Functional effect of adiponectin and body composition assessment in lung cancer subjects after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy.

Background: Lung cancer is a pathology with an important incidence. It is a multifactorial disease characterized by epigenetic and nutritional factors. Indeed, there is a strong association between adipose tissue and the pulmonary system, and low-grade inflammation of obese and/or overweight subjects have a pivotal role in lung cancer establishment.

Evaluation of Orexin-A Salivary Levels and its Correlation with Attention After Non-invasive Brain Stimulation in Female Volleyball Players.

Background: The capacity to change attention from one area to another depending on the many environmental circumstances present is a crucial aspect of selective attention and is strictly correlated to reaction time. The cholinergic system of the basal forebrain is crucial for attentive abilities. Several inputs, particularly orexin neurons, whose cell bodies are found in the postero-lateral hypothalamus, can activate the cholinergic system.

Ketogenic Diet and Breast Cancer: Recent Findings and Therapeutic Approaches.

Breast cancer (BC), a complex disease with several influencing factors, is significantly impacted by dietary habits. The ketogenic diet (KD), characterized by high fat and low carbohydrate intake, has gained attention as a potential therapeutic approach, but its effects on BC remain unclear. This review seeks to summarize the current knowledge on the principles of the KD, its metabolic influence on BC cells, and the findings of recent clinical trials, in order to elucidate the potential therapeutic role of the KD in BC management.

Acute non invasive brain stimulation improves performances in volleyball players.

Objectives: The ability to redirect one's attention in response to various environmental situations is a crucial aspect of selective attention in team sports. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate whether repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in volleyball players can improve Posner test response and cortical excitability. This study had a double-blinded (participant and evaluator) matched-pair experimental design.

Agomelatine: A Potential Multitarget Compound for Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Agomelatine (AGM) is one of the latest atypical antidepressants, prescribed exclusively for the treatment of depression in adults. AGM belongs to the pharmaceutical class of melatonin agonist and selective serotonin antagonist ("MASS"), as it acts both as a selective agonist of melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2, and as a selective antagonist of 5-HT2C/5-HT2B receptors. AGM is involved in the resynchronization of interrupted circadian rhythms, with beneficial effects on sleep patterns, while antagonism on serotonin receptors increases the availability of norepinephrine and dopamine in the prefrontal cortex, with an antidepressant and nootropic effect.

High frequencies (HF) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) increase motor coordination performances in volleyball players.

Introduction: It is widely demonstrated that high frequency (HF) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has facilitative effects and is therefore capable to inducing changes in motor responses. One of the most investigated areas is the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) as it plays a special executive attention role in actively preserving access to stimulus representations and objectives in environments with plenty of distraction such as those of team sports. Volleyball is a team sport in which the attention and coordination components are essential for achieving performance.

Effectiveness and Safety of a New Nutrient Fixed Combination Containing Pollen Extract Plus Teupolioside, in