Sleeve Gastrectomy Preferentially Increases GDF15 Plasma Levels in Patients With Obesity but Without Metabolic Syndrome.

The mechanisms by which bariatric/metabolic surgery induces weight loss and the amelioration of obesity-associated complications are far from being fully elucidated. Variations in circulating hormones involved in the regulation of energy balance are usually considered to explain the effects of surgery beyond the restrictive mechanism. Recent studies have shown that gastric bypass modulates the plasma levels of GDF15, a molecule with anorectic action potentially contributing to the body weight reduction observed after surgery.

Dissecting implicit food-related behaviors in Binge Eating Disorder and obesity: insights from a mobile approach-avoidance framework.

Introduction: Bulimic episodes experienced by patients with Binge Eating Disorder (BED) might be sustained by an enhanced behavioral propensity to approach food stimuli.

Methods: To test this hypothesis, automatic approach avoidance tendencies toward high-calorie foods (HCF), low-calorie foods (LCF), and neutral objects were assessed in a group of 23 patients with BED, and their performance was compared to the one of 17 patients with obesity without BED and a group of 32 normal weight participants. All participants performed a mobile approach-avoidance task in which they were required to approach and avoid different stimuli by respectively pulling their phone toward themselves or pushing it away.

Comparison of Cardiorespiratory Fitness Prediction Equations and Generation of New Predictive Model for Patients with Obesity.

Purpose: Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a critical marker of overall health and a key predictor of morbidity and mortality, but the existing prediction equations for CRF are primarily derived from general populations and may not be suitable for patients with obesity.

Methods: Predicted CRF from different non-exercise prediction equations was compared with measured CRF of patients with obesity who underwent maximal cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). Multiple linear regression was used to develop a population-specific nonexercise CRF prediction model for treadmill exercise including age, sex, weight, height, and physical activity level as determinants.

Soluble P2X7 Receptor Plasma Levels in Obese Subjects before and after Weight Loss via Bariatric Surgery.

Obesity is a systemic disease frequently associated with important complications such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. It has also been proven that obesity is a disease associated with chronic low-grade systemic inflammation and that weight loss improves this low-grade chronic inflammatory condition. The P2X7 purinergic receptor (P2X7R), belonging to the family of the receptors for extracellular ATP, is a main player in inflammation, activating inflammasome and pro-inflammatory cytokine production.

Non-aromatizable androgens modulate the lipopolysaccharide induced expression of the P2X7 receptor in human adipocytes.

The activation of the P2X7 receptor subtype (P2X7R) has a main role in orchestrating the cellular inflammatory response in many different tissues. Obesity is characterized by dysfunctional fat deposition leading to a tissue-specific and systemic low-grade inflammation. Androgens and estrogens contribute to the whole adipose tissue inflammatory state, but the involvement of sex steroids in the purinergic signaling modulation in adipocytes is still unknown.

Insulin Stimulates IL-23 Expression in Human Adipocytes: A Possible Explanation for the Higher Prevalence of Psoriasis in Obesity.

Purpose: Psoriasis is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease involving the production of many pro-inflammatory cytokines derived from immune cells and interacting with different tissues leading to the typical skin lesions. Psoriasis shows a higher prevalence and a worse progression in obese than in lean subjects. The IL-23/IL-17 immune axis has a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and anti-IL-23 monoclonal antibodies are highly effective in its treatment.

Body Weight Reduction by Bariatric Surgery Reduces the Plasma Levels of the Novel Orexigenic Gut Hormone Insulin-like Peptide 5 in Patients with Severe Obesity.

Insulin-like factor 5 (INSL5), a novel hormone secreted by the enteroendocrine cells of the distal colon, has been implicated in appetite and body weight regulation in animals given its orexigenic properties. We investigated basal INSL5 plasma levels in a group of morbidly obese subjects before and after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Furthermore, we analyzed the expression of in human adipose tissue.

Analysis of Walking Economy after Sleeve Gastrectomy in Patients with Severe Obesity.

Background: Obesity is associated with a higher energy cost of walking which affects activities of daily living. Bariatric surgery with sleeve gastrectomy (SG) has beneficial effects on weight loss and comorbidities.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the impact of SG on walking economy in subjects with severe obesity.

Dihydrotestosterone, and Not Testosterone, Enhances the LPS-Induced Inflammatory Cytokine Gene Expression in Human Adipocytes.

Background: The development of obesity-related complications lies in the low-grade inflammatory state consequent to adipocyte dysfunction. The direct involvement of sex hormones in adipose tissue inflammation has been previously suggested, but the evidence is scarce. In this study, we evaluated the effects of sex steroids on the in-vitroexpression of inflammatory mediators in human-derived adipocytes before and after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure.

Molecular and Pharmacological Evidence for the Expression of Multiple Functional P2 Purinergic Receptors in Human Adipocytes.

Extracellular ATP exerts important functions as an extracellular signaling molecule via the activation of specific P2 purinergic receptors (P2X and P2Y). We investigated the expression of the different P2 receptors and their possible functional activation in human adipocytes in primary culture. We performed molecular expression analysis of the P2 receptors in human mature adipocytes; examined their functional activation by different nucleotides evaluating [Ca] modifications and IL-6 secretion, and determined the ability of adipocytes to release ATP in the extracellular medium.

Metabolic syndrome and andrological diseases.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and andrological diseases share common risk factors and common patho-physiological mechanism. In this brief review we describe the relation between metabolic syndrome and male sexual disorders, and we explore the available evidence of the pathophysiological mechanisms correlating these conditions. The aim of this study was to describe the relation between metabolic syndrome and andrological diseases.

EAES rapid guideline: systematic review, network meta-analysis, CINeMA and GRADE assessment, and European consensus on bariatric surgery-extension 2022.

Background: The European Association for Endoscopic Surgery Bariatric Guidelines Group identified a gap in bariatric surgery recommendations with a structured, contextualized consideration of multiple bariatric interventions.

Objective: To provide evidence-informed, transparent and trustworthy recommendations on the use of sleeve gastrectomy, Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, adjustable gastric banding, gastric plication, biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch, one anastomosis gastric bypass, and single anastomosis duodeno-ileal bypass with sleeve gastrectomy in patients with severe obesity and metabolic diseases. Only laparoscopic procedures in adults were considered.

Weight-adjusted versus fixed dose heparin thromboprophylaxis in hospitalized obese patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Fixed dose unfractionated or low molecular weight heparin is the recommended treatment for venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention in hospitalized patients. However, its efficacy has been questioned in obese population. Results of previous studies on weight-adjusted doses of heparin for VTE prevention are contradictory.

COVID-19 and smoking habits: a smoky situation!

Dear Editor, the issues recently raised by Carratù et al. on the role of smoking/former smoking in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 all around the world as widely reported in many different published papers, are important for different reasons..