TY - JOUR AB - The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can infect multiple tissues, including endocrine organs, such as the pancreas, adrenal, thyroid, and adipose tissue. The main receptor for SARS-CoV-2, ACE2, is ubiquitously expressed in the cells of the endocrine organs and accordingly, the virus has been detected in various amounts in all endocrine tissues in post-mortem samples from COVID-19 patients. The infection with SARS-CoV-2 may directly lead to organ damage or dysfunction, such as hyperglycaemia or in rare cases, new-onset diabetes. Furthermore, an infection with SARS-CoV-2 may have indirect effects affecting the endocrine system. The exact mechanisms are not yet completely understood and have to be further investigated. Conversely, endocrine diseases may affect the severity of COVID-19 and emphasis has to be laid on reducing the prevalence, or enhance the treatment, of these often non-communicable diseases in the future. AU - Steenblock, C.* AU - Toepfner, N.* AU - Beuschlein, F.* AU - Perakakis, N. AU - Mohan Anjana, R.* AU - Mohan, V.* AU - Mahapatra, N.R.* AU - Bornstein, S.R.* C1 - 67733 C2 - 54041 CY - The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford Ox5 1gb, Oxon, England TI - SARS-CoV-2 infection and its effects on the endocrine system. JO - Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. VL - 37 IS - 4 PB - Elsevier Sci Ltd PY - 2023 SN - 1521-690X ER - TY - JOUR AB - Increasing evidence from epidemiological, animal and in vitro studies suggests that the increased production of synthetic chemicals that interfere with the proper functioning of the hormonal system, so-called endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), might be involved in the development and rapid spread of obesity, coined the obesity epidemic. Recent findings have demonstrated that EDCs may interfere with hormonal receptors that regulate adipogenesis and metabolic pathways. Furthermore, prenatal exposure to EDCs has been shown to influence the metabolism of the developing embryo through epigenetic mechanisms and to promote obesity in subsequent generations. In this Review, we discuss the potential impact of bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalate-based plasticizers on obesity and obesity-related metabolic disorders. Special emphasis is given to the obesogenic effects of prenatal exposure and strategies for identifying, regulating, and replacing EDCs. AU - Biemann, R.* AU - Blüher, M. AU - Isermann, B.* C1 - 62045 C2 - 50609 CY - The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford Ox5 1gb, Oxon, England TI - Exposure to endocrine-disrupting compounds such as phthalates and bisphenol A is associated with an increased risk for obesity. JO - Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. VL - 35 IS - 5 PB - Elsevier Sci Ltd PY - 2021 SN - 1521-690X ER - TY - JOUR AB - The worldwide epidemic of obesity demands novel and more effective therapeutic approaches. Fat cells are at the core of energy metabolism trying either to cope with a positive energy balance by hypertrophy and hyperplasia of energy storing white adipocytes or to counteract obesity by the induction of non-shivering thermogenesis in energy combusting brite/brown adipocytes. However, the comprehensive regulatory network of adipocyte formation remains to be elucidated. MicroRNAs are an emerging class of important regulatory determinants in many biological processes and diseases, including adipocyte formation and obesity. In this review, microRNAs governing the formation of white, brite and brown adipocytes as well as candidates with impact on obesity are overviewed, concluded with recommendations for further research that considers prerequisites for successful therapeutic applications. AU - Scheideler, M. C1 - 50101 C2 - 42027 CY - Oxford SP - 653-664 TI - MicroRNAs in adipocyte formation and obesity. JO - Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. VL - 30 IS - 5 PB - Elsevier Sci Ltd PY - 2016 SN - 1521-690X ER - TY - JOUR AB - Despite numerous educational interventions and biomedical research efforts, modern society continues to suffer from obesity and its associated metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, and these diseases show little sign of abating. One reason for this is an incomplete understanding of the pathology of the metabolic syndrome, which obstructs the development of effective therapeutic strategies. While hypothalamic neuropathy is a potential candidate that may contribute to the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome, the specific causes of hypothalamic neuropathy remain largely unknown. During different stages of high-calorie diet-induced metabolic syndrome, the hypothalamus undergoes gliosis and angiogenesis, both of which potentially reflect ongoing inflammatory processes. This overview discusses current data suggesting a role for hypothalamic inflammation-like processes in diet-induced metabolic diseases and provides a perspective on how to unravel molecular mechanisms of “hypothalamic inflammation” in order to develop anti-obesity therapeutic strategies. AU - Jastroch, M. AU - Morin, S. AU - Tschöp, M.H. AU - Yi, C.-X. C1 - 30912 C2 - 34009 CY - Oxford SP - 661-671 TI - The hypothalamic neural-glial network and the metabolic syndrome. JO - Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. VL - 28 IS - 5 PB - Elsevier Sci Ltd PY - 2014 SN - 1521-690X ER - TY - JOUR AB - Magnetic resonance of the body offers different techniques for mapping fat deposits (MR Imaging) and analysis of organs with small amounts of lipids (MR Spectroscopy). Possible approaches for whole-body assessment of adipose tissue are presented and discussed and spectroscopic examinations in different organs are depicted. With magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) it has been shown that obesity per se is not a marker for metabolic failure, but depends on regional variations of body composition and ectopic lipid accumulation. In addition MRI of the brain is a powerful research tool to understand the brain's role in the development and maintenance of obesity and the overconsumption of foods in obese individuals. Sonography has a low accuracy in estimating hepatic steatosis until now. New sonographic methods have been evaluated to detect hepatic steatosis by physical properties of fatty tissue as tissue stiffness, sound absorption or sound speed. Nuclear medicine and in particular Positron Emission Tomography (PET) methods are used to explore central pathophysiology, brown adipose tissue activity and alterations in homeostatic feedback and gut-brain communication. AU - Machann, J. AU - Horstmann, A.* AU - Born, M.* AU - Hesse, S.* AU - Hirsch, F.W.* C1 - 26576 C2 - 32283 SP - 261-277 TI - Diagnostic imaging in obesity. JO - Best Pract. Res. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. VL - 27 IS - 2 PB - Elsevier Sci. PY - 2013 SN - 1521-690X ER -