Endocrine Abstracts

Prospective studies and clinical trials have repeatedly demonstrated that high intake of dietary fibre reduces the incidence of metabolic diseases and their risk factors. An increased intake of dietary fibre raises the amount of undigested material available for fermentation by the gut microbiota and the production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA). SCFA have been shown to regulate energy homeostasis through various metabolic pathways and receptor-mediated mechanisms. The majo...

Short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including propionate, are the main metabolic by-products in the fermentation of non-digestible dietary fibre by the gut microbiota. SCFAs have wide-ranging effects in vivo, and their receptors, free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFAR2) and free fatty acid receptor 3 (FFAR3), are expressed at numerous tissue sites. Sodium propionate supplementation has been shown to increase energy expenditure, induce sympathetic neuron action potentials and p...

Skeletal muscle exists in a state of continuous synthesis and breakdown of muscle proteins in order to preserve normal metabolic and locomotive functioning. Hormones are well established regulators of this homeostatic process. Chronic systemic inflammation can dysregulate skeletal muscle homeostasis via the disruption of endocrine signalling pathways. This can result in skeletal muscle atrophy, which is strongly implicated in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes and sarcopenia....

A major limitation of nutritional science is the objective assessment of dietary intake in free-living populations. Monitoring individuals’ response to policy recommendations is based on self-reported dietary assessment tools, which are known to have high misreporting rates estimated at 30–88%. We have developed a novel analytical pipeline capable to classify people into consumers of a healthy or unhealthy diet based on urinary metabolic patterns, without relying on ...

A major limitation of nutritional science is the objective assessment of dietary intake in free-living populations. Monitoring individuals’ response to policy recommendations is based on self-reported dietary assessment tools, which are known to have high misreporting rates estimated at 30–88%. We have developed a novel analytical pipeline capable to classify people into consumers of a healthy or unhealthy diet based on urinary metabolic patterns, without relying on ...

Obesity is a growing global epidemic and current medical therapies have proven inadequate. Endogenous satiety hormones provide an attractive target for the development of drugs which aim to cause effective weight loss with minimal side effects. Two related peptide hormones, glucagon and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), are the subject of this investigation. Both have been found to reduce appetite and cause weight loss. Additionally, glucagon increases energy expenditure. It is...