Abstract
This commentary inaugurates a new review series in EMBO Molecular Medicine focused on mitochondrial diseases. This area of medicine, which actually encompasses most disease areas, has long since come of age and is now positioned for the next leap toward the development of effective therapies. The aims of the review series are to offer a comprehensive overview of this exciting area of medicine and research and to provide timely discussions for clinicians and investigators on the new discoveries elucidating how mitochondrial metabolism contributes to an expanding group of complex, heterogeneous, and difficult-to-tackle diseases.