Volume 15 Issue 7, July 2019

A positive association between topical corticosteroid use and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus has been reported in a large European population-based study. However, the increase in risk is small and should not influence the prescribing of topical corticosteroids when clinically indicated.

High post-challenge glucose plasma concentrations that are observed during pregnancy screening can help to identify women who are at an increased likelihood of later health issues, predominantly cardiovascular diseases. This finding offers a unique opportunity to improve the health of women, but further work is required to translate into clinical benefits.

Exercise has many beneficial effects on brain health, but how exercise is sensed by the brain has not been well understood. This Review describes evidence that supports the existence of a muscle–brain endocrine loop, in which muscle-induced peripheral factors enable direct crosstalk between muscle and brain.

In this Review, Etienne Challet discusses the dual modulation of food intake by homeostatic and circadian processes, describes the mechanisms regulating feeding time and highlights the beneficial effects of correctly timed eating, as opposed to the negative metabolic consequences of mistimed eating.

Women with pre-existing diabetes mellitus are at increased risk of complications during pregnancy. This Review outlines the latest management strategies that have been designed to reduce this risk, including diet and pharmacotherapy options.

In this Review, new insights into the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis are integrated within a novel conceptual framework that can be used to re-appreciate adrenocortical function and dysfunction in the context of critical illness.

Young people with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) are at risk of vascular complications. In this Perspectives article, M. Loredana Marcovecchio and colleagues present a new framework for managing the risk of vascular complications in young people with T1DM.