Sexual function, health functionality, and quality of life in females with pulmonary arterial hypertension: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) can have several consequences on sexual function, which can lead to worsened quality of life.

Aim: The study sought to assess sexual function and its association with health functionality and quality of life in females with PAH.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in pulmonary circulation outpatient clinics from January 2022 to March 2023 in females diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension.

Personalized lung care: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia risk prediction tool tailored for neonates born in resource-limited settings.

Purpose: Predicting bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) to assess the risk-benefit of therapy is necessary considering the side effects of medications. We developed and validated an instrument for predicting BPD and compared it with an instrument currently used for neonates born in a Brazilian hospital.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of patients born between 2016 and 2020 with a gestational age (GA) between 23 and 30 weeks.

Time-restricted feeding during embryonic development leads to metabolic dysfunction in adult rat offspring.

Objectives: Maternal circadian eating time and frequency are associated with altered glucose metabolism during pregnancy in humans. Research on long maternal fasting intervals is inconclusive, and little is known about the effect of maternal time feeding on offspring health. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to determine whether maternal time feeding influences the metabolic status of both male and female offspring.

Effect of nighttime light exposure on glucose metabolism in protein-restricted mice.

Disruption of biological rhythms due to exposure to artificial light at night (ALAN) has emerged as a new risk factor for metabolic diseases. However, the effects of ALAN exposure on energy metabolism with concomitant misalignment in the circadian system caused by nutritional imbalance remain largely unexplored. Here, we evaluate whether a low-protein (LP) diet could enhance the effects induced by exposure to ALAN on the energy metabolism and consequently predispose to metabolic disorders.

Renoprotection Induced by Aerobic Training Is Dependent on Nitric Oxide Bioavailability in Obese Zucker Rats.

Aerobic training (AT) promotes several health benefits that may attenuate the progression of obesity associated diabetes. Since AT is an important nitric oxide (NO) inducer mediating kidney-healthy phenotype, the present study is aimed at investigating the effects of AT on metabolic parameters, morphological, redox balance, inflammatory profile, and vasoactive peptides in the kidney of obese-diabetic Zucker rats receiving L-NAME (N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester). Forty male Zucker rats (6 wk old) were assigned into four groups ( = 10, each): sedentary lean rats (CTL-Lean), sedentary obese rats (CTL-Obese), AT trained obese rats without blocking nitric oxide synthase (NOS) (Obese+AT), and obese-trained with NOS block (Obese+AT+L-NAME).

Metformin Improves Autonomic Nervous System Imbalance and Metabolic Dysfunction in Monosodium L-Glutamate-Treated Rats.

Metformin is an antidiabetic drug used for the treatment of diabetes and metabolic diseases. Imbalance in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) is associated with metabolic diseases. This study aimed to test whether metformin could improve ANS function in obese rats.

High plasma renin activity associates with obesity-related diabetes and arterial hypertension, and predicts persistent hypertension after bariatric surgery.

Background: Information about the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) in obese individuals before and after bariatric surgery is scarce. Aim of this study was to analyze the RAAS in severely obese subjects, in relation to anthropometric and metabolic variables, with special reference to glucose tolerance.

Methods: 239 subjects were evaluated at baseline, and 181 one year after bariatric surgery [laparoscopic gastric banding (LAGB)].

The influence of time of day on the performance of adolescent swimmers.

The study aimed to investigate the effects of time-of-day, chronotype, and sex differences on the relationships between anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and swimming performance of normally diurnally active adolescent athletes. Thirty-three competitive swimmers, 20 boys (14.8 ± 1.

Clock Genes, Inflammation and the Immune System-Implications for Diabetes, Obesity and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Inflammation is a common feature of several diseases, including obesity, diabetes and neurodegenerative disorders. Circadian clock genes are expressed and oscillate in many cell types such as macrophages, neurons and pancreatic β cells. During inflammation, these endogenous clocks control the temporal gating of cytokine production, the antioxidant response, chemokine attraction and insulin secretion, among other processes.

Resistance training improves sleep quality, redox balance and inflammatory profile in maintenance hemodialysis patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Patients in maintenance hemodialisys (HD) present sleep disorders, increased inflammation, unbalanced redox profiles, and elevated biomarkers representing endothelial dysfunction. Resistance training (RT) has shown to mitigate the loss of muscle mass, strength, improve inflammatory profiles, and endothelial function while decreasing oxidative stress for those in HD. However, the relation between those factors and sleep quality are inadequately described.

Time-of-Day Effects on Short-Duration Maximal Exercise Performance.

Time-of-day dependent fluctuations in exercise performance have been documented across different sports and seem to affect both endurance and resistance modes of exercise. Most of the studies published to date have shown that the performance in short-duration maximal exercises (i.e.

Prognostic value of six-minute walk distance at a South American pulmonary hypertension referral center.

Six-minute walk distance (6MWD) assessment is recommended for pulmonary arterial hypertension multidimensional risk stratification. However, current 6MWD cut-off values were mainly derived from North American and European pulmonary arterial hypertension registries. Therefore, it is unknown if such cut-off values broadly apply to other geographical populations.

