Gut bacteria that strongly influence obesity are different in men and women, study finds
April 2, 2024 / Obesity / New Research / Gut Health
New research being presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) in Venice, Italy (12–15 May) identifies changes in the composition of gut bacteria that may play a key role in the onset and development of obesity, with differences in men and women, which might affect the metabolism of different nutrients and therefore the presence of bioactive molecules in the gut that influence the development of metabolic disease.
MASH revival with over $2.5bn for innovator drug partnership deals in 2024
April 2, 2024 / MASH / Metabolic Disfunction
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) innovator drugs witnessed an over $2.5bn increase in the total value of partnership deals from 2020 to 2024 year-to-date (YTD), with more than $2bn forged in Q1 2024 alone, according to GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence Center Deals Database.
The next superfood? Sea buckthorn berries may benefit diabetes, obesity
April 2, 2024 / Diabetes / Obesity / New Study
A new study from Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, has identified what may be an antioxidant powerhouse in a shrub that grows in coastal areas in Newfoundland.
The study asserts the berries from the plant sea buckthorn have unique nutritional characteristics that have the potential to treat diabetes and obesity.
Magic mushrooms: A new frontier in diabetes treatment?
April 2, 2024 / Diabetes / Psilocybin / Insulin
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in certain species of mushrooms. In recent years, its therapeutic potential has begun to be recognized, particularly for mental health conditions. The rationale for this study, however, stems from psilocybin’s interaction with serotonin receptors in the brain, which are also present in the pancreas. These receptors play a crucial role in regulating insulin production and release, a process that is often disrupted in diabetes.
The effect of different treatment strategies on glycolipid metabolism disorders and cardiovascular events in primary aldosteronism
April 2, 2024 / Metabolic Health / Cardiovascular Disease
This study was designed to compare the relative effects of spironolactone therapy and surgical intervention on cardiovascular outcomes among primary aldosteronism patients. This retrospective observational study included 853 primary aldosteronism patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University between 2014 and 2022.
Metabolic markers tied to increased risk of depression and anxiety, study finds
April 3, 2024 / Metabolic / Mental Health / Metabolic Biomarkers
About one-third of people experience depression, anxiety, and stress-related disorders in their lifetime, with growing evidence suggesting a link between these psychiatric conditions and metabolic dysregulation, such as lipid and glucose abnormalities that trigger inflammation. This inflammation may increase the risk of psychiatric disorders by affecting brain health. However, existing research on metabolic biomarkers and their association with psychiatric disorders has been inconsistent, often limited by methodological issues like short follow-up periods and reliance on self-reported depression measures, mainly in older adults.
Scientists identify gene variants ‘which increase risk of obesity by six times’
April 4, 2024 / Ketogenic Diet / Metabolic Health / Mental Health
Scientists have discovered rare gene differences that could raise the risk of obesity by as much as six times.
Led by Medical Research Council (MRC) researchers, the study identified genetic variants in two genes that have some of the largest impacts on obesity risk discovered to date.
From gut to mind: Exploring prebiotics and probiotics as dual fighters against depression and obesity
April 4, 2024 / Depression / Obesity / Mental Health / Nutrition
Depression is among the most prevalent and potentially serious mental health disorders, accounting for up to 800,000 suicides a year. The risk factors for depression have, therefore, undergone much exploration.
A recent study published online in Nutrients deals with the interactions between depression and nutrition, coupled with exercise.
The changing metabolic landscape of bile acids – keys to metabolism and immune regulation
April 4, 2024 / Metabolic Health / Gut Health
Bile acids regulate nutrient absorption and mitochondrial function, they establish and maintain gut microbial community composition and mediate inflammation, and they serve as signalling molecules that regulate appetite and energy homeostasis. The observation that there are hundreds of bile acids, especially many amidated bile acids, necessitates a revision of many of the classical descriptions of bile acids and bile acid enzyme functions. For example, bile salt hydrolases also have transferase activity.
Review identifies disrupted mitochondrial metabolism as a trigger for diabetic cardiomyopathy
April 4, 2024 / Metabolism / Diabetes
Diabetes is a global health burden. A whopping 536 million people worldwide struggle with diabetes. Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DC) is a serious condition characterized by impaired heart function due to diabetes-related metabolic abnormalities.
New treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis
April 4, 2024 / Metabolic Dysfunction / Liver Disease
Researchers from the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) have developed a compound for oral treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) which exhibits potent anti-inflammatory and fibrotic effects and safety attributes in animal models. It offers significant hope for liver disease management.
Newly Discovered Genetic Variants Could Increase Obesity Risk Six-Fold, Study Suggests
April 4, 2024 / Obesity / New Study / Diabetes / Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Researchers have discovered variants in the gene BSN (or Bassoon) increase the risk of obesity as much as six times, and variants in the gene APBA1 also increase obesity risk at an “only nominally significant” rate, according to a study published Thursday in Nature Genetics.
