Glucocorticoids exacerbate obesity and insulin resistance in neuron-specific proopiomelanocortin-deficient mice

• J. Clin. Invest. 116:495-505, 2006
• PMID: 16440060
• Available on PubMed Central
• Evaluated by Faculty of 1000 Biology

Well, hear it is, my attempt at a first article choice for Bench & Bedside.

This isn't my area of expertise, but I figured I had to start with something with wide-spread appeal. This article integrates genetics, neurology, endocrinology, physiology, and more, and has clear clinical implications. To reinforce the importance of the topic, and hopefully spark conversation, I point out that Nature Medicine did a recent focus on metabolic syndrome. The article also has obvious connections to the management of diabetes and pre-diabetic conditions, recently a major focus in The New York Times.

Please feel free to comment on any aspect of this article - the science, each individual figure, the implications, other related articles, projected clinical strategies, etc. I don't really know how this experiment in online journal clubs will mature, so hopefully we can all figure that out together.

Thanks, and happy reading!