touchREVIEWS in Endocrinology Volume 17, Issue 2, 2021

Welcome to this issue of touchREVIEWS in Endocrinology, our bi-annual journal that aims to provide a wide range of articles addressing the most important developments in endocrinology. The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) worldwide remains the focus of several articles. Complications include diabetic kidney disease, which is a major cause of chronic kidney disease […]

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) represents one of the greatest future public health challenges due, among other consequences, to its elevated burden on economic and human resources within healthcare systems.1 Moreover, the rapid growth of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) results in a high incidence of diabetic kidney disease (DKD), which, together with hypertension, is the main […]

Imeglimin is a novel molecule currently under development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and is the first agent of the ‘glimin’ class of glucose-lowering medication. Optimal glucose control in type 2 diabetes is a prerequisite for correcting defects in both insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity.1 Imeglimin presents a unique mechanism of action that […]

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder characterized by hyperglycaemia resulting from insulin resistance, inefficient insulin secretion and disproportionate glucagon secretion.1 It has been reported to be an expanding global health issue of the 21st century, and one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Western countries.2,3 Interestingly, an increasing number of publications […]

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), defined as hyperglycaemia identified after the first trimester of pregnancy that is not clearly overt diabetes, impacts approximately 7% of births in the USA; a percentage that has increased in parallel with the prevalence of both obesity and type 2 diabetes over the past 20 years.1–4 The impacts of GDM include hypertensive […]

Long-chain fatty-acid oxidation disorders (LC-FAODs) are pan-ethnic, autosomal recessive, inherited metabolic conditions causing disruption in the processing or transportation of fats into the mitochondria to perform beta oxidation.1 In normal metabolism, long-chain fatty acids are bound to carnitine within the cytosol of cells, and transported across the mitochondrial membranes. Within the mitochondria, they are then cleaved […]

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) consists of non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). It is unclear which specific patients progress from NAFL to NASH and, ultimately, to cirrhosis. However, there is general consensus that, for those patients who do progress to cirrhosis (fibrosis stage 4), there is an increased risk of liver-related complications […]

Craniopharyngiomas (CPs) are rare, benign, epithelial tumours of the sellar and parasellar regions arising as embryonic malformations along the pathway of the craniopharyngeal duct.1 They have an incidence of 0.13 per 100,000 per year to 0.5–2.0 per million per year and are classified as grade I tumours according to the 2017 WHO Classification of Tumors of […]

Nearly 75% of all menopausal women experience bothersome vasomotor symptoms, including hot flushes and night sweats.1 Declining levels of estrogen during menopause lead to a narrowing of the central thermal regulatory neutral tone. Minute changes in core body temperature, as little as 0.8 ± 0.99°C, can often trigger sweating and flushing in both perimenopausal and postmenopausal […]

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia is an innate error in the biosynthesis of adrenal steroids, which triggers a wide range of consequences based on the level of the enzyme blockade. A deficiency in the enzyme 21-α-hydroxylase is the most frequent cause, presenting with different degrees of virilization in women, and may or may not present with the […]