https://medicalxpress.com/endocrinology-metabolism-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Endocrinology Continuous glucose monitors have transformed life for many people with type 1 diabetes. Instead of relying on finger-prick blood tests throughout the day, users can track their blood sugar levels almost continuously. This allows them to receive alerts via a smartphone when levels become too high or too low and spot patterns that help them better manage their condition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-glucose-diabetes-dont-story.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 14:00:13 EDT news706189502 Many people find themselves losing appetite—or, conversely, overeating—in difficult situations, and these common reactions to stress suggest that the mind and metabolism are deeply connected. A new study from the Weizmann Institute of Science reveals a previously unknown biological link between mental and physiological stress responses: They are orchestrated by a single "mastermind" gene, a kind of master switch that is active in the brain even before birth. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-brain-wiring-stress-metabolism-mastermind.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 14:00:09 EDT news706190641 Picture a driver approaching a sharp bend on a country road. As the car turns, they move their foot to slow down. But instead of pressing the brake, they hit the accelerator. The car surges forward. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-diabetes-affect-ability.html Mon, 17 Aug 2026 09:20:04 EDT news706175221 Personal care products are among the largest everyday sources of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and high school students who follow social media influencers or watch beauty tutorials seem to use considerably more of them, according to Rutgers researchers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-students-view-social-media-products.html Sun, 16 Aug 2026 21:00:01 EDT news705927901 Charlotte Touzalin was still a young teenager when she began struggling with weight gain, abnormal periods and unwanted facial hair—the same puzzling symptoms that plagued her mom for decades and that no doctor could piece together. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-obesity-drugs-early-hormonal-disorder.html Sun, 16 Aug 2026 15:06:18 EDT news706111545 Traditionally, obesity has been classified primarily using BMI, a measure of weight relative to height that provides limited information about whether excess fat is actually affecting a person's health. BMI levels have historically played a central role in determining eligibility and priority for metabolic bariatric surgery—operations on the stomach that help people lose weight and treat health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-obesity-definitions-reveal-ill-health.html Sat, 15 Aug 2026 13:20:01 EDT news705918615 I teach a university course called Hormones and Behaviour. What surprises students is that biological sex is not produced by a single switch. What surprises me is that many students have never been taught this before. It is basic biology, but it helps explain life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-chromosomes-sex-hormones-body-dont.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:00:04 EDT news705918347 Measuring waist size may be one of the simplest and most effective ways to detect obesity-related health risks, according to a study by Rutgers Health researchers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-waist-size-powerful-indicator-health.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 15:20:02 EDT news705933541 GLP-1 receptor agonists and dual agonists have transformed the treatment of obesity and other metabolic diseases, and a new editorial co-authored by Dr. Steven Heymsfield of LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Dr. Adam Gilden of the University of Colorado examines what scientists are learning as these medications reach millions of people. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-unanticipated-benefits-glp-medications.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 14:20:01 EDT news705935134 Outfitting cells in "invisibility cloaks" may offer an easier, less damaging treatment pathway for people with diabetes undergoing cell therapy, according to researchers at Penn State. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cell-invisibility-cloaks-side-effect.html Fri, 14 Aug 2026 05:00:02 EDT news705833941 A review titled "Integrating Precision Nutrition with GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Therapy: Mechanisms, Clinical Outcomes, and Pharmacoeconomic Implications" examines the biological mechanisms of nutrition, body composition, gut microbiome, inflammation, metabolism and genetics to develop individualized recommendations for optimal treatment with GLP-1 drugs. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-precision-nutrition-effectiveness-glp-drugs.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 18:00:05 EDT news705853382 Obesity is a global health concern that can contribute to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other metabolic disorders. While many health conditions can lead to obesity, an increasingly worrying cause is found on grocery shelves: high-fat foods. These foods are known to be hard to resist and can promote overeating. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-impaired-brain-protein-fat-cravings.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 17:20:06 EDT news705853141 An international research team coordinated by the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) has created the most comprehensive single-cell atlas of the human pancreas to date. As part of a Human Cell Atlas project led by Professor Roland Eils, the team analyzed more than 4 million cells and cell nuclei from pancreatic tissue samples donated by 57 individuals. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-cell-atlas-reveals-plasticity-human.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 13:40:05 EDT news705843403 Coffee is one of the world's most widely consumed beverages, and previous research has linked its consumption to a lower risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, the biological mechanisms behind these benefits remain unclear. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-coffee-consumption-linked-leaner-body.html Thu, 13 Aug 2026 10:00:01 EDT news705833641 What if one of the keys to a healthier metabolism is understanding how and when the liver communicates with the rest of the body? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-liver-boost-fat-breakdown-potential.html Wed, 12 Aug 2026 18:20:02 EDT news705769741 Primary aldosteronism (otherwise known as PA or Conn Syndrome) is the leading endocrine cause of hypertension (high blood pressure). It carries a higher risk of stroke, heart attack, atrial fibrillation and kidney failure and it can be caused by a unilateral aldosterone-producing adrenal tumor or by overproduction (or uncontrolled production) of aldosterone from both adrenal glands. