Reviews & Analysis

This Review highlights results from adolescent anti-obesity medication clinical trials published since 2020. In addition, the importance of a comprehensive and chronic care model for youth with obesity is discussed and the emerging pipeline of future anti-obesity medications is outlined.

Our lives are governed by three clocks: the social clock that organizes our lives with others (local time), the biological clock that controls our physiology (circadian time) and the sun clock that defines natural light and darkness. The more misaligned these clocks are, the higher our odds of developing certain diseases. ‘Social jetlag’ quantifies the difference between local and circadian time.

This Review outlines our current understanding of the biogenesis and functions of lipid droplets in health and disease, highlighting a key role for lipid droplet biogenesis in alleviating cellular stress.

An urgent need exists for technologies and devices capable of frequent and real-time insulin measurements in patients with diabetes mellitus to guide optimal insulin dosing. This Perspective discusses the advances and challenges in moving insulin assays from laboratory-based assays to frequent and continuous measurements in decentralized settings.

The 7-transmembrane G protein-coupled receptor GPR30 has been recognized as a G protein-coupled oestrogen receptor (GPER) since 2008. This Review discusses progress in GPER research in physiology and disease and its potential implications for clinical medicine.

More genetic variants associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus are being identified. This Perspective article outlines various tools and platforms that can be applied to prioritize candidate genes associated with an increased risk of disease for functional validation.

This Review highlights the latest advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of action of metformin. Potential repurposing of metformin for other indications is also discussed.

Adrenal cysts are rare lesions that are mostly detected incidentally and are usually asymptomatic; however, phaeochromocytomas and adrenal malignant masses can also present as cystic lesions. This Review outlines the different histopathological subtypes of adrenal cysts and discusses diagnosis and management strategies.

In type 1 diabetes, the immune system destroys pancreatic β-cells but not neighbouring α-cells. Here, the authors describe the key differences between β-cells and α-cells that could account for their differential autoimmune vulnerability, and how these differences could result in the preferential endurance and survival of α-cells over β-cells.

The carbohydrate-responsive element binding protein (ChREBP) senses intracellular carbohydrates and activates many target genes, including those crucial for de novo lipogenesis in hepatocytes. This Review discusses mechanisms that regulate ChREBP activity, the role of ChREBP in nonalcoholic liver disease (NAFLD) and emerging NAFLD drug targets.

Mammals are highly susceptible to being permanently influenced by maternal factors and nutritional status during the intrauterine and early postnatal periods. This Review summarizes and discusses the potential role of several adipokines, including leptin and adiponectin, in inducing metabolic programming through their effects during development.

Cities with varied development types and green space are known to be protective for cardiometabolic health, while those with higher traffic-related pollution, access to calorie-dense food and poorer perception of safety are detrimental. These factors should be considered when planning urban developments in lower-income and middle-income countries to reduce cardiometabolic disease burden.

Tissue-resident stem cells have a central role in tissue regeneration, but other accessory cells are also required for efficient regeneration. A new study by Sastourné-Arrey and colleagues reveals a delicate mechanism of skeletal muscle regeneration through an unexpected type of inter-organ communication, in which stromal cells derived from adipose tissue support muscle regeneration.

Small rodents are still the most widely used animal model to study the pathophysiology of diabetes mellitus but non-rodent species can also provide valuable insights. The advantages and disadvantages of selected animal models of diabetes mellitus are outlined in this Review.

This Review highlights mechanisms of glucagon secretion from pancreatic α-cells, including paracrine actions in islets and α-cell–β-cell crosstalk. Dysregulated glucagon secretion in metabolic diseases is also considered and the clinical potential of targeting glucagon is discussed.

This Perspective discusses potential approaches to managing patients in the early stages of developing type 1 diabetes mellitus, which could enable the initiation of insulin therapy to be delayed in some patients.

Findings from the largest longitudinal study (315 participants) on psychosocial functioning in transgender or nonbinary youth after 2 years of gender-affirming hormone (GAH) therapy were recently published in New England Journal of Medicine. At a time of heightened politicization of this treatment, this study adds to the growing literature that demonstrates benefits of GAH therapy for transgender youth.

A transcriptomic analysis of endometriosis and comparison tissues has been conducted, revealing a rich and complex catalogue of single-cell-based expression data. This resource is an invaluable building block towards single cell profiling at scale, aiding research into endometriosis pathogenesis and new ways of diagnosing and treating the disease.

This Consensus Statement discusses the relationship between hyperferritinaemia and iron accumulation in individuals with metabolic dysfunction. The authors propose an updated definition and a provisional staging system for metabolic hyperferritinaemia, highlight research gaps and provide suggestions for the design and outcome measures for future studies.

A new study reveals that exposure of pregnant mice to an endocrine disrupting chemical, bisphenol A, induces multi-transgenerational (up to six) inheritance of obesity in their descendants. This effect depends on CTCF-dependent chromatin reorganization in the sperm, a synergistic outcome of altered DNA methylation, RNA modification and long-range chromatin interactions.