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The use of growth hormone to treat children with idiopathic short stature remains an area of controversy. The author of this Viewpoint discusses the possible etiology of idiopathic short stature, the efficacy and safety of the treatment regimen, and which children with this condition should be selected for therapy.
There is a pressing need for diets that are effective, palatable and sustainable. Several diets are available that vary the proportions of macronutrients, and show promise in reducing weight and cardiovascular risk. This article concentrates especially on two such variations—those low in carbohydrates, and those high in monounsaturated fats.
Type III iodothyronine deiodinase (D3) is important for thyroid hormone inactivation, but is difficult to detect in normal adult tissue and has therefore been somewhat neglected. This article details studies showing elevated expression in certain tissues during critical illness and tissue injury, which might be significant for normal responses to trauma.
As detailed here, recent genome-wide scans have identified several novel loci influencing obesity and common forms of diabetes. Such findings may in the future unravel pathways that can be targets for therapy or intervention, and perhaps enable treatments to be tailored to individuals on the basis of their genetic makeup.
This article describes recent findings from genetically engineered murine models of type 2 diabetes, particularly those giving insight into defects in insulin's actions and the relationship between insulin resistance and impaired β-cell function. These models have the potential to examine specific molecular mechanisms that combine to cause diabetes in humans.
Patients with Turner's syndrome are often diagnosed late. The patient described in this article was diagnosed at the age of 15 years. The use of hormone-replacement therapy as well as growth-promoting therapy are discussed.
