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.
Mericq and colleagues review human data supporting an increased risk of metabolic diseases among children born premature or small for gestational age. The adrenal and pubertal modifications that contribute to this risk and the metabolic changes that occur during adolescence and adulthood are discussed.
Hepatic steatosis is prevalent in individuals with obesity and is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes mellitus. In this Review, the authors discuss the disruption of endoplasmic reticulum function in hepatic steatosis and how cellular stress responses to lipid accumulation can promote or inhibit progression to severe liver pathologies.
Monthly or annual bolus doses of vitamin D have been reported to be harmful rather than beneficial, increasing falls and fractures. In this Perspectives, J. Christopher Gallagher proposes that the vitamin D dose recommended by the Institute of Medicine be revised downwards.
Recent data from surveys in the USA have shown that 37.7% of adult individuals and 17.0% of children currently have obesity, with no sign of a reduction despite federal and local obesity prevention strategies. In particular, severe obesity seems to be increasing. Obesity, therefore, remains a major public health problem that requires drastic action.
Lipidomics uses the principles of analytical chemistry to reveal the total lipid content and composition in a cell. In this Review, Xianlin Han provides an overview of lipidomics as applied to the study of metabolic pathways and how this technique can help in the understanding of metabolic diseases.
A recent study by Clayton et al. shows that overall mortality is increased for patients with Cushing disease, even in remission, but that mortality is normal if long-term remission is induced by only one pituitary surgery. These findings emphasize the importance of expert pituitary surgery.