Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a clustering of abnormalities that includes obesity, hyperglycemia, high blood pressure, and atherogenic dyslipidemia. Advances in scientific knowledge, the increasing prevalence of obesity, and the disorder's role in contributing to cardiovascular disease and diabetes are fueling interest in metabolic syndrome.

What is Metabolic Syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome is a condition characterized by the presence diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. These conditions increase the risk of cardiovascular illnesses such as stroke and heart disease. Individually, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity can lead to vascular damage, but a combination of these illnesses is particularly dangerous.

History of Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic Syndrome Risk Factors

Metabolic Syndrome Prevention

Metabolic Syndrome Treatment

Metabolic Syndrome and Bariatric Surgery

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and Metabolic Syndrome

Abdominal Obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome

Latest Metabolic Syndrome News and Research

Researchers identify new biomarker to track the development of NAFLD

Fatty liver disease not associated with alcohol consumption, which is called Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease or NAFLD, affects more than one billion people worldwide.

7 Apr 2020

Fatty acid-binding protein 4 plays an important role in kidney stone formation

Kidney stone disease has a high prevalence worldwide, ranging up to 13% in North America, 9% in Europe, and 5% in Asia. They are painful for patients, often lead to surgery, and impart a significant economic impact.

23 Mar 2020

Melinjo seed extract may improve obesity and diabetes

In Southeast Asia, the fruit, flowers, and leaves of Indonesia's "Melinjo" tree are traditional foods.

23 Mar 2020

Eating fish 1-3 times a week in pregnancy beneficial for the child

Pregnancy is a time when the mother’s diet becomes essential not only for reasons of proper nutrition but to avoid harm to or enhance the development of the child. Now a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open in March 2020 shows that mothers who ate one to three servings of fish a week while they were pregnant gave birth to children with a better metabolic profile compared to those mothers who ate little or no fish at this time.

16 Mar 2020

Fish consumption during pregnancy associated with improved metabolic health of children

To eat or not to eat fish is a question that has long concerned pregnant women. Now, a new USC study shows that children whose mothers ate fish from one to three times a week during pregnancy were more likely to have a better metabolic profile -- despite the risk of exposure to mercury -- than children whose mothers ate fish rarely (less than once a week).

16 Mar 2020

Researchers establish a gene expression profile associated with cachexia in cancer patients

It is estimated that as many as 80% of advanced-stage cancer patients may develop cachexia, a potentially fatal metabolic syndrome characterized by extreme weight loss and muscle wasting, but scientists do not yet fully understand why it is more frequently associated with certain kinds of tumor than others, or why not all cancer patients develop it.

3 Mar 2020

Eating less prolongs life

A new study published in the journal Cell in February 2020 reports that eating less is associated with better immunity, reduce inflammation all over the body, and reduced odds of diseases related to old age, as well as increasing the odds of living longer.

27 Feb 2020

Glucose-lowering drug reduces obesity indices in children and adolescents, study shows

A new study has shown metformin - a glucose-lowering drug commonly used to treat diabetes - to be effective at lowering some measures of obesity in children and adolescents.

18 Feb 2020

Individual clinical judgments needed for prescribing aspirin in primary prevention

The most recent guidelines for primary prevention recommend aspirin use for individuals ages 40 to 70 years who are at higher risk of a first cardiovascular event, but not for those over 70. Yet, people over 70 are at increasingly higher risks of cardiovascular events than those under 70.

17 Feb 2020

Improving ability to predict autism risk with few drops of blood

Within days of birth, a few drops of blood are collected from every newborn in California--and across the United States -- which are then stored on filter paper and screened for dozens of genetic and congenital disorders, such as phenylketonuria, an inherited metabolic disorder that can result in intellectual disability, seizures, heart and behavioral problems.

13 Feb 2020

Novel drug combination discovered to induce high rates of human beta cell proliferation

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a novel combination of two classes of drugs that, together, cause the highest rate of proliferation ever observed in adult human beta cells- the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin- without harming most other cells in the body.

12 Feb 2020

High testosterone in women ups risk for cancer, diabetes, and metabolic disease

Testosterone is a steroid hormone that triggers the development of male secondary sex characteristics. Though found mainly in men, the ovaries in women release small amounts of testosterone. When combined with estrogen, testosterone aids in the growth and repair of a woman's reproductive tissues.

12 Feb 2020

Shift workers at increased risk for sleep disorders and metabolic syndrome

Shift workers are at a significantly increased risk for sleep disorders and metabolic syndrome, which increases a person's risk for heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

3 Feb 2020

UTHSC researchers receive $1.98 million grant for novel approach to studying diabetes

A team of researchers in the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's College of Medicine has been awarded a $1.98 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, a division of the National Institutes of Health, for a novel approach to studying diabetes.

3 Feb 2020

Adolescents with PCOS and obesity have more 'unhealthy' gut bacteria

Teens with obesity and polycystic ovary syndrome have more "unhealthy" gut bacteria suggesting the microbiome may play a role in the disorder, according to new research published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

23 Jan 2020

Holistic Approaches to Psoriasis Treatment

Holistic approaches to psoriasis treatment involves lifestyle advice about weight, smoking, alcohol, sleep, exercise, and other factors.

From Janssen Global Services, LLC 22 Jan 2020

Lack of exposure to sunlight may increase metabolic syndrome risk

Yes, fat cells deep under your skin can sense light. And when bodies do not get enough exposure to the right kinds of light, fat cells behave differently.

21 Jan 2020

Smoking dormant HIV virus out into the open to develop a cure

Ever since antiretroviral treatments against HIV infection were introduced in 1996, scientists have eagerly been hunting for a cure for the disease.

9 Jan 2020

Scientists develop an approach to vaccinate against gut inflammation

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an umbrella term that describes many disorders that involve chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. These conditions are tied to certain alternations in the gut flora.

12 Dec 2019

Jefferson hotspotting program uses team-based model to addresses hospital 'super utilizers'

The United States faces a crisis in providing complex care for high-need, high-cost individuals--people who often suffer economic, mental and physical challenges.

11 Dec 2019