Review Articles in 2013

Many autoimmune diseases share a large proportion of their genetic background with other autoimmune diseases, which could result in common drug targets for several diseases. This Review focuses on the latest insights into the genetic factors that contribute to a range of autoimmune diseases.

Wnt signalling is crucial for bone formation, as mutations in this pathway can lead to skeletal disorders. This Review summarizes current studies on Wnt signalling and advances in therapeutic approaches targeting Wnt antagonists to enhance bone formation.

Lifestyle intervention is recommended as the primary treatment for childhood obesity. This Review outlines current knowledge of the effectiveness of lifestyle interventions for children with obesity or overweight and discusses factors that affect the success of these interventions.

A successful pancreas transplant can prevent, halt or reverse the development or progression of secondary complications of diabetes mellitus. This Review provides an overview of the different approaches to pancreas transplantation, and the clinical outcomes, benefits and risks of these procedures. The article includes updated findings from the International Pancreas Transplant Registry.

When to eat, what to eat and how much to eat are complex processes that are influenced by many different factors. In this Review, Denovan Begg and Stephen Woods discuss how the endocrine system influences eating. The roles of satiation hormones, adiposity hormones and regulatory hormones are outlined.

Sobacchi and colleagues discuss the clinical presentation and diagnosis of autosomal recessive osteopetrosis, a rare genetic condition characterized by increased bone mass. With a specific focus on genes linked to the disease and their function in osteoclasts, the authors describe current and potential treatments using molecular data from patients to aid diagnosis and improve clinical outcomes.

Replacing the β-cell mass in individuals with diabetes mellitus could restore normal metabolic control, and might become a therapy choice for these patients. This Review summarizes the options for regenerative therapy in pancreatic disease with focus on diabetes mellitus.

Understanding of the crosstalk between testis and bone could contribute to defining an improved clinical approach to the biochemical diagnosis and therapeutic management of hypogonadism and male osteoporosis. This Review focuses on the Leydig cells, which also contribute to bone health in a testosterone-independent manner by production of insulin-like 3 and the 25-hydroxylation of vitamin D.

The reproductive hormone cascade affects all stages of life and provides a number of target points for therapeutic intervention in disease. This Review outlines the development and therapeutic applications of analogues of gonadotropin-releasing hormone, and of its upstream neuropeptide regulators kisspeptin and neurokinin B.

This Review discusses the effects of testosterone on risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Particular focus is given to the pathophysiological mechanisms that link hypogonadism with body composition, insulin sensitivity and inflammation and the role of testosterone replacement in the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Rueda-Clausen and his colleagues outline the pharmacology, efficacy and safety profile of new antiobesity agents and discuss their use in the management of obesity.

Alice Kong and her colleagues discuss how globalization and migration has changed diabetes profiles, focusing particularly on how lessons learnt in the East can be translated into clinical practice in the West.

This Review highlights the key role of microRNAs and their targets in the maintenance of pregnancy and initiation of term and preterm labour. The authors review data on microRNAs as evolutionarily conserved, hormonally controlled modulators of inflammatory and contractile gene expression in the uterus during pregnancy.

Adult growth hormone (GH) deficiency is now recognized as a distinct if nonspecific syndrome with considerable adverse health consequences. This Review outlines the physiological regulation and nonstatural effects of GH, and summarizes the consequences of adult GH deficiency, and the benefits and possible risks of GH replacement therapy.

In humans, growth hormone (GH) has major effects on brain function. Fred Nyberg and Mathias Hallberg outline the mechanisms that underlie the interactions between GH and the central nervous system. The role of GH as a treatment for patients with cognitive impairment owing to GH deficiency is also discussed.

Measuring circulating levels of microRNAs is a promising strategy for identifying people at risk of developing diabetes mellitus; however, several obstacles still need to be overcome before this strategy can be used in clinical practice. This Review summarizes the weaknesses of current biomarkers and discusses the potential use of microRNAs as novel biomarkers.

Idiopathic short stature (ISS) is a term used for children with short stature that does not have a specific cause. This Review outlines the diagnostic evaluation and possible psychological consequences of ISS. Various strategies to treat children with ISS are discussed, together with an evaluation of the efficacy and safety of these approaches.

This Review summarizes data on mouse strains with mutations that affect growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) action and their effects on lifespan. The outcome of corresponding or similar mutations in humans is described, as well as the potential mechanisms underlying increased longevity and the therapeutic benefits versus risks of medical disruption of the GH/IGF-1 axis in humans.

In men with classic hypogonadism, testosterone therapy induces a number of beneficial effects. However, in older men with age-related decline in testosterone levels, the clinical benefits and long-term risks of testosterone therapy have not been adequately assessed in large, randomized clinical trials. This Review discusses potential benefits and risks of testosterone therapy in these individuals in the context of incomplete evidence on safety and efficacy.

Administration of recombinant human growth hormone (GH) or activation of endogenous GH production exhibits great potential to influence the onset and metabolic consequences of obesity; however, the clinical use of GH is not without controversy. This Review provides an introduction to the role of GH in obesity and summarizes clinical and preclinical data that describe how GH can influence the obese state.