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-doctors-primary-aldosteronism.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 16:00:01 EDT news705678935 Long-term diabetes management requires continuous blood glucose monitoring to detect abnormalities early and intervene in time. However, conventional fingertip blood sampling is both painful and inconvenient, while most continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) products currently available on the market rely on biological enzymes—requiring regular replacement, incurring higher costs and demanding stringent storage conditions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-wearable-microneedle-patch-empowers-conventional.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:00:03 EDT news705667861 The thyroid gland consists of two types of hormone-producing cells that regulate the body's metabolism and calcium balance. In mammals, these cell types merge into a single organ, whereas in other vertebrates, they develop into separate organs. How this fusion occurs has long remained unclear, even though developmental defects can lead to congenital abnormalities of the thyroid gland. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-thyroid-hormone-cell-merging.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:40:05 EDT news705667741 A new study published in Diabetes Care finds that bone loss alone does not explain the increased fracture risk observed in some older adults with type 2 diabetes. The article, "Type 2 Diabetes and Longitudinal Changes in Cortical and Trabecular Bone Density, Microarchitecture, and Strength: The Framingham Study," sought to better understand why people with type 2 diabetes are at greater risk of fractures. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-bone-deterioration-higher-fracture-older.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 13:00:01 EDT news705664321 Adults who do both aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercises are less likely to develop a raft of chronic diseases, researchers have found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-strength-vital-chronic-disease.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 09:40:02 EDT news705648121 UC Davis Health has significantly and sustainably improved inpatient glycemic care through a coordinated, system-wide approach, according to a study published in Diabetes, Obesity, and Cardiometabolic Care. The article describes how UC Davis Health developed and implemented a multidisciplinary inpatient glycemic management model that improved blood glucose outcomes across the medical center without increasing hypoglycemia—a critical patient safety concern in hospitalized populations. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-inpatient-diabetes-team-approach-safety.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 07:40:03 EDT news705643022 Phthalates, which are chemicals found in plastics, personal care products and hundreds of other consumer goods, may contribute to high blood pressure in pregnant women, according to a study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-endocrine-disrupting-chemical-exposure-linked.html Tue, 11 Aug 2026 07:00:02 EDT news705640861 Researchers at McMaster University have discovered that a naturally occurring hormone best known for suppressing appetite and promoting weight loss also helps protect the liver from inflammation through a previously unknown signaling pathway, opening new possibilities for treating advanced fatty liver disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-appetite-suppressing-hormone-liver-inflammation.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:20:08 EDT news705587701 Women with endometriosis have a 46% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes than women without the condition, according to a new study led by researchers at the George Mason College of Public Health and collaborators. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-women-endometriosis-higher-diabetes.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 16:20:06 EDT news705597122 There are people around us who can maintain their weight despite what they eat. This has led scientists to believe that a person's metabolism and tendency toward obesity may have genetic factors behind them. A large study sequencing the genomes of more than 1 million people across three continents, found genetic clues that could drive this tendency. The findings are published in Nature. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-people-rare-gene-variant-naturally.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 15:40:01 EDT news705585086 For decades, obesity medications produced only modest weight loss. But in recent years, Ozempic and related GLP-1 therapies have transformed the field, enabling sustained weight loss of 10% to 15% or more. Despite their success, however, scientists have not fully understood how these drugs work in the brain. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-unexpected-brain-mechanism-assumptions-glp.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 14:00:04 EDT news705583922 Type 2 diabetes usually develops over many years, yet preventive measures often begin only once blood glucose levels are already elevated. An international panel of experts led by University Hospital Tübingen and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) is therefore calling for a fundamental shift in thinking: Diabetes prevention should take the entire life course into account—from the period before pregnancy through older adulthood. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-prediabetes-remission-central-goal-diabetes.html Mon, 10 Aug 2026 13:00:01 EDT news705582782 Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) is a treatment for some life-threatening cancers and nonmalignant disorders. As HCT is a curative treatment, it is used to treat children where necessary. It has historically been a dangerous procedure, but advances in medicine have increased the number of long-term survivors. This increase has also revealed late effects in childhood survivors, most notably growth impairment and short stature, which are common after HCT. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-growth-hormone-therapy-childhood-stem.html Fri, 07 Aug 2026 11:42:18 EDT news705321721 Researchers have deciphered the role of an ion channel in iron homeostasis, opening new possibilities for treating iron metabolism disorders. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-ion-channel-key-factor-iron.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 17:20:06 EDT news705253381 Type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Many people with type 2 diabetes are prescribed blood sugar-lowering medication to reduce this risk. However, not everyone takes their medication consistently, and that inconsistency could leave them more exposed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-08-term-diabetes-medication-adherence-linked.html Thu, 06 Aug 2026 11:44:55 EDT news705235381