Sijo Joseph Thandapilly

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I am very pleased to write an inaugural editorial for the new journal, Diabesity as the editor-in-charge. Diabesity is a unique peer-reviewed open access interdisciplinary journal dedicated to publishing high-quality articles in the areas of physiology, pathology and therapeutic aspects of diabetes, obesity and their complications. Diabesity focuses on clinical and experimental pharmacology and therapeutics in any aspect of these metabolic ailments in various experimental and clinical settings. Current therapeutic agents for obesity and diabetes are inadequate as the number of cases is on the rise. Along with public health strategies, development of alternative therapeutic agents is anticipated. Therefore, extensive research is being conducted in this field and is drawing intense attention from researchers, practitioners and the general public. Here arises the significance of a journal like Diabesity which can serve as a platform for knowledge sharing and the promotion and dissemination of new scientific advancements to a wide spectrum of readers.

Alex Rafacho

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The worldwide prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has surpassed more than 380 million people in 2014 and the projections of new T2DM cases for the next years are not encouraging. At present, combination of diet and exercise do not guarantee an adequate control of glucose homeostasis in T2DM patients. Thus, oral agents that act improving peripheral insulin sensitivity and/or pancreatic beta-cell function are additionally used as monotherapy or in combination. However, many patients still experience inadequate control with the pharmacotherapy ‘weapons’ currently available. Canagliflozin is a novel selective inhibitor of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) that lowers blood glucose concentration mainly by augmenting urinary glucose excretion. Besides having an effective action in reducing HbA1c, canagliflozin treatment also may benefit those patients aiming to control body weight, blood pressure and hypoglycemia episodes since this drug positively impact on such parameters. Among the adverse effects, genital infections are the most frequent. Much caution is required for some groups of patients including those elderly and with chronic kidney disease since canagliflozin can worse their quality of life. Given its overall cardiometabolic improvements, canagliflozin seems to be an important ally to the treatment of a selective group of T2DM patients and its efficacy and safety must be kept under monitoring through long-term clinical trials as well as experimental studies to certify whether this class of drug comes to stay among T2DM therapy.

Alex Rafacho

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The worldwide prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has surpassed more than 380 million people in 2014 and the projections of new T2DM cases for the next years are not encouraging. At present, combination of diet and exercise do not guarantee an adequate control of glucose homeostasis in T2DM patients. Thus, oral agents that act improving peripheral insulin sensitivity and/or pancreatic beta-cell function are additionally used as monotherapy or in combination. However, many patients still experience inadequate control with the pharmacotherapy ‘weapons’ currently available. Canagliflozin is a novel selective inhibitor of sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) that lowers blood glucose concentration mainly by augmenting urinary glucose excretion. Besides having an effective action in reducing HbA1c, canagliflozin treatment also may benefit those patients aiming to control body weight, blood pressure and hypoglycemia episodes since this drug positively impact on such parameters. Among the adverse effects, genital infections are the most frequent. Much caution is required for some groups of patients including those elderly and with chronic kidney disease since canagliflozin can worse their quality of life. Given its overall cardiometabolic improvements, canagliflozin seems to be an important ally to the treatment of a selective group of T2DM patients and its efficacy and safety must be kept under monitoring through long-term clinical trials as well as experimental studies to certify whether this class of drug comes to stay among T2DM therapy.

Arulmozhi D. Kandasamy

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Adiponectin, also called Acrp30, is a 30-kDa protein that circulates in the blood at high levels (2-10 µg/ml in human) and constitutes 0.01% of the total plasma protein. In contrast to other adipokines such as leptin, adiponectin is believed to be an anti-inflammatory and insulin-sensitizing hormone whose levels are reduced in obesity. Adiponectin can exist in the blood as a trimer, with the potential to associate into hexamers and finally into multimers of high molecular weight (HMW) species. Adiponectin primarily mediates its insulin-sensitizing effects through various signaling proteins including the activation of adenosine monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Recent reports suggest the anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective effects of adiponectin are mediated by direct activation of PI3K-Akt pathway. Interestingly adiponectin is also reported to decrease body weight by centrally mediated stimulation of energy expenditure