Adiponectin, the adiponectin paradox, and Alzheimer's Disease: Is this association biologically plausible?

Dementia, especially Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and vascular dementia, is a major public health problem that continues to expand in both economically emerging and hegemonic countries. In 2017, the World Alzheimer Report estimated that over 50 million people were living with dementia globally. Metabolic dysfunctions of brain structures such as the hippocampus and cerebral cortex have been implicated as risk factors for dementia.

Angiotensin-(3-4) normalizes blood pressure, decreases Na and energy intake, but preserves urinary Na excretion in overweight hypertensive rats.

Hypertension, one of the most common and severe comorbidities of obesity and overweight, is a worldwide epidemic affecting over 30% of the population. We induced overweight in young male rats (aged 58 days) by exposure to a hypercaloric high lipid (HL) diet in which 70% of the calories originated from fat. The HL diet also contained 33 or 57% higher Na than the control (CTR) diet.

Insights Into the Controversial Aspects of Adiponectin in Cardiometabolic Disorders.

In 2016, the World Health Organization estimated that more than 1.9 billion adults were overweight or obese. This impressive number shows that weight excess is pandemic.

High-molecular weight adiponectin/HOMA-IR ratio as a biomarker of metabolic syndrome in urban multiethnic Brazilian subjects.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has an important epidemiological relevance due to its increasing prevalence and association with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Insulin resistance is a core feature of the MetS. HOMA-IR is a robust clinical and epidemiological marker of MetS.

Circulating Endocannabinoids and the Polymorphism 385C>A in Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH) Gene May Identify the Obesity Phenotype Related to Cardiometabolic Risk: A Study Conducted in a Brazilian Population of Complex Interethnic Admixture.

The dysregulation of the endocannabinoid system is associated with cardiometabolic complications of obesity. Allelic variants in coding genes for this system components may contribute to differences in the susceptibility to obesity and related health hazards. These data have mostly been shown in Caucasian populations and in severely obese individuals.

The endocannabinoid system--back to the scene of cardiometabolic risk factors control?

This review examines the impact of the endocannabinoid signaling system on metabolic and cardiovascular health and the new therapeutic strategies that selectively target dysfunctional endocannabinoid action in peripheral tissues, without causing the undesirable central nervous system effects that occurred with the first-generation of CB1 receptor blockers. We first review the components of the endocannabinoid system and the enzymes that synthesize and degrade the endocannabinoids, the critical role of the system in the homeostasis of energy balance, and its hedonic aspects related to the incentive and motivational value of food. Second, we describe the central and peripheral actions of the endocannabinoid system and its interactions with other biological modulators, such as ghrelin and leptin.

Association between leptin and its soluble receptor with cardiometabolic risk factors in a Brazilian population.

Background: Most studies evaluating the conjoint effects of leptin and human soluble leptin receptor (hs-LR) on cardiometabolic risk factors have been conducted in well-characterized ethnic groups. We aimed to assess the associations of leptin and hs-LR with the cardiometabolic risk factors that reflect the components of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in a Brazilian population with varying degrees of adiposity.

Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of adult subjects (n=173, age 45 ± 12 years, 124 women; body mass index [BMI] 35.

Skin capillary density and microvascular reactivity in obese subjects with and without metabolic syndrome.

Obesity is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. We hypothesized that microvascular function may be impaired in obese subjects with metabolic syndrome (OB-MetSnd) compared to obese subjects without MetSnd (OB) and healthy subjects (HS). In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated skin capillary density (SCD) in OB-MetSnd (n=20, 12 women, BMI=36.

Beta3-adrenergic receptor polymorphism is related to cardiometabolic risk factors in obese Brazilian subjects.

We determined whether ADRbeta3 polymorphism is associated with obesity-related traits in 140 obese patients. Molecular analysis was performed by PCR and RFLP. Individuals carrying the Arg64 allele had a lower waist-to-hip ratio, higher adiponectin and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, and a tendency towards lower blood pressure.

Effect of a high-calcium energy-reduced diet on abdominal obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in obese Brazilian subjects.

Background: Clinical trials designed to examine the effects of calcium supplementation on abdominal obesity have had ambiguous results.

Aims: This study aimed to evaluate, during energy restriction, the effects of a high-calcium diet (HCD) on measures of abdominal obesity and cardiometabolic risk factors in Brazilian obese subjects of multiethnic origin.

Methods: We conducted a randomised clinical trial.

Hypoadiponectinemia is associated with prehypertension in obese individuals of multiethnic origin.

Background: Considering that prehypertension is associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk, hypoadiponectinemia seems to be a predictor of hypertension.

Hypothesis: This study investigated whether adiponectin plasma levels are affected in Brazilian obese prehypertensives compared with those in normotensives and hypertensives.

Methods: The study involved 96 multiethnic obese subjects (mean age = 42.

