Targeting appetite and satiety in diabetes and obesity, via G protein-coupled receptors.

Type 2 diabetes and obesity have reached pandemic proportions throughout the world, so much so that the World Health Organisation coined the term "Globesity" to help encapsulate the magnitude of the problem. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are highly tractable drug targets due to their wide involvement in all aspects of physiology and pathophysiology, indeed, GPCRs are the targets of approximately 30% of the currently approved drugs. GPCRs are also broadly involved in key physiologies that underlie type 2 diabetes and obesity including feeding reward, appetite and satiety, regulation of blood glucose levels, energy homeostasis and adipose function.

Dopamine and ghrelin receptor co-expression and interaction in the spinal defecation centers.

Background: Dopamine receptor 2 (DRD2) and ghrelin receptor (GHSR1a) agonists both stimulate defecation by actions at the lumbosacral defecation center. Dopamine is in nerve terminals surrounding autonomic neurons of the defecation center, whereas ghrelin is not present in the spinal cord. Dopamine at D2 receptors generally inhibits neurons, but at the defecation center, its effect is excitatory.

Design, synthesis and characterization of a fluorescently labeled functional analog of full-length human ghrelin.

Human ghrelin receptor (GHSR) is a recognized prospective target in the diagnosis and therapy of multiple cancer types. To gain a better understanding of this receptor signaling system, we have synthesized a novel full-length ghrelin analog that is fluorescently labeled at the side-chain of a C-terminal cysteine extension. This analog exhibited nanomolar affinity and potency for the ghrelin receptor.

Medical foster home is less costly than traditional nursing home care.

Objective: To compare the costs of Community Nursing Homes (CNHs) to Medical Foster Homes (MFHs) at Veteran Health Administration (VHA) Medical Centers that established MFH programs.

Data Sources: Episode and costs data were derived from VA and Medicare files (inpatient, outpatient, emergency room, skilled nursing facility, dialysis, and hospice).

Study Design: Propensity scores matched 354 MFH to 1693 CNH Veterans on demographics, clinical characteristics, health care utilization, and costs.

Medical Foster Homes: Can the Adult Foster Care Model Substitute for Nursing Home Care?

Objective: To compare characteristics, healthcare use, and costs of care of veterans in the rapidly expanding Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical foster home (MFH) with those of three other VHA long-term care (LTC) programs.

Design: Descriptive, unmatched study.

Setting: VHA MFHs, home-based primary care (HBPC), community living centers (CLCs), and community nursing homes (CNHs).

Hospital Readmission From Post-Acute Care Facilities: Risk Factors, Timing, and Outcomes.

Objectives: Hospital discharges to post-acute care (PAC) facilities have increased rapidly. This increase may lead to more hospital readmissions from PAC facilities, which are common and poorly understood. We sought to determine the risk factors and timing for hospital readmission from PAC facilities and evaluate the impact of readmission on patient outcomes.