Volume 14 Issue 1, January 2018

A recent study reports that the global prevalence of paediatric obesity increased to >5% between 1975 and 2016. This increase occurred even as the prevalence of paediatric underweight decreased slightly but remained >8%. These average prevalence changes blur the remarkable regional variations in how prevalence has changed. There is a pressing need to address both underweight and obesity worldwide.

Although the favourable effects of high-intensity resistance and impact training (HiRIT) on bone strength have been demonstrated, it is generally considered unsuitable for older adults. A recent study reports that 8 months of HiRIT was efficacious and induced no adverse effects in older postmenopausal women with, or at risk of, osteoporosis.

Three cardiovascular outcome trials failed to show superiority of DPP4 inhibitors compared with placebo in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and high cardiovascular risk, a rather disappointing finding. Now, a post hoc subgroup analysis suggests that patients treated with metformin at baseline might benefit from DPP4 inhibitors in contrast with metformin non-users.

In the current era of immunotherapy successes, Min and colleagues report the promising preclinical development and efficacy of a CAR T cell therapy that recognizes ICAM-1, which is highly expressed in advanced thyroid cancers. Herein, we discuss the feasibility of this approach and its implications for future therapies to treat thyroid cancer.

As not all individuals with obesity respond to lifestyle modification, pharmacotherapy has a key role in tackling the obesity epidemic. Here, Gitanjali Srivastava and Caroline Apovian review the six currently available FDA-approved anti-obesity drugs in terms of safety, efficacy and clinical utility.

The hypothalamus is the main integrator of endocrine regulation. Glia–neuron interactions contribute to physiological processes such as puberty, the maintenance of bodily homeostasis and ageing. Here, Vincent Prevot and Jerome Clasadonte discuss glia–neuron interactions in the control of hypothalamic neuroendocrine function.

Populations of African descent are at the forefront of the worldwide epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Here, Anne Sumner and colleagues discuss issues related to the diagnosis and prevention of T2DM in these populations, including screening test efficacy, prevention strategies and the relative paucity of genomic data.

In this Opinion article, Klose and Feldt-Rasmussen posit that the true risk and disease burden of hypopituitarism after traumatic brain injury might have been overestimated in recent years. Possible reasons for this overestimation are discussed, along with current recommendations for diagnosing and treating the condition.