Despite efforts to elucidate the cellular adaptations induced by obesity, cellular bioenergetics is currently considered a crucial target. New strategies to delay the onset of the hazardous adaptations induced by obesity are needed. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of 4 weeks of melatonin treatment on mitochondrial function and lipid metabolism in the livers of leptin-deficient mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLeptin is critically compromised in the major common forms of obesity. Skeletal muscle is the main effector tissue for energy modification that occurs as a result of the effect of endocrine axes, such as leptin signaling. Our study was carried out using skeletal muscle from a leptin-deficient animal model, in order to ascertain the importance of this hormone and to identify the major skeletal muscle mechanisms affected.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdult hippocampal neurogenesis is altered during aging and under different neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases. Melatonin shows neurogenic and neuroprotective properties during aging and neuropathological conditions. In this study, we evaluated the effects of chronic treatment with melatonin on different markers of neurodegeneration and hippocampal neurogenesis using immunohistochemistry in the aged and neurodegenerative brains of SAMP8 mice, which is an animal model of accelerated senescence that mimics aging-related Alzheimer's pathology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSexual dimorphism has been reported in many processes. However, sexual bias in favour of the use of males is very present in science. One of the main reasons is that the impact of hormones in diverse pathways and processes such as autophagy have not been properly addressed in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAging is characterized by a progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and function (sarcopenia). Obesity exacerbates age-related decline and lead to frailty. Skeletal muscle fat infiltration increases with aging and seems to be crucial for the progression of sarcopenia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity is a health problem caused by a diet rich in energy and the sedentary lifestyle of modern societies. A leptin deficiency is one of the worst causes of obesity, since it results in morbid obesity, a chronic disease without a cure. Leptin is an adipokine secreted in a manner dependent on the circadian rhythm that ultimately reduces food intake.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: There are no tools or biomarkers for a quantitative analysis of sarcopenia.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study of the diagnosis of sarcopenia in 200 independent adults aged 70 years or over.
Main Outcome Measures: Sarcopenia was defined as loss of muscle mass together with low strength and/or loss of physical performance.
The sedentary lifestyle of modern society along with the high intake of energetic food has made obesity a current worldwide health problem. Despite great efforts to study the obesity and its related diseases, the mechanisms underlying the development of these diseases are not well understood. Therefore, identifying novel strategies to slow the progression of these diseases is urgently needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHerein we considered the role of oxidative stress on deficiencies of functional physical performance that could affect a future pre-frailty condition. Using principal component analyses (PCA), we created new variables to better describe the functionality regarding the physical performance of the upper and lower body limbs. Gait speed and the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score were classified by PCA to describe functional performance of the lower body limbs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite efforts to curb the incidence of obesity and its comorbidities, this condition remains the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. To identify ways to reduce this global effect, we investigated the actions of daily melatonin administration on oxidative stress parameters and autophagic processes as a possible treatment of obesity in ob/ob mice. The involvement of melatonin in many physiological functions, such as the regulation of seasonal body weight variation, glucose uptake, or adiposity, and the role of this indoleamine as an essential antioxidant, has become the focus of numerous anti-obesity studies.
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