Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41263971›Full record

ReviewDiabetologia2026

Comparative physiology and biomimetics in metabolic and environmental health: what can we learn from extreme animal phenotypes?

Peter Stenvinkel, Peter Kotanko, Johanna Painer-Gigler, Paul G Shiels, Pieter Evenepoel, Leon Schurgers, Barbara Natterson-Horowitz, Szilvia Kalogeropoulu, Joshua Schiffman, Richard J Johnson

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Diabetologia, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Peter StenvinkelDivision of Renal Medicine, Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. peter.stenvinkel@ki.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8785-4820
Peter KotankoRenal Research Institute, New York, NY, USA.
Johanna Painer-GiglerResearch Institute of Wildlife Ecology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Paul G ShielsGlasgow Geroscience Group, School of Molecular Biosciences, MVLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
Pieter EvenepoelLaboratory of Nephrology, KU Leuven Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
Leon SchurgersDepartment of Biochemistry, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Barbara Natterson-HorowitzDivision of Cardiology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Szilvia KalogeropouluResearch Institute of Wildlife Ecology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria.
Joshua SchiffmanDepartment of Pediatrics, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
Richard J JohnsonDepartment of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This review explores the remarkable metabolic adaptations of species that thrive in extreme environments, providing insights into their resilience, flexibility and disease resistance. Species such as hibernating brown bears, migratory birds, cavefish, Greenland sharks and naked mole rats exhibit unique metabolic traits that challenge conventional paradigms of metabolic regulation. These adaptations, including resistance to hypoxia and metabolic ageing, offer potential solutions to human metabolic disorders, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and CVD. Insights from comparative physiology, particularly the mechanisms by which animals cope with food scarcity, extreme temperatures and hypoxia, could help identify novel therapeutic targets for advancing human health. For example, hibernation can serve as a model for understanding metabolic diseases, providing insights into reversible insulin resistance and energy homeostasis. This review also highlights the impact of environmental stressors, including climate change, on these species, which may jeopardise their survival despite their resilience. Accelerating anthropogenic environmental change threatens even the most resilient animal species. We call for a holistic approach to conservation and environmental protection to preserve these species and the valuable lessons they offer for managing our metabolic health.

Indexed as

Environmental HealthPhysiology, ComparativeAdaptation, PhysiologicalAnimalsClimate ChangeHibernationHumansMetabolic DiseasesPhenotypeBiomimeticsCardiovascular diseaseClimate changeComparative physiologyExposomeHibernationInsulin resistanceLongevityMetabolic adaptationNrf2Planetary healthReview

Identifiers

PMID41263971
PMCPMC12779663

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.