Cureus Conversations brings you the story behind the research directly from the authors, highlighting what their work means and why it matters.
In this interview, Professor Song Wen of Shanghai Pudong Hospital discusses his recently published article and reflects on his journey from submission to publication, offering insights into his findings and the broader context of conducting and sharing research.
Interview translated from Simplified Chinese.
My department is endocrinology. Currently, everyone on our team has their own research focus, such as diabetes, thyroid, obesity, and osteoporosis. Obesity and diabetes are serious social and public health issues and important research areas. Therefore, my team and I mainly focus on diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes. This is currently our country's Year of Weight Management for Chronic Diseases. With increasing public awareness of obesity and overweight, research in this area will gradually unfold, both in basic research and clinical treatment. I believe this represents a vast research space and a brand-new research field, including the introduction of AI technology. Many discoveries and translations are expected in the future, which will undoubtedly benefit patients. We are also conducting detailed research on how to effectively reduce and maintain weight. Many innovative studies will emerge in the near future.
My current research focuses primarily on diabetes and its complications, with a large emphasis on type 2 diabetes. This includes diabetes education, blood glucose monitoring, and complication prevention, as well as the latest drug treatments such as incretins, SGLT-2 inhibitors, and Finerenone; and the treatment and classification of obesity and type 2 diabetes. I have consistently focused on the effects of metabolism and endocrine hormones on metabolism, how the central nervous system controls metabolism and regulates cardiovascular activity, and the relationship between the hypothalamus and metabolism and cardiovascular activity.
Before the advent of semaglutide, the most effective treatment for obesity was bariatric surgery. Both weight loss and GLP-1 therapy rely on the gut and gut hormones to regulate energy metabolism, especially the hypothalamus. I have been researching GLP-1 and energy metabolism homeostasis, and I was very curious about the weight loss effect and mechanism of bariatric surgery. At that time, our team also had such clinical data, so I analyzed this data for the first time. This data does not represent the surgical procedures used in the study of weight loss. Instead, it reflects a one-year follow-up of patients in a real-world setting, including glucose metabolism, lipid metabolism, and weight changes. Therefore, the results demonstrate that the improvement in weight and metabolism within one year is significant and universal. Through model analysis, we found that the weight loss effect is consistent across genders, and this improvement within three to six months is related to the patient's baseline condition and age.
Initially, I did not have a specific concept of journal selection. My main consideration was the journal’s academic influence. Of course, due to sample size and timeliness, our research was primarily focused on clinical issues, so the research orientation was clinical. We had heard that Cureus had a good reputation and influence internationally, with many representative clinical studies, so we chose this journal. We also hoped to publish our research faster and better.
In my opinion, it is very important and meaningful for Cureus to enter the Chinese market and become known to Chinese scholars. Cureus provides a window of choice for more researchers, allowing more researchers to submit their clinical articles to this journal, promoting better journal publicity, opening up new research areas, and serving clinicians. Therefore, it is a summary of the work of many clinicians, improving their understanding of rare diseases, and providing a platform for many clinicians to publish case reports on rare diseases.
In the future, it is hoped that as Cureus continues to increase its influence in China, it can also provide opportunities and guidance for many clinicians, especially newcomers to clinical research, to join in and promote the further development of localized research.
This interview highlights valuable experiences and perspectives, emphasizing Cureus's role in expanding access and fostering growth in clinical research across China.