Endocrinología, Diabetes y Nutrición: annual balance 2019

Dear readers of Endocrinología, Diabetes y Nutrición, the year comes to an end and the Editorial Board has considered it opportune to review what the 10 numbers of the journal in 2019 have brought us. This is not an exhaustive review, of course, but rather a thematic tour of the originals published during this period. This editorial serves to thank all those who have made it possible for our journal to reach the age of 65. In this regard, thanks are due to the authors, who constitute the basis of the raw material and who through their efforts have managed to improve the quality of our publication day by day, but also to the less visible yet important contributors: the reviewers, advertising companies, the managers of Elsevier, and the steering committees and members of the SED and SEEN. We would like this brief review to awaken interest and serve to lead you to read any possible articles you may have missed. Lastly, we wish you a happy New Year and hope that 2020 will bring many more new and interesting articles.

Type 1 diabetes

In the field of type 1 diabetes, we have received original papers addressing epidemiological issues, such as the study on prevalence and quality of care in pediatrics in Asturias (Osorio et al.), which also led to a letter to the editor providing nuances and updated data (Huidobro et al.); or the study by Colomo et al., assessing the relationship between glycemic control and variability and oxidative stress. Sánchez-Malo et al. in turn discussed the difficulties in establishing a differential diagnosis between type 1 diabetes and monogenic diabetes due to HNF1A mutations. The therapeutic aspects of type 1 diabetes were addressed in three observational studies. Pujante et al. reported the clinical experience of the first year after switching from insulin glargine U:100 to glargine U:300 in 247 patients, in which no significant change in HbA1c was observed despite an increase in basal insulin dose. Quirós et al. published two observational studies summarizing the experience of Hospital Clínic de Barcelona with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion from the perspective of clinical markers and also in relation to patient perception.

Type 2 diabetes

In type 2 diabetes, interesting review articles have been published, and the comprehensive approach to this disorder by the SEEN working group is particularly relevant in this respect. In addition, Díaz et al. reviewed the observational studies conducted in Spain with antidiabetic drugs; Quevedo et al. examined the free mobile applications (Apps) in Spanish; Vicente et al. reviewed the clinical and occupational assessment of patients with diabetes; and Nombela et al. conducted a narrative review of the importance of patient self-management of the disease and quality health education in order to secure good adherence to therapy. There have also been relevant epidemiological studies. Caballero et al. analyzed the risk factors for the occurrence of hypoglycemia requiring emergency hospital care, and Prados et al. examined the risk factors for the development of diabetes in women with previous gestational diabetes. López del Val et al. showed that basal blood glucose levels in the first trimester of pregnancy ≥ 92 mg/dl identify a risk group for fetal macrosomia. From the vascular risk perspective, González et al. found the presence of diabetes to increase the risk of stroke 2.5-fold, and Cano et al. found patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and diabetes to have more severe coronary artery calcification and greater mortality. In relation to therapy, Mirmiran et al. evidenced the benefits of legumes; García et al. confirmed the efficacy of combined physical exercise; Alonso et al. reported on the long-term response to liraglutide; and Pereyra et al. described the remission of diabetes after gastric bypass surgery. Lastly, García et al. addressed therapeutic inertia in the management of dyslipidemia, and Agudo et al. evaluated a protocol for the management of diabetes decompensated by corticosteroids.

Obesity

In relation to obesity, the journal this year has published studies on the importance of different polymorphisms of genes involved in the regulation of food intake and energy balance, gastrointestinal hormones, adipokines, and myokines in the development of obesity and associated complications and/or in the response to interventions aimed at promoting weight loss. Estrada-Zuñiga et al. in turn studied visfatin levels in the umbilical cord in newborns of small, appropriate or large size for the gestational age. De Luis et al. evaluated the influence of a genetic variant in the cannabinoid receptor subtype 2 gene upon body weight response and metabolic changes after biliopancreatic diversion surgery. Aller et al. studied the effect of a variant of the neuropeptide Y gene upon liver histology in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Lastly, Seok Son et al. examined apelin levels in response to an exercise session in patients with normal weight and obesity. Epidemiological studies have also been published evidencing the present and future impact of obesity in our setting. Yañez-Ortega et al. reported on the prevalence of obesity among children in Castilla y León. On the other hand, Ares-Blanco et al. assessed the impact of body fat proportion estimated using the CUN-BAE equation upon mortality risk in the Asturias study cohort. Lastly, we have had two relevant reviews. Rubio-Almaza et al. reviewed the therapeutic strategies for the management of diabetes and obesity, and Botella-Martínez et al. examined the impact of bariatric surgery upon bone health.

