What's new in endocrinology from UpToDate

35% of UpToDate topics are updated every four months. The editors select a small number of the most important updates and share them via "What's new" page. I selected the brief excerpts below from What's new in endocrinology:

Osteoporosis

Denosumab (Prolia)

Denosumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody that specifically targets a ligand known as RANKL (that binds to a receptor known as RANK) which is a key mediator of osteoclast formation, function, and survival. Denosumab was approved for the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture (history of osteoporotic fracture, multiple risk factors for fracture) or patients who have failed or are intolerant of other available osteoporosis therapies. Denosumab inhibits the formation, function, and survival of osteoclasts. It decreases bone resorption, increases bone mineral density (BMD), and reduces the risk of fracture.

Teriparatide (Forteo)

Teriparatide (parathyroid hormone) did not accelerate fracture healing in postmenopausal women with distal radial fractures.

Transdermal teriparatide patch worked as well as teriparatide injection in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

Orlistat (Xenical, Alli) in obesity

Severe liver injury has been reported rarely with the use of orlistat (13 reports). Over the ten year period of the review, an estimated 40 million people worldwide used orlistat.

References:
What's new in endocrinology and diabetes mellitus. UpToDate.

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