knowledge of the associated adverse consequences. In this Review, Santa-Cruz Calvo and Egan explore the physiology of taste perception with regard to taste receptors, neuronal signalling and hormonal control of food intake.

The adenosine–adenosine receptor system has a key role in regulating glucose homeostasis and in the pathophysiology of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In this Review, the authors discuss the role of the adenosinergic system in regulating both the onset and progression of T1DM and T2DM, and the potential of manipulating this system as an approach to manage T1DM, T2DM and their associated complications.

The renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) regulates blood pressure homeostasis via multiple mechanisms that act on a variety of organs. The development of drugs that target RAAS components is an active area of research. The authors of this Review discuss current and future therapeutic manipulation of the RAAS and its promise in improving the care of patients with hypertension.