Research Highlights: New Research in Lipedema
Welcome to Research Highlights, where we break down the recent research on Lipedema and related conditions.
🔵 Foundation-Funded Research denotes studies funded by Lipedema Foundation.
🟣 Foundation-Initiated Research denotes studies initiated and led by Lipedema Foundation.
The lipedema common case report form as a research tool: standardizing lipedema data collection
Published June 23, 2026 | Frontiers in Global Women’s Health | 🟣 Foundation-Initiated Research
A major challenge in Lipedema research is the absence of consistent diagnostic criteria combined with diverse and inconsistent data collection practices. To address these challenges, the Lipedema Foundation (LF) in partnership with clinicians, researchers, and biostatisticians developed the Lipedema Common Case Report Form (CCRF). The comprehensive form is composed of distinct participant completed (demographic information, medical history and lipedema specific history such as symptom burden and progression) and clinician completed ( diagnostic characterization and clinical findings commonly associated with Lipedema) sections.
The CCRF was reviewed by experienced researchers and clinicians, then validated and tested at an LF Biobank event. The CCRF is designed to be a research data collection tool and is not intended to define diagnostic standards or guide clinical treatment decisions. The current version will be updated with feedback from the field upon broader adoption. As the largest funder of Lipedema research, LF will require use of the CCRF for its studies. This development marks a big first step towards harmonized research data collection tools for the Lipedema community. More information about the CCRF can be found here.
Authors: Galia S, Crescenzi R, Kruppa P, Kartt J, Cochrane JC, Mascio C, Harmacek L, Heil S, Samouhos E, Peterson S, Dean SM, Wright TF, Cifarelli V, Padera TP, Rutkowski JM, Eddens KS, Egan C, Whitehead S, Herbst KL, Bunnell BA, Shawber C, Hucho T, Hinyard L, Al-Ghadban S, Scott AO, Ostergaard P, Pittman A, Nono Nankam PA, Scherer PE, Forner-Cordero I, Damstra RJ, Hendrickx A and Srinivasan A
DOI: 10.3389/fgwh.2026.1833913
Published June 5, 2026 | Front Endocrinol (Lausanne)
A recent study by Sally Kempa, Melanie Kandulski, Lina Jegodzinski and colleagues found that people with Lipedema had lower levels of central glycolytic metabolites like lactate and pyruvate, while ketone bodies tended to be higher in Lipedema.
The authors assessed routine laboratory testing (HbA1c, fasting glucose) and for NMR metabolomic analysis (amino acids, lipoproteins and 151 other metabolites) in fasting serum samples in 24 premenopausal women with Lipedema and 21 BMI-matched controls. When each metabolite was measured individually, only one, Alanine, was significantly different between the two groups. However, using composite indices (grouping similar metabolites into whole metabolic pathways) they found that pathways covering fat distribution and glycolysis had decreased levels, with statistically robust differences between people with Lipedema and controls. This is notable because conditions like obesity are typically associated with elevated levels of these metabolites and supports available data showing that people with Lipedema, who typically have a high body mass index (BMI), have preserved insulin sensitivity independent of BMI.
The study has its limitations: the sample size was small and consisted of a single time point. Both of these limit how confidently these findings can be generalized and it can't establish whether these metabolic differences are a cause or a consequence of Lipedema. Larger studies following the same subjects over time will be needed to confirm the findings and clarify their clinical relevance.However, this work adds to a growing body of evidence that Lipedema is a biologically distinct condition, not simply a variant of obesity.
Authors: Kempa S, Buechler C, Prantl L, Müller M, Sina C, Schmelter F, Kunst C, Gülow K, Büscher K, Rudolph L, Günther UL, Marquardt JU, Tews HC, Kandulski M, Jegodzinski L.
DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2026.1857893
Looking for more? Use our Legato Lipedema Library to find additional Lipedema research.