Nutrition

This year our journal has addressed the management of clinical nutrition from different perspectives. García-Peris et al. reported a screening protocol for the early detection of nutritional risk in a university hospital comprising pilot, implementation and consolidation phases that will surely prove helpful for other units to advance in the important field of the management of disease-related malnutrition. Ferrer et al. analyzed a clinical approach to home enteral nutrition, taking into account both consumption and associated costs and abidance with the Spanish National Health System guidelines. Nutritional treatment issues have also been addressed, such as the assessment of plasma calcium to adjust parenteral nutrition (García et al.), suggesting that calcium correction for albumin is more useful in clinical practice than correction for total proteins. In enteral nutrition, the safety of polyol use has been questioned (Canto-Mangana et al.). Considering the increasingly widespread use of new anticancer drugs, the Nutrition Unit of Hospital Universitario Gregorio Marañon has offered an interesting account of nutritional evolution and survival in a group of cancer patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (Higuera-Pulgar et al.). And of course we cannot forget oral nutrition, with both basic studies on the effect of fat-rich diets upon inflammatory stress and angiogenesis (Plaza et al.) and clinical studies on adherence to the Mediterranean diet in patients with head and neck cancer and a healthy population (Salvatore et al.).

Thyroid and parathyroid glands

We have had articles of great interest in the field of thyroid and parathyroid disease. We started the year with the work of Ramos-Levi et al., analyzing the thyroid alterations induced by nivolumab, and the study of Ramos et al. on the improvement of bone mineral density in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism subjected to surgery. The survey by Díez et al. on multidisciplinary teams in thyroid cancer, together with the excellent review by Donnay et al. regarding TSH reference values in the pregnant population, shed light on two permanently relevant topics in the second number of the journal. The study by Calvo-Espino et al. appeared in the third number, and analyzed the usefulness of intact PTH in the immediate postoperative period of total thyroidectomy as a predictor of permanent hypoparathyroidism. In this same number, Sastre et al. provided epidemiological data on the follow-up of thyroid cancer in Castilla-La Mancha. The topic of conservative management or surgical treatment in chylous fistula after thyroidectomy was addressed by Ríos et al. in number 4, and in number 5 of the journal Ollero et al. examined the influence of thyroid autoimmunity upon the course of gland function during pregnancy. The executive summary of the SEORL CCC-SEEN consensus document on post-thyroidectomy hypoparathyroidism by Castro et al. was complemented by the editorial dedicated to it by Díez et al. in number 7. Another editorial by Galofré on the controversial nonsurgical management of thyroid microcarcinoma opened number 8 of the journal, which also included an analysis of in situ cytological assessment in ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration punctures of thyroid nodules by García-Pascual et al. Finally, we closed 2019 with two studies related to hyperthyrotropinemia: Álvarez and López examined the costs involved (number 9 of the journal), and Alcázar et al. evaluated practical management of the disorder during pregnancy (in the last number of the year).

Other areas of endocrinology

In the field of pituitary gland disease, mention must be made of the editorial on the current status of the genetic study of pituitary adenomas (Daly and Beckers). Other interesting diagnostic aspects have also been examined, such as the change in paradigm in the pathological analysis of pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (Tortosa) and the relevance of the molecular typing of such lesions (Miralles et al.). In relation to the adrenal glands, mention must be made of the description of the diagnostic performance of free plasma metanephrines in pheochromocytomas-paragangliomas (Martínez-Morillo et al.) and optimization of the cut-off points of the aldosterone/plasma renin ratios in screening for hyperaldosteronism (Eugenio et al.). In pediatric endocrinology, studies have been made on the usefulness of triptorelin for the treatment of central precocious puberty in girls (Durá-Travéet al.) and on the auxological differences between patients with transient or definitive growth hormone deficiency (Villafuerte et al.). Finally, other interesting therapeutic aspects have been dealt with, such as the long-term management outcomes with zoledronate in osteogenesis imperfect (Pavón de Paz et al.) and the metabolic and inflammatory changes of cross-sex hormone therapy in transgender males that could increase cardiovascular risk (Aranda et al).

Lastly, in the area of clinical management, emphasis has been placed on the need to recover the genuine attractiveness of our specialty (Salvador J.), as a reflection upon the current state of choice of resident intern positions in endocrinology and nutrition (García-Blasco et al.). With regard to postgraduate training, an analysis has been made of its excellent progress in the area of clinical nutrition in recent years (Ballesteros et al.), as well as of its current status and future perspectives (Botella-Romero). Publication of the RECALSEEN report, which has illustrated the real life care scenario of Endocrinology and Nutrition Units in Spain (Botella-Romero et al.), and the strategic reflection of the SEEN upon the future of the specialty (Puig-Domingo et al.), undoubtedly have been major contributions. The concept of the active patient in chronic diseases has also been addressed (Zugasti).