Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Menopause is associated to body composition transformations, such as an increase in total fat mass (obesity), central fat mass and a decrease in lean body mass (sarcopenia). Body fat distribution also changes with age, with an increase in visceral abdominal fat and a decrease in subcutaneous abdominal fat. Moreover, an increase in visceral fat may lead to increase the secretion of pro-inflammatory adipokines that further promote insulin resistance as well as potent...

Background: Metabolic surgery has been hailed as a potential new treatment (‘magic bullet’) for obese patients with type2 diabetes. Several studies have shown that metabolic surgery for morbid obese patients with type2 diabetes can lead to considerable weight loss and also has positive impact on the incidence of type2 diabetes, in some cases leading to elimination of the disease in up to 80% of patients. But metabolic surgery do not seem to induce similar ‘magic...

Background: Testosterone replacement therapy in severe hypogonadism is indicated, however, the treatment of late onset hypogonadism (LOH) is debated, especially what the diagnostic criteria should be. In LOH bio-available testosterone probably gives a more accurate index of gonadal status as a diagnostic criterion as it takes SHBG into consideration. SHBG is known to increase with ageing, however, SHBG is also negatively influenced by insulin and visceral adiposity.<p clas...

Study objective: To study the differences of ghrelin basal levels (BG) among people with abdominal obesity.Materials and methods: One hundred and twenty-two patients aged 35–55 with obesity and 28 practically healthy persons (control group) were examined. The groups were identical in the sex and age, obesity. The BG levels in serum were measured by the immune-enzyme method with «DRG International» reagents.Results: A...

Studies evaluated bone involvement in the metabolic control of fat cells. It has been reported that osteocalcin acts as a hormone in the body, causing beta cells in the pancreas to release more insulin, and at the same time directing fat cells to release adiponectin, which increases sensitivity to insulin.The aim: Of the study was to evaluate osteocalcin levels in subjects with metabolic syndrome compared with age and sex matched control groups.<p cl...

Obesity is a disease very prevalent and often associated with morbidities and cardiovascular risk factors. We explore the relationship between the presence of obesity with cardiovascular risk factors more frequent and the presence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) after (ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral artery).Material and methods: A sample of 1491 individuals of both sexes, over 14 years, elected by random sampling three of the...

There are limited numbers of studies concerning family education as a risk factor for obesity in children. We aimed to examine the relationship between a children’s weight and family/psychosocial factors, to establish gender differences in eating behavior in obese children.Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study involved 65 obese children (m/f=33/32, mean age 13.5±0.5 years) and 65 mothers. Obesity was defined as BMI scores at ...

Objectives: There are reports which suggests that TSH levels are independetly associated with components of metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to investigate the relatinship between thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in owerweight and obese euthyroid subjects.Methods: In 80 euthyroid owerweight and obese subjects, 44 women and 36 man, fasting blood semples were analyzed for glucose, triglycerides and HDL and estima...

Introduction: Effective conventional medical treatments for obesity are limited and patients with obesity seeking alternative forms of health care for weight loss. While several previous studies have examined patterns of complementary and alternative treatment (CAT) use in different populations, limited data are available on the relationship between obesity and use of CAT. In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to overview the alternative therapy methods in obese patients.</p...

Background: Adipose tissue is considered a highly active metabolic and endocrine organ with important physiological functions. The evaluation of protein expression has the potential advantage of providing a global vision of the cellular pathways associated with adipose tissue dysfunction and obesity, permitting the identification of novel candidate molecules that would have not been considered of interest otherwise.Objectives: To identify proteins differ...

Purpose: Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that obesity is a risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer and relapse. We aim to investigate the relation between the upper abdominal obesity and breast cancer, by using ultrasonography (USG).Material and methods: The study population consisted of 44 women in control group and 17 breast cancer patient in study group. In the whole study population fat tissue was measured with high resolution B-mode...

Background: Metabolic syndrome has a high prevalence in male population, leading to the high rate of cardiovascular disease and mortality. Numerous studies show that low androgen levels in men are associated with the metabolic syndrome. This study tested whether normalization of testosterone levels improves metabolic dysregulations and body composition.Methods: In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase III trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identif...

Background: Numerous studies (among which, studies of androgen deprivation in men with prostate cancer) show that low androgen levels in men are associated with the metabolic syndrome. Obesity and particularly visceral fat excess is associated with pro-thrombotic and pro-inflammatory states as well. This study tested whether normalization of testosterone levels improves markers of inflammation.Methods: In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, p...

Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship of visceral fat accumulation with the existence of the carotid plaque in ischemic stroke patients.Materials and methods: Seventy patients (37 male, 33 female) with acute ischemic stroke were enrolled in the study. The carotid IMT and the existence of carotid plaque of the patients were evaluated by high resolution ultrasonography with a 7.5 MHz linear superficial array probe in B-mode. The abdo...

