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2012 has been a rewarding year for adipocyte research. A new type of brown-like adipocyte—the beige adipocyte—and irisin, a previously unknown hormone that stimulates the formation of such cells, have been discovered. A bipotential adipocyte progenitor giving rise to both brown and white adipocytes has also been identified.
Neuroendocrine tumours are a heterogeneous group of neoplasms with various clinical presentations, growth rates and responses to available therapies. Studies published in 2012 have provided insights into tumour-cell signalling that will increase our knowledge of tumour biology and molecular genetics, making it possible to personalize patient care.
Researchers are trying to develop more efficient and safer antifracture treatments. Besides the ongoing promising clinical trials involving antibodies to the Wnt antagonist sclerostin or inhibition of the osteoclast enzyme cathepsin K, the year 2012 has seen several novel osteoporosis targets identified by using different methodological approaches.
Systemic administration of anti-PCSK9 antibodies induces dramatic reductions in LDL-cholesterol levels, and the effect of this therapy on LDL-receptor activity seems to be additive to that of statin therapy. Inhibition of PCSK9 is potentially very important to the clinician, and should enable more patients to achieve their LDL-cholesterol-level goal.
Worldwide, >366 million people with type 2 diabetes mellitus remain at excess risk of cardiovascular disease and face a lifetime of treatment escalation for this progressive disorder. Studies in 2012 have re-affirmed the safety of early insulin treatment, metformin use in renal impairment, and shown β-cell function preservation over several years.
In this Review, the authors examine how the development of diabetes mellitus has come full circle from initiation to complications and suggest that the development of diabetes mellitus and the progression to chronic complications both require the same mechanistic triggers.
Immune therapy for type 1 diabetes mellitus can be approached at three different stages: primary prevention, secondary prevention and intervention. This Review discusses the different types of immune therapies being attempted at these three different stages and the findings of completed and ongoing trials of these therapies.
