Ghrelin Aids Weight Loss; FDA Says Cut Salt; More Bariatric Surgeries With Medicaid

Higher levels of fasting ghrelin helped induce abdominal visceral fat loss and improved insulin sensitivity in people who followed the green-Mediterranean diet. “The findings suggest fasting ghrelin levels may serve as a valuable indicator of cardiometabolic health following weight loss,” said senior study author Iris Shai, PhD, of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, in a statement. (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism)

Ultra-processed foods are taking up more of the typical American diet, growing from 53.5% of daily calories in 2001 to 57% in 2018. (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)

And in other nutrition news, the FDA released new industry guidance to reduce sodium content in commercially processed, packaged, and prepared foods over the next 2.5 years.

The states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act saw a 31.6% annual increase in the rate of bariatric surgery during 2014-2017 for Medicaid-covered and uninsured non-Hispanic white patients. “This study suggests that additional policy changes and clinical programs may be necessary to address barriers disproportionately faced by racial and ethnic minority populations to ensure more equitable access to evidence-based treatment of obesity,” the study authors wrote in JAMA Health Forum.

The investigational liver-selective glucokinase activator TTP399 was non-inferior to placebo in the percentage of patients with type 1 diabetes experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis during a period of acute insulin withdrawal, according to a mechanistic study by vTv Therapeutics.

Infertility care and assisted reproductive technology saw an uptick in use after April 2020, even exceeding pre-pandemic use. (JAMA Network Open)

In Cushing’s syndrome, a GIP-dependent primary bilateral macronodular adrenal hyperplasia was linked to a two-hit inactivation of the KDM1A gene. “Genetic testing and counseling should be offered to these patients and their relatives,” the researchers recommended in their study online in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology.

Viridian Therapeutics submitted an investigational new drug application to the FDA this week to assess its anti-insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor monoclonal antibody for thyroid eye disease in a phase I/II trial. Currently, Horizon’s teprotumumab (Tepezza) is the only FDA approved, non-surgical treatment for the condition.