Temporal relation between body mass index and renal function in individuals with hypertension and excess body weight.

Objective: Recent evidence has suggested obesity as an independent risk factor for chronic kidney disease. However, the temporal relation between body mass index (BMI) and early renal dysfunction is unknown. This study aimed at evaluating whether longitudinal variations in BMI would reflect on changes in estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in hypertensive individuals with excess body weight.

Not all obese subjects of multiethnic origin are at similar risk for developing hypertension and type 2 diabetes.

Background: Whether insulin resistance and not obesity per se is the major contributor to clinical outcomes associated with obesity has not been fully established. This study evaluated in a group of obese Brazilians of multiethnic origin to what extent the prevalence of hypertension and other cardiometabolic risk factors varies as a function of the degree of insulin sensitivity.

Methods: The study involved 118 individuals (mean age of 44+/-12 years; BMI=38.

Association of a common variant of the leptin gene with blood pressure in an obese Brazilian population.

Background: This study assessed in obese Brazilians subjects whether a common variant of leptin gene, -2548G>A, is associated with blood pressure changes.

Methods: A total of 140 subjects, 99 women; mean age of 45.2 +/- 12.

Treatment of hypertension in individuals with the cardiometabolic syndrome: role of an angiotensin II receptor blocker, telmisartan.

Arterial hypertension is a global public health problem owing to its high prevalence and association with increased risk for cerebral, cardiac and renal events. Hypertension frequently clusters with other cardiometabolic risk factors, such as dysglycemia, low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high triglyceride levels. These, along with other factors such as central obesity, increased inflammation, endothelial dysfunction and thrombosis, are components of the metabolic syndrome.

LEPR p.Q223R, beta3-AR p.W64R and LEP c.-2548G>A gene variants in obese Brazilian subjects.

Obesity is due to the combined effects of genes, environment, lifestyle, and the interactions of these factors. The adrenergic receptor beta3 (beta3-AR), leptin (LEP) and leptin receptor (LEPR) genes have been intensively evaluated in the search of variants that could be related to obesity and its cardiometabolic complications. The results of most of these studies have been controversial.

Antihypertensive efficacy of amlodipine and losartan after two 'missed' doses in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension.

We compared the effects of amlodipine (5-10 mg, n=94) and losartan (50-100 mg, n=94) on the lowering of blood pressure (BP) at steady state and after two missed doses, as well as on tolerability. This was a randomized, double-blind study of 12 weeks of active treatment followed by 2 days of placebo treatment. Twenty-four-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and office BP measurements were performed at baseline, week 12 and after the 2-day drug holiday.

Hypoadiponectinemia is associated with blood pressure increase in obese insulin-resistant individuals.

Adiponectin is a major adipocytokine and has been considered as an independent risk factor for arterial hypertension. Most studies on the subject have been restricted to biracial (white-black) and Asian groups. The present report examined whether adiponectin affects blood pressure in a sample of untreated obese Brazilians of multiethnic origin.

Obesity-hypertension: an ongoing pandemic.

Considerable evidence has suggested that excessive weight gain is the most common cause of arterial hypertension. This association has been observed in several populations, in different regions of the world. Obesity-hypertension, a term that underscores the link between these two deleterious conditions, is an important public health challenge, because of its high frequency and concomitant risk of cardiovascular and kidney diseases.

Renal functional reserve in obesity hypertension.

The capacity to increase glomerular filtration rate in response to an acute oral protein load is known as the renal functional reserve; the loss of such capacity is used as a marker of hyperfiltration. This physiological response in obese hypertensives is not yet fully understood. We aimed to study the interdependent effects of obesity and hypertension on renal reserve, taking into account renal kallikrein and nitric oxide in the modulation of that parameter.

[Effects of greater-than-5% weight reduction on hemodynamic, metabolic and neuroendocrine profiles of grade I obese subjects].

Objective: To evaluate the effects of a greater-than-5% weight reduction in hemodynamic, metabolic, and neuroendocrine profiles of grade I obese subjects.

Methods: Observational study with 47 grade I obese subjects, with mean age of 33 years who received monthly orientation regarding diet, physical exercises, and eating behavior for four months. Blood pressure using the auscultatory method and pulse rate were assessed monthly, whereas the following variables (and respective methods) were measured at the beginning and at the end of the study: total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol (enzymatic method), LDL-cholesterol (Friedewald formula), blood glucose (hexokinase method), leptin, adiponectin, renin, aldosterone, insulin (radioimmunoassay) and insulin-resistance index (HOMA).

p.Q223R leptin receptor polymorphism associated with obesity in Brazilian multiethnic subjects.

Several genes play a major role in obese phenotypes, and studies suggest that genetic variations among individuals, as well as their lifestyles, may bring about different body compositions. Among these genes, LEP, which codifies leptin, and the LEPR gene encoding its receptor were extensively studied for variants that could explain the obese phenotype. The LEPR p.