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.
Research siloes slow the translation of scientific discovery to patient care and limit progress in improving treatments for Cushing disease to incremental advances. Facilitating collaborative efforts that study the complexity of pituitary neuroendocrine tumours would advance the development of targeted treatments for patients who experience a low quality of life for years owing to this rare and understudied disease.
Several new clinical studies provide evidence for the potential of specific intermittent and periodic fasting interventions to decrease adiposity and HbA1c in patients with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus, while also reducing drug use, adverse effects and risk factors for other diseases.
In 2024, new insights identified a cluster of leptin-targeted neurons and integrative networks that link sensory inputs (heat and food perception) with feeding centres and peripheral systems. Key findings revealed hypothalamic site-specific adaptive mechanisms, in which nutritional state-dependent remodelling of extracellular compounds and neuropeptide transmission calibrate appetite via the arcuate nucleus.
Established antiresorptive treatments for osteoporosis only slow down bone loss, and available osteoanabolic therapies — although more effective — have broad limitations. Recent insights into sex-specific systemic regulation of skeletal mass, an enhanced understanding of the cellular complexity of bone marrow and innovative options such as senolytics have fuelled the development of potentially transformative bone anabolic treatments.
The year 2024 brought continuing research in the crucial field of adiposity-related health and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Although PCOS is considered a heterogeneous condition with regards to diagnostic criteria, complications and management, current research is advancing our understanding of the presentation and metabolic features of PCOS, as well as the benefits of lifestyle management.
Advances in islet cell biology over the past few years highlight a fundamental role for intra-islet endocrine cell interactions and δ-cells in the regulation of glycaemia. New insights into how cellular heterogeneity and individual-level heterogeneity effect hormone secretion have also emerged.
This Consensus Statement uses available mechanistic knowledge on pharmaceutical, chemical, physical and biological agents to identify the key characteristics (KCs) of metabolism-disrupting agents (MDAs). Examples demonstrating the use of these KCs to characterize the toxicity of various agents are provided. Recommendations for assessing how previously untested chemicals might affect specific KCs are also outlined.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is characterized not only by reproductive symptoms and hyperandrogenism but also by metabolic abnormalities, such as insulin resistance and obesity. This Review discusses the evidence of metabolic disorders in PCOS and for understanding PCOS as a metabolic disease.
This Review focuses on currently available literature describing sex differences in skeletal muscle metabolism in humans, as well as highlighting current research gaps within the field. These discussions serve as a call to action for sex-balanced research within exercise physiology.
This Review outlines how the effects of steroid hormones on hippocampal neuroplasticity across the adult lifespan differ between the sexes, highlighting the importance of considering sex and steroid hormones in biomedical research.
The evidence base in support of the use of medicines based on glucagon-like peptide 1 beyond glucose control and weight loss was substantially bolstered in 2024, as clinical trial data report benefits of these medicines in people with a range of disorders.
Growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) signalling modulation has shown beneficial effects in a wide range of diseases in preclinical research. This Review discusses the progression of research into the effects of GHRH agonist and antagonist treatment in several contexts, including cancer, inflammation, cardiovascular disease and metabolism.
A patient with longstanding type 1 diabetes mellitus has achieved insulin independence for at least 1 year after transplantation of autologous stem cell islets. These cells were differentiated from inducible pluripotent stem cells from adipose tissue and were transplanted into the rectus sheath of the abdominal wall.