Correlation of Leptin in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
April 5, 2024 / Type 2 Diabetes / Patient Health / Diabetes Mellitus
The exponential increase in diabetes mellitus (DM) poses serious public health concerns. In this review, we focus on the role of leptin in type 2 DM. The peripheral actions of leptin consist of upregulating proinflammatory cytokines which play an important role in the pathogenesis of type 2 DM and insulin resistance. Moreover, leptin is known to inhibit insulin secretion and plays a significant role in insulin resistance in obesity and type 2 DM.
Study reveals genetic drivers of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease
April 5, 2024 / Liver Disease / MASH / MASLD
In the largest study of its kind, researchers from the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), part of City of Hope, have identified genes that appear to drive the progression of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Functional insights into the cardiorenal syndrome
April 5, 2024 / Cardiorenal Syndrome / Cardiovascular Disfunction / Hypertension
The pathophysiological states of cardiovascular dysfunction are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. There is an increasing recognition that deterioration in cardiac function, leading to a reduction in cardiac output along with the development of hypertension, impacts on the kidney which may be expressed as a reduction in renal hemodynamic function and impaired fluid balance.
AI-powered anti-diabetes programme provides customised advice to reverse chronic metabolic diseases
April 6, 2024 / AI / Metabolic Health / Diabetes / Data-Driven
An artificial intelligence-powered diabetes management programme aimed at empowering people in making informed decisions to reverse chronic metabolic diseases, especially during fasts, has received endorsements from experts who have termed it revolutionary.
Missed postoperative metabolic acidosis associated with sodium-glucose transporter 2 inhibitors in cardiac surgery patients: a retrospective analysis
April 6, 2024 / Cardiovascular Diseases / Type 2 Diabetes
The increasing use of sodium glucose transporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) for treating cardiovascular (CV) diseases and type 2 diabetes (T2D) is accompanied by a rise in euglycemic diabetic ketoacidosis occurrences in cardiac surgery patients. Patients undergoing cardiac surgery, due to their pre-existing CV disease which often requires SGLT2i prescriptions, face an increased risk of postoperative metabolic acidosis (MA) or ketoacidosis (KA) associated with SGLT2i, compounded by fasting and surgical stress.
Bristol Myers Squibb Presents New Pooled Interim Long-Term Safety and Metabolic Outcomes Data
April 6, 2024 / Bristol Myers Squibb / Metabolic Health / Weight
KarXT demonstrated a favorable long-term metabolic profile where most patients experienced stability or improvements on metabolic parameters over 52 weeks of treatment
A majority of patients (65%) experienced reductions in weight over the course of the trial, with a mean weight decrease of 2.6kg observed at one year
Data show no significant changes related to prolactin or clinically meaningful changes in movement disorder scale scores over 52 weeks
A keto diet may help improve severe mental health, metabolic symptoms
April 7, 2024 / Keto Diet / Metabolic Symptoms / Mental Health / Stanford Medicine
Antipsychotic medications can be essential for symptom management but often lead to metabolic side effects such as weight gain and insulin resistance, negatively impacting individuals’ quality of life and sometimes causing treatment discontinuation.
Ionis’ rare metabolic disorder drug slides from 100% efficacy, but FDA ambitions unchanged
April 7, 2024 / Ionis / Metabolic Disorders / Rare Diseases
Ionis Pharmaceuticals previously touted that olezarsen was 100% effective in a rare metabolic disorder after a phase 3 readout. Now, the full data set is slightly denting that statistic while leaving plenty of room for a planned regulatory filing later this year.
TEAD emerges as a promising therapeutic target for metabolic diseases such as MASLD
April 8, 2024 / TEAD / MASLD / Women’s Health
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, shows different occurrence between sexes, being less prevalent in premenopausal women than in men or postmenopausal women.
Boehringer and Lilly report data from heart failure treatment trial
April 8, 2024 / Boehringer Ingelheim / Eli Lilly / Heart Failure / Clinical Trial
Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly have reported data from the Phase III EMPACT-MI clinical trial of Jardiance (empagliflozin) on the risk of heart failure hospital admission and mortality following a heart attack.
Food is medicine: clinical trials show the health benefits of dietary interventions
April 8, 2024 / Clinical Trials / Diet
Growing evidence shows that dietary interventions can be effective at treating or delaying some diseases, but further trials are needed for wider adoption.
Fatty liver disease treatment DD01 gets FDA fast track designation
April 8, 2024 / Fatty Liver Disease / FDA / Clinical Trials / MASH
Fast track status is designed to speed the development of potentially important therapies for serious conditions with unmet medical needs. It gives DD01’s developer, D&D Pharmatech, access to perks including more frequent meetings with the FDA throughout the drug development process.
‘Mini kidneys’ reveal new insights into metabolic defects in polycystic kidney disease
April 8, 2024 / Kidney Disease / Metabolic Health
Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have successfully grown ‘mini kidneys’ in the lab and grafted them into live mice, revealing new insights into the metabolic defects and a potential therapy for polycystic kidney disease.