Volume 15 Issue 1, January 2019

In a longitudinal study that tracked BMI from early life, most children with obesity at age 3 years had overweight or obesity by adolescence. Of adolescents with obesity, ~50% were affected by overweight or obesity from age 5 years onwards, and the most rapid increase in BMI had occurred between 2 and 6 years of age.

Evidence for the predictive value of IADPSG/WHO2013 diagnostic gestational diabetes mellitus criteria for long-term maternal and offspring outcomes is missing. Recently, William L Lowe Jr and colleagues report a high risk of maternal glycaemic disorders and childhood adiposity 10 to 14 years after untreated gestational diabetes mellitus in the HAPO Follow-up Study.

Cachexia is a multi-organ syndrome associated with cancer. In this Review, Josep M. Argilés and colleagues discuss the role of different tissues and organs in cancer cachexia and examine studies that investigate the development of novel therapeutics for the condition.

This Review focuses on the function of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) in controlling metabolism and their influence in metabolic diseases (including obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). The therapeutic potential of targeting HIFs for the treatment of metabolic diseases will also be discussed.

This Review focuses on the evolutionary origins, structure and signalling pathways of the Ca²⁺-sensing receptor (CaSR), as well as the roles of the CaSR in calcitropic and noncalcitropic diseases.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors prevent cardiovascular events by lowering levels of LDL cholesterol derived from the liver. However, PCSK9 is expressed in many other tissues, including the pancreas and central nervous system. This Review explores the functions of PCSK9 beyond the control of cholesterol levels.