Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Malnutrition is common in critically ill, hospitalized patients and so represents a major problem for intensive care. Nutritional support can be beneficial in such cases and may help preserve vital organ and immune function. Energy requirements, route of delivery and potential complications of nutritional support are discussed in this Viewpoint.
Identification and subsequent treatment of individuals with prediabetes can prevent progression to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although lifestyle changes are critical in this setting, the question of whether pharmacotherapy should also be used remains unanswered. The authors of this Viewpoint, therefore, discuss potential strategies for pharmacologic intervention.
Prediabetic states that involve impairments of insulin secretion and action can be identified. Medical therapy and lifestyle modifications can be used in people with these disorders to delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes. In this Review, the data on development and evaluation of diabetes-prevention strategies are discussed and some recommendations for practice are provided.
The thyroid gland and thyroid hormones have important roles in fertility and throughout pregnancy. In fertile and infertile women with thyroid disorders, such as hypothyroidism or thyroid autoimmunity, therapy might enable conception, but a host of problems can arise. Poppe et al. present an overview of the interactions between thyroid disorders and spontaneous and assisted pregnancies.
Various endocrine abnormalities arise in anorexia nervosa. Most are related to the body's adaptation to starvation, but some might relate to susceptibility to recurrence, as they persist after recovery. Lawson and Klibanski summarize the main endocrine alterations in girls and women, concentrating particularly on bone loss.
Obesity can be a cause of secondary hypogonadism. This article describes a male patient with infertility in the setting of obesity, who was successfully treated with the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole. The authors illustrate the connections between adiposity, aromatase expression, testosterone and estradiol levels, and the suppression of gonadotropin release and spermatogenesis.
