Articles in 2011

This Review highlights the milestones in the field of kisspeptin research, in particular developments in the putative interplay of kisspeptins and their cotransmitters, such as neurokinin B, in the central control of GnRH neurons; and the possible role of Kiss1 neurons as conduits for the metabolic regulation of puberty and fertility, with emphasis on intermediate regulatory signals and mechanisms involved.

This Review discusses the association between mitochondrial function and insulin sensitivity in various tissues, such as skeletal muscle, liver and heart, with a main focus on studies in humans, and addresses the effects of therapeutic strategies that affect mitochondrial function and insulin sensitivity.

Diabetes mellitus has been linked to brain abnormalities and cognitive decline. A report from the Framingham Offspring Study now demonstrates that, in middle-aged and older adults, the core metabolic indicators of diabetes mellitus correlate with continuously distributed properties of brain and cognition, within a clinically normal range.

This Case Study illustrates some of the potential pitfalls of diagnosis and demonstrates a combination of problems of follow-up biochemical screening in a patient operated for a large pheochromocytoma at increased risk of malignant disease. The difficulty in assessing the presence of disease after initial surgical resection and reaching a diagnosis of malignancy are highlighted.

Antiresorptive therapies, such as bisphosphonates, estrogens, selective estrogen receptor modulators, calcitonin and denosumab, are used to increase bone strength in individuals with osteoporosis. However, no single antiresorptive therapy is appropriate for all patients or clearly superior to other therapies. This Review describes the advances in our understanding of antiresorptive therapies and summarizes the benefits and risks associated with various drugs with an antiresorptive effect.

30 years have passed since the first trials of immunotherapy aimed to halt the progression of autoimmune type 1 diabetes mellitus. Today, these efforts are beginning to pay off by generating real hope. Results from recent extensive phase II and III trials lay the foundation for the design of future studies.

Thyroid nodules are frequent clinical findings, but only a small proportion is malignant. Differential diagnosis and risk stratification for thyroid malignancy is, therefore, required to avoid unnecessary surgery. Could immunostaining of two protein markers ramp up a clinician's ability to distinguish lesions that require surgical intervention from those that do not?

Knowledge of genetic alterations occurring in thyroid cancer has rapidly expanded in the past decade. This Review discusses genetic alterations in follicular cell-derived thyroid cancers and outlines new insights into thyroid cancer etiology; in addition, the article describes how mutational markers can be used to improve cancer diagnosis and prognostication.

Medullary thyroid carcinoma is a rare endocrine malignancy that, when diagnosed during childhood, is almost always associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 and a germline mutation in theRETproto-oncogene. This Review discusses a contemporary approach to the diagnosis and treatment of medullary thyroid carcinoma and multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2 syndromes in the pediatric population.

Thyroid cancer is the most common malignancy of the endocrine system and well-differentiated thyroid cancers (DTCs) represent >90% of thyroid malignancies. This Review outlines the current surgical management of DTC and provides an overview of the controversies surrounding the optimal surgical scheme. The recent advances in thyroid surgery, the arguments for and against each surgical approach, and the authors’ personal opinions are also presented.

Preclinical models have shown that inhibition of kinases in mitogenic and angiogenic signaling pathways can have antitumoral effects. Starting with a brief synopsis of a malignancy that responds well to kinase inhibition (chronic myeloid leukemia) compared with one with less durable responses as yet (melanoma), this Review highlights challenges that must be overcome in order to successfully translate small-molecule therapies to thyroid cancer in the future.

Estrogens regulate physiological and pathological processes in both women and men. Traditionally, the actions of 17β-estradiol, the predominant and most potent endogenous estrogen, were ascribed to two nuclear estrogen receptors (ERs), ERα and ERβ; however, transmembrane ERs, such as G-protein-coupled ER 1 (GPER), have been implicated in rapid estrogen signaling. This Review provides an overview of estrogen signaling and its receptors, with particular emphasis on GPER. It also highlights the importance of GPER in health and disease, such as cancer, for which GPER is a potential therapeutic target and prognostic indicator.

The increasing diversity of patient groups and rising prevalence of vitamin D deficiency highlight a pressing need for consensus-based guidance in terms of the evaluation, treatment and prevention of this condition. Following the Institute of Medicine's population-based recommendations, the Endocrine Society attempts to provide clear guidelines for clinicians but runs the risk of adding to the confusion.