Vitamin D deficiency, insulin resistance and thyroid dysfunction in obese patients: is inflammation the common link?

The aim of this article is to study the possible relation of serum vitamin D concentrations to body mass index (BMI), visceral fat thickness (VFT), insulin resistance (IR), inflammation (serum monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 - MCP-1) and thyroid parameters in obese patients. A total of 158 non-diabetic, obese patients aged 19-68 without a history of thyroid pathology were recruited. Biochemical markers, insulin, 25-OH vitamin D, thyroid parameters (TSH, FT3, FT4, TPO antibodies, TG antibodies) and VFT were measured.

Adrenal glands transabdominal ultrasonography - pictorial essay.

Adrenal gland ultrasonography is one of the corner stones of the abdominal ultrasonography examination for many medical specialties. The adrenal areas can be easily overlooked though adrenal gland pathology is diverse. We present the normal aspects and various transabdominal ultrasonography findings of the adrenal glands, both common and rare.

Parathyroid incidentaloma detected during thyroid sonography - prevalence and significance beyond images.

Introduction: Parathyroid incidentaloma (PTI) designates a nodule discovered incidentally during thyroid sonography, and whose location and aspect suggests an abnormal parathyroid. Our aim was to assess the prevalence of PTI, their functional characteristics and to identify the factors correlated with their presence.

Patients And Methods: We recorded all patients detected with PTI between January 2009 and December 2011, in our department.

Ectopic intrathyroid parathyroid adenoma: diagnostic and therapeutic challenges due to multiple osteolytic lesions. Case report.

Intrathyroid parathyroid adenoma is a rare lesion. Its location is usually achieved by cervical ultrasound and scintigraphy. We present the case of a 48-years old woman admitted for malaise, weight loss, generalized bone pain, and important limitation of hip and scapular-humeral joints mobility.

Is epicardial adipose tissue, assessed by echocardiography, a reliable method for visceral adipose tissue prediction?

Introduction: Epicardial adipose tissue is an ectopic fat storage at the heart surface in direct contact with the coronary arteries. It is considered a metabolically active tissue, being a local source of pro-inflammatory factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease. The AIM of our study was to establish correlations between echocardiographic assessment of epicardial adipose tissue and anthropometric and ultrasound measurements of the central and peripheral fat depots.

Secretory type II phospholipase A2 is produced and secreted by epicardial adipose tissue and overexpressed in patients with coronary artery disease.

Context: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is a visceral adipose tissue in close contact with coronary vessels, the excess of which is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Objective: Our goal was to identify candidate molecule(s) characterizing EAT that could intervene in the pathogenesis of CAD.

Design: An approach combining microarrays and bioinformatic sequence analysis tools for predicting secreted proteins (TargetP) was applied to paired biopsies of sc adipose tissue (SAT) and EAT, obtained from patients with or without CAD (NCAD).

Liver biopsy versus noninvasive methods--fibroscan and fibrotest in the diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a review of the literature.

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing in general population so it is impossible to perform liver biopsy in such a large number of patients to identify those with advanced fibrosis or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Liver biopsy has a potential sampling error, it is invasive and prone to complications, so it is no longer considered as mandatory as first line screening tools for chronic liver disease. The development of non-invasive biomarkers, FibroTest-ActiTest in 2001 and more recently FibroMax, as well as transient elastography (TE) has changed the management of chronic liver disease.

Epicardial adipose tissue extent: relationship with age, body fat distribution, and coronaropathy.

Epicardial fat is a relatively neglected component of the heart and could be an important risk factor of cardiac disease. The objective of our study was to assess the relationship between epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) extent, fat distribution, and coronaropathy in a group of adult victims of accidental or suspicious sudden death. In 56 cadavers, we performed 34 measurements of EAT from five computerized photographs of the heart (anterior and posterior faces, and three ventricle transversal slices) and analyzed their relationship with anthropometric markers of adiposity (BMI, waist and leg circumference, thickness of abdominal and thigh subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT)), with the presence and staging of coronary artery disease (CAD), and with markers of myocardial hypertrophy.

Expression of adrenomedullin in human epicardial adipose tissue: role of coronary status.

Epicardial white adipose tissue (eWAT) is in close contact with coronary vessels and therefore could alter coronary homeostasis. Adrenomedullin (AM) is a potent vasodilatator and antioxidative peptide which has been shown to play a cytoprotective role in experimental models of acute myocardial infarction. We studied, using immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR, the expression of AM and its receptors calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CRLR), and receptor activity-modifying protein (RAMP)2 and -3 in paired biopsies of subcutaneous WAT (sWAT) and eWAT obtained from patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) or without CAD (NCAD).