Obesity and overweight are nowadays very important health problems. Metabolic syndrome increases the risk of diabetes mellitus and coronary heart disease. Patients suffering from metabolic syndrome, especially males, are at greater risk of acute cardiovascular episodes, like heart infarct or brain stroke, than patients without this, widely accepted atheromatosis’ risk farctor. The aim of the study was assessment of possible relations of PPARγ genetic polymorphism and...

Orlistat selectively inhibits gastrointestinal lipase, thereby preventing fat dissolution and reducing fat absorption. Many studies have shown good effect of Orlistat on parameters of metabolic syndrome and diabetes mellitus type 2.The aim of this study was to examine the effect of Orlistat on:body mass reduction, serum lipid level, blood pressure level, fasting plasma glucose level (FPG) by obese patients with prediabetes.Study in...

Introduction: Obesity does constitute one of the most common modifiable risk factors for cancer. The process of cancerogenesis is associated with the enhanced oxidative stress. Lipid peroxidation (LPO), resulting from oxidative damage to membrane lipids, as well as oxidative damage to DNA, are the most frequently examined processes to evaluate oxidative damage to macromolecules.Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate the level of oxidative damage to me...

Objectives: Gastrointestinal hormones are known to modulate satiety. The mechanisms underlying the impact of glucagon on satiety are so far unknown. However, it can be postulated that the glucagon-induced reduction in hunger feeling is mediated through changes in Cholecystokinin (CCK), which is known to play a role in meal termination. It was the aim of the present study to evaluate the impact of glucagon on CCK and the modulation of these effects in obesity.<p class="abst...

A major difficulty of obesity treatments is that patients stop losing weight after a period of responsiveness and often experience a rebound. This could be caused by an impairment in energy balance circuits that becomes irreversible as obesity progresses. To test this hypothesis, we generated a reversible knockout-mouse model of early onset obesity. These mice are unable to express the proopiomelanocortin gene (Pomc) in hypothalamic neurons (CNS-Pomc−/...

The metabolic syndrome (MS) is a pathological entity that carries a high cardiovascular risk, and whose risk factors may occur at an early age. No data are available in our area on the influence of age on the prevalence of MS.Objectives: To determine the prevalence of MS in our area, by age group and compare the frequency of occurrence of MS in young adults (<40 years) (J) and mature adults (>40 years) (M).Methods: Observat...

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) might increase glucose uptake in adipocytes and reduce plasma glucose and triglycerides in animal models of diabetes. The aim of the present study was to assess serum FGF21 concentration in lean and obese subjects, its regulation by hyperinsulinemia and relationship with insulin sensitivity and glucose and lipid oxidation. We examined 76 subjects with normal glucose tolerance, 36 lean (BMI <25 kg/m2) and 39 overweight or obese...

Objectives: Metabolic syndrome, especially obesity and diabetes are associated and responsible for a depressive psychological status. Meanwhile, antidepressors are responsible for metabolic disturbances, such as insulin resistance. The study aims to determine predictive factors of response to antidepressant pharmacotherapy in patients with metabolic syndrome.Materials and methods: A retrospective study conducted in Institute Parhon’s Department for ...

Aims: The aim of our study was to assess the relationships between systemic markers of general inflammation: interleukin 18 (IL-18) and C-reactive protein (CRP) and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) as well as dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) serum levels, in addition to the anthropometrical and biochemical indices of metabolic syndrome (MS) in men over the age of 40.Patients and methods: In 271 randomly chosen men aged 40 to 80 years living in Lubus...

Autoimmune thyroiditis is a common disease with different clinical aspects. It has not been established whether a rapid cellular destruction, with evolution towards hypothyroidism, may be associated with specific clinical phenotypes. To clarify this point, we studied 386 consecutive patients affected by autoimmune thyroiditis diagnosed within the previous 3 years: 193 patients (170 female and 23 males, age range 57.5±12.8, Group 1) were treated with L-thyro...

The endocannabinoid system is involved in modulating many metabolic and behavioural processes. Due to the instable nature of endocannabinoids in biological fluids and to the poor sensitivity of traditional analytical technologies, little is known about physiological circulating levels of these lipid mediators. We developed and validated an ID-LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous measurement of four endocannabinoids: anandamide (AEA), 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), palmitoyl-et...

Obesity and the metabolic syndrome show increased morbidity and mortality, by inducing morphological and functional alterations of several organs, the liver included (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease – NAFLD). They start with minimal alterations ranging to terminal liver disease (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis – NASH – and cirrhosis).We intended to identify the histological aspects in NAFLD and to examine the correlations between the histo...

