Researchers at Yale have identified a molecule that plays a key role in the body's inflammatory response to overeating, which can lead to obesity, diabetes and other metabolic diseases. The finding suggests that the molecule could be a promising therapeutic target to control this inflammation and keep metabolic diseases in check. The study, ‘OGT suppresses S6K1-mediated macrophage inflammation and metabolic disturbance’, was publishing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers from Osaka University, Japan, have developed a novel vaccine that removes aged immune cells and then demonstrated an improvement of diabetes-associated metabolic derangements by vaccinating mice with obesity. The study, 'The CD153 vaccine is a senotherapeutic option for preventing the accumulation of senescent T cells in mice', was published in Nature Communications.

Researchers from Obesity Center Máxima, Máxima Medical Center, Department of Surgery, Eindhoven/Veldhoven, in the Netherlands, have initiated the ‘Banded Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in patients with superobesity (BRandY-study)’ to assess the added value of the banded Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in patients with super-obesity (BMI>50) on long-term weight loss outcomes.

One of the first studies to define and examine the perceptions ‘bariatric families’ towards obesity has reported that there are significant differences between the perceptions of those parents and children – in a ‘bariatric family’ - toward themselves, their health and the preferred mode of obesity treatment, compared to non-bariatric families, according to researchers from Dana Dwek Children’s Hospital and Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Researchers from Europe have initiated the first randomised controlled trial that will compare sleeve gastrectomy (SG) and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) in adolescents with severe obesity. The TEEN-BEST trial is designed to determine whether SG is non-inferior to RYGB in terms of total body weight (TBW) loss.

An international team of bariatric and metabolic surgery (B&M) experts has published a series of protocols designed to assist B&M surgeons and Allied Healthcare Professionals when restarting elective B&M surgery following the outbreak of COVID-19, based on experts’ opinions, reviews of small series and publications from previous different viral epidemic outbreaks.

Type 2 diabetes can be reversed in more than 60% of participants through dietary change, physical activity and behaviour change, and without medication or bariatric surgery, according to a team of researchers from Qatar. These were the conclusions from the DIADEM-I clinical trial, thought to be the first intensive lifestyle intervention trial in the Middle East and North Africa region and is the country’s first clinical trial in primary care.

Obesity is associated with a higher risk of dementia up to 15 years later, according to a study by researchers from University College London, London, UK, suggesting that weight management could play a significant role in reducing the risk of dementia. These findings have significant implications for dementia prevention and overall public health.

The FDA has approved the expansion of a US- pilot study of the USGI Medical’s non-invasive, endoscopic procedure, known as POSE2.0. The study is designed to evaluate weight loss for adults suffering from obesity with a BMI35-40 and obesity-related comorbidities, such as diabetes or hypertension. The FDA approval, based on the promising results obtained so far from the first stage of the study, means the pilot study will be expanded to four US institutions and 35 US subjects.

Gelesis, who recently received European approval for its PLENITY weight loss treatment, has entered into a partnership with China Medical System Holdings Limited (CMS) for the commercialisation of Plenity in China. The partnership will build on Gelesis’ commitment to providing patient-initiated care for adults with overweight and obesity that augments traditional healthcare provider services with digital access to care.