Innere Medizin (Heidelberg, Germany)Jul 15, 2026

Recent Advances in Hormone and Diabetes Research

GLP-1 Therapies Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Jul 16, 2026

Abstract

Recent advancements in obesity treatment have led to new therapies that not only promote weight loss but also address related health complications.

Incretin-based therapies have shown significant potential in managing obesity and its complications.
New diagnostic frameworks are prompting a reevaluation of obesity classification beyond traditional body mass index (BMI) metrics.
Refinements in the evaluation of adrenal incidentalomas and hypertension have led to improved management strategies.
Selective aldosterone synthase inhibitors may offer a new treatment avenue for primary aldosteronism, a key contributor to secondary hypertension.
Risk-adapted strategies for thyroid nodules and cancer are being developed to enhance disease identification while minimizing unnecessary interventions.
In low-risk thyroid cancer cases, organ-preserving surgery and selective treatment approaches are being integrated into clinical practice.

Simplified

Advances in our understanding of hormone action and disease pathophysiology are enabling increasingly personalised therapeutic strategies and expanding treatment options for common endocrine and metabolic disorders, which are major contributors to the global burden of chronic disease.This Review highlights three topics of particular relevance to clinical practice in internal medicine and summarises key developments over the past year.The most rapid progress has been made in the field of obesity, where incretin-based therapies are fundamentally reshaping clinical management. Beyond achieving substantial and sustained weight loss, these agents offer new opportunities to prevent and treat a broad range of obesity-related complications. At the same time, emerging diagnostic frameworks that move beyond the traditional body mass index (BMI)-based classification are prompting a reassessment of how obesity is defined and clinically stratified, with the aim of improving risk assessment and guiding treatment decisions.Recent evidence has also refined the diagnostic evaluation and management of adrenal incidentalomas and endocrine causes of hypertension. In parallel, the development of selective aldosterone synthase inhibitors introduces a potential new treatment option for primary aldosteronism, the most common cause of secondary hypertension.A similar paradigm shift is occurring in the management of thyroid nodules and thyroid cancer. Contemporary strategies increasingly emphasise risk-adapted diagnostic and therapeutic approaches that enable accurate identification of clinically significant disease while reducing overdiagnosis and unnecessary intervention. In patients with low-risk thyroid cancer, organ-preserving surgery, more selective use of radioiodine therapy, and, in carefully selected cases, active surveillance are increasingly incorporated into clinical practice. Collectively, these developments aim to reduce treatment-related morbidity while maintaining excellent oncological outcomes and preserving long-term quality of life.

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Competing interests

Einhaltung ethischer Richtlinien. Interessenkonflikt: M. Blüher, J. Bojunga, M. Fassnacht und D. Führer-Sakel erklären, dass sie sich bei der Erstellung des Beitrages nicht von wirtschaftlichen Interessen leiten ließen. Sie legen die folgenden potenziellen Interessenkonflikte offen: M. Blüher: Honorare für Vortrags- und Beratertätigkeit von Abbott, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi-Sankyo, Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Novo Nordisk und Sanofi. J. Bojunga: Honorare für Vortrags- und Beratertätigkeit von AstraZeneca, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, IBSA, IPSEN, Lilly, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, MSD, Pfizer, Recordati, Sanofi, Shire. M. Fassnacht: Forschungsunterstützung von Enterome, HRA Pharma, Lilly, Novartis, MSD, DFG, BMBF, Dt. Krebshilfe, Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (G-BA) und Vortragstätigkeit bei Boehringer-Ingelheim sowie Beratungstätigkeit bei HRA Pharma und Bayer an (jeweils als Dienstauftrag für das Universitätsklinikum Würzburg). D. Führer-Sakel: Honorare für Vortrags- und Beratertätigkeit von Amgen, IBSA, Ipsen, Lilly, Novartis, Merck, Roche, Sanofi, Theramex und Beratertätigkeit für die DKV (als Dienstauftrag für das Universitätsklinikum Essen). Für diesen Beitrag wurden von den Autor/-innen keine Studien an Menschen oder Tieren durchgeführt. Für die aufgeführten Studien gelten die jeweils dort angegebenen ethischen Richtlinien.

PubMed

Recent Advances in Hormone and Diabetes Research

Abstract

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Funding

Competing interests

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