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Populations all around the world are becoming more obese, but some are doing so much faster than others. Yet even in seriously affected populations, blood pressure, cholesterol and coronary heart disease death rates continue to fall. Is obesity a trifling matter, or is it just less telling than everything else put together?
Optimal strategies to treat patients with obesity have remained elusive. Now, Bo et al. demonstrate the contribution of a set of easily changeable lifestyle factors—sleep restriction, high consumption of restaurant meals and increased room temperature—to the incidence of obesity and hyperglycemia in an Italian population-based cohort.
Advances in the diagnosis, treatment and management of neuroendocrine tumors have led to a consensus meeting of the National Cancer Institute, the new directions of which are now reported by Kulke and colleagues. Many thoughtful proposals are presented that should be of interest to the increasing number of physicians who see patients with these unique tumors.
Protein–calorie malnutrition and obesity are global afflictions for which the main diagnostic measure is the BMI. A new index based on hip circumference—the body adiposity index (BAI)—could overcome BMI limitations as a measure of adiposity and may have value in settings in which weight scales are unavailable.
Adrenocortical carcinoma is a rare heterogeneous neoplasm with an incompletely understood pathogenesis and a poor prognosis. No general consensus on the diagnostic and therapeutic measures for adrenocortical carcinoma exists, but collaborative efforts have substantially advanced the field. This Review provides an updated approach to the patient with suspected adrenocortical carcinoma and discusses etiology, diagnosis and treatment options.
Studies in the past few years have highlighted many extra-skeletal functions of vitamin D. Prominent amongst these is the ability of vitamin D to stimulate antibacterial activity in a diverse array of cells types. In this Review, the author discusses our new perspective on vitamin D as an immunomodulator, and the possible effect of this role in human disease.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the fastest growing public health problems. Both genetic background and environmental factors are responsible of its etiology. This Review discusses evidence of the relationship between adult and fetal exposure to common environmental endocrine disruptors and an increased risk of development of type 2 diabetes mellitus and other diseases related to insulin resistance.
In the past decade, several society-sponsored guidelines on thyroid nodules have been published. This Review highlights essential recommendations from these guidelines. Furthermore, the article outlines the few areas of disagreement between the guidelines and discusses areas in which future research is needed.
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are key factors in endocrinology; studies of loss-of-function or gain-of-function mutations have contributed to our understanding of the pathophysiology of several diseases. This Review provides an update on the field of GPCR mutations and endocrine diseases and illustrates how GPCR mutations might contribute to our understanding of the diverse facets of GPCRs involved in the field of endocrinology.