Modified BODE Index to Predict Mortality in Individuals With COPD: The Role of 4-Min Step Test.

Background: The BODE (body mass index, air-flow obstruction, dyspnea, exercise capacity) index is a composite prognostic marker that predicts mortality in COPD. It includes body mass index, air-flow obstruction, dyspnea score, and exercise capacity by using the 6-min walk distance. However, a 30-m-long corridor is necessary to perform the test and this limits its use in clinical practice.

Moderate exercise training since adolescence reduces Walker 256 tumour growth in adult rats.

Key Points: Cancer growth, cell proliferation and cachexia index can be attenuated by the beneficial programming effect of moderate exercise training, especially if it begins in adolescence. Walker 256 tumour-bearing rats who started exercise training during adolescence did not revert the basal low glycaemia and insulinaemia observed before tumour cell inoculation. The moderate exercise training improved glucose tolerance and peripheral insulin sensitivity only in rats exercised early in adolescence.

Inspiratory muscle weakness contributes to exertional dyspnea in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Determination of potentially-reversible factors contributing to exertional dyspnea remains an unmet clinical need in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the influence of inspiratory muscle weakness (IMW) on exercise capacity and dyspnea during effort in patients with CTEPH. We performed a prospective cross-sectional study that included thirty-nine consecutive patients with CTEPH (48 ± 15 yrs, 61% female) confirmed by right heart catheterization that underwent an incremental cardiopulmonary exercise test, 6-minute walk test and maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) measurement.

Aerobic Exercise Training Attenuates Tumor Growth and Reduces Insulin Secretion in Walker 256 Tumor-Bearing Rats.

Aerobic exercise training can improve insulin sensitivity in many tissues; however, the relationship among exercise, insulin, and cancer cell growth is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that aerobic exercise training begun during adolescence can attenuate Walker 256 tumor growth in adult rats and alter insulin secretion. Thirty-day-old male Wistar rats engaged in treadmill running for 8 weeks, 3 days/week, 44 min/day, at 55-65% VO until they were 90 days old (TC, Trained Control).

Nighttime light exposure enhances Rev-erbα-targeting microRNAs and contributes to hepatic steatosis.

Objective: The exposure to artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts the biological rhythms and has been associated with the development of metabolic syndrome. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) display a critical role in fine-tuning the circadian system and energy metabolism. In this study, we aimed to assess whether altered miRNAs expression in the liver underlies metabolic disorders caused by disrupted biological rhythms.

Protein malnutrition after weaning disrupts peripheral clock and daily insulin secretion in mice.

Changes in nutritional state may alter circadian rhythms through alterations in expression of clock genes. Protein deficiency has a profound effect on body metabolism, but the effect of this nutrient restriction after weaning on biological clock has not been explored. Thus, this study aims to investigate whether the protein restriction affects the daily oscillation in the behavior and metabolic rhythms, as well as expression of clock genes in peripheral tissues.

Maternal low intensity physical exercise prevents obesity in offspring rats exposed to early overnutrition.

Low intensity exercise during pregnancy and lactation may create a protective effect against the development of obesity in offspring exposed to overnutrition in early life. To test these hypotheses, pregnant rats were randomly assigned into 2 groups: Sedentary and Exercised, low intensity, on a rodent treadmill at 30% VO /30-minute/session/3x/week throughout pregnancy and the lactation. Male offspring were raised in small litters (SL, 3 pups/dam) and normal litters (NL, 9 pups/dam) as models of early overnutrition and normal feed, respectively.

Taurine Treatment Modulates Circadian Rhythms in Mice Fed A High Fat Diet.

Close ties have been made among certain nutrients, obesity, type 2 diabetes and circadian clocks. Among nutrients, taurine has been documented as being effective against obesity and type 2 diabetes. However, the impact of taurine on circadian clocks has not been elucidated.

Acephate exposure during a perinatal life program to type 2 diabetes.

Acephate has been used extensively as an insecticide in agriculture. Its downstream sequelae are associated with hyperglycemia, lipid metabolism dysfunction, DNA damage, and cancer, which are rapidly growing epidemics and which lead to increased morbidity and mortality rates and soaring health-care costs. Developing interventions will require a comprehensive understanding of which excess insecticides during perinatal life can cause insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Methylglyoxal treatment in lactating mothers leads to type 2 diabetes phenotype in male rat offspring at adulthood.

Purpose: Environmental and nutritional disorders during perinatal period cause metabolic dysfunction in the progeny and impair human health. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are primarily produced during metabolism of excess blood glucose, which is observed in diabetes. Methylglyoxal (MG) is a precursor for the generation of endogenous AGEs, which disturbs the metabolism.

Cross-fostering reduces obesity induced by early exposure to monosodium glutamate in male rats.

Maternal obesity programmes a range of metabolic disturbances for the offspring later in life. Moreover, environmental changes during the suckling period can influence offspring development. Because both periods significantly affect long-term metabolism, we aimed to study whether cross-fostering during the lactation period was sufficient to rescue a programmed obese phenotype in offspring induced by maternal obesity following monosodium L-glutamate (MSG) treatment.