Background: Manifestation of early age adiposity raises complicated forms of obesity and risks for concomitant diseases development.Objective: To detect obesogenic risk factors in preschool children screening study.Material and methods: Of 1008 children from 8 Minsk kindergartens were screened. Anthropometrical parameters, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) were measured. Body mass index (BMI) standardized for age ...

Hypogonadism is associated with increased body fat content and insulin resistance. Many associations including ADA, IDF and EASD declare that waist circumference is a reliable measure of visceral adiposity and may account for insulin resistance. Our observations in young male patients with idiopathic hypogonadotrophic hypogonadism (IHH) are opposite. Thus, we aimed to compare body fat content and anthropometric measurements between patients and age-matched eugonadal healthy co...

Some individuals with normal weight but probably visceral fat excess, called Metabolically Obese Normal-Weight (MONW), have disturbances typical for metabolic syndrome. We analyzed relationships between body fat distribution (estimated by DXA) and insulin resistance, serum inflammatory markers levels (CRP, IL-6, IL-18) and polymorphisms of IL-6 promoter and PPARγ in healthy, non-obese Polish subjects: 232 women (age 31.4±5.5; BMI 21.5±2.5) and 199 men (age 30.3&...

Background and aims: The fat mass and obesity associated gene (FTO) was identified as a gene with strong obesity related traits nevertheless the exact mechanism is still unknown. Our aim was to study the possible effects of FTO risk haplotype on anthropometric data and metabolic and hormonal parameters in lean women (to eliminate the influence of BMI) and to evaluate the effect of hormone contraception (HC).Materials and methods: The SNPs r...

The inflammatory response in rat models of obesity and malnutrition was examined. Rats received standard chow (control), chow enriched with 30% lard (obese) or 70, 50, 40 and 40% of expected food intake weekly for 4 weeks (starved). The serum levels of cytokines were determined by ELISA, while the expression of cytokine mRNA in heart and liver was analyzed by real-time RT-PCR. The blood concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF, IL-1) and Th1 cytokine IFN-gamma were si...

Several alterations of the metabolic processes develop during sepsis. Adiponectin and resistin are amongst the main adipokines that may contribute to the metabolic adaptations observed in the context of critical illness. However, there is scarce data on the circulating pattern of these adipokines in human sepsis. Therefore we aimed to describe the variation in circulating levels of resistin and adiponectin during the course of sepsis and examine whether they are related to the...

Physiological role of acylated ghrelin (AG), unacylated ghrelin (UAG) and obestatin is poorly understood especially in childhood. To understand their biological implications in obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS), we measured AG, UAG, obestatin, at fasting and every 60′ during oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in 60 prepubertal (PP–OB; 32) and pubertal (P-OB; 28) children. Paediatric IDF 2007 criteria was used to identifying MS. In PP-OB group, 20 (62.5%) children ...

Melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) gene is expressed in the brain and has been implicated in mediating most of the effects of melanocortin on food intake and energy expenditure. Common variants of MC4R gene are associated with fat mass, weight, risk of obesity and insulin resistance in several populations.We investigated if rs12970134 A/G is associated with obesity and studied its possible metabolic effects.Polymorphism was assesed by ...

Vitamin D role is not only associated with mineral metabolism and bone health but also in globally important diseases such as obesity and metabolic syndrome. The aims of this study were to investigate: i) 25(OH) vitamin D levels in obese patients with and without metabolic syndrome and compare these with levels in healthy subjects, ii) the relationship between serum 25(OH) vitamin D levels and metabolic syndrome components such as body mass index, waist circumference, blood pr...

Introduction: Tendency to store lipids centrally is well connected to development of diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM) and cardiovascular morbidity. Providing insight in this process is important.Method: Relationship between radius of waist line and thickness of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) was compared among forty obese patients (BMI> 30 kg/m2) in the light of their glycemic control parameters (fasting glucose, HOMA IR, HOMA beta).Pati...

Objective: Fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF-19) and FGF-21 are novel metabolic regulators that improve insulin resistence and obesity in rodents. The objective of this study was to explore whether changes in serum concentrations of FGF-19 and FGF-21 contribute to positive metabolic effects of weight loss induced by surgical treatment of obesity – sleeve gastrectomy (SG).Methods: Serum concentrations of FGF-19 and 21, adiponectin, resistin, fatty aci...

Introduction: Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine. For most of CAM, there are key questions that are yet to be answered through well-designed scientific studies. Obesity is one of the chronic health disorders which is difficult to deal and most of the obese patients are unable to lose or keep weight with diet, exercise or...

Progression of metabolic syndrome to diabetes is not easily predicted in patients with morbid obesity. We hypothesized that no insulin-resistance is more usual as we thought.Objective: Evaluate prevalence of no insulin-resistance status in patients with morbid obesity.Patients and method: The study was undertaken in 130 patients with a BMI of 53.93±6.67 kg/m2. The morbidly obese patients were divided into four group...

Introduction: Insulin resistance (IR) and visceral obesity, elements of metabolic syndrome (MS), contribute to hyperandogenaemia and may lead to hirsutism and other signs of hyperandrogenism. Little is known about the influence of metformin therapy (MET) on hormonal profile in women with MS and IR without menstrual irregularity.Aim: To asses the influence of MET on sex steroids concentrations in young women with MS.Methods: The stu...

The prevalence of overweight children and adolescents is one of the most important public health challenges today. The impact of this early obesity extends into adulthood: increased mortality and morbidity from a variety of conditions and adverse socio-economic consequences. No single approach to the treatment of childhood overweight has been demonstrated to be more effective than another. Challenges faced in managing obese child is selecting the approach that will be adhered ...

While bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment strategy to maintain long-term weight-loss and to improve survival, it has not been shown, that bariatric surgery is as effective in craniopharyngeoma patients with hypothalamic obesity. We retrospectively analyzed weight loss and metabolic parameters in 7 craniopharyngeoma patients and 14 controls who underwent gastric banding surgery in five centers in Germany and Austria. The last before and the first patient after the...

Background: Although acyl–ghrelin has been considered essential for ghrelin’s GH-releasing activity, several recent in vitro studies have shown that desacyl–ghrelin exhibits biological activities on metabolism and proliferation of adipocytes, myocytes, cardiomyocytes, and myelocytes. The full desacyl–ghrelin biological activity still remains a matter of debate.Aims: To assess desacyl–ghrelin circulating levels and its R51Q...

Aims: We investigate the influence of GIP on ghrelin secretion in normal glucose tolerant individuals with the use of the firstly applied correlation network analysis on human plasma metabolome data.Methods: To address this issue, we employed a GIP-infusion test and euglycemic- and hyperglycemic glucose clamp experiments combined with infusion of GIP or placebo in a cross-over manner in non diabetic obese male subjects (n=14). Moreover, we firstly...

Gestational weight gain has been linked to obesity in women of childbearing age. Mothers who breastfeed present less postpartum weight retention. The underlying pathophysiological mechanisms are unknown. This study aimed at investigating the impact of breastfeeding on maternal appetite-regulating hormones.The clinical trial recruited 29 women divided in three age- and BMI-matched groups. The first group included 10 fully breastfeeding mothers of 3 to 6 m...

Background: Familial resemblance was shown for body composition and risk factors in several studies. In twin studies which are powerful tool to assess genetically mediated traits significant resemblance was found in twins reared apart. In pairs of monozygotic twins was found significant resemblance in response to positive and negative energy balance. Aim of the study was to evaluate relationship of anthropometric parameters of parents and socioeconomic characteristics of famil...

Objective: Prevalence of childhood obesity has been increasing steadily. Unfortunately, only a small number of European countries have functional system to monitor this problem. Since it is very important to have comparable data on the international level, Childhood obesity surveillance initiative has been established by WHO Europe in 2006. The objective of the initiative is to monitor prevalence of obesity and factors related to obesity among children (nutrition habits, physi...

Serum and glucocorticoid-induced kinase 1 (Sgk1) is an early transcriptional target of glucocorticoids with antiapoptotic effects. Sgk1 becomes active after phosphorylation by growth factors such as insulin and IGF1 through the PI3 kinase/PDK1 pathway. Activated Sgk1 increases the cellular uptake of glucose by increasing the membrane abundance of glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT4. Here we present data on the expression and regulation of Sgk1 in adipose tissue using three di...

Background: Adiponectin is an adipokine with anti-diabetic properties. Recently, retinol binding protein-4 (RBP4) was identified as an adipokine associated with insulin resistance (IR) and a potential marker for type 2 diabetes (T2D) development.Aims: To compare adiponectin and RBP4 circulating levels according to presence/absence of diabetes/prediabetes, in obese women. To study the degree of association of those adipokines with indexes of IR and insuli...

This research was designed to estimate effectiveness and safety of Lindaxa in treatment of obesity associated with IGT and arterial hypertension. Thus, 20 women (mean age 37.9 years-old) were treated with complex therapy including traditional therapy (diet, physical exercises, dhydration, metabolic and symptomatic treatment) including Lindaxa with dosage of 10–15 mg/day once daily during 6 months. Physical exercises were determined individually according to BMI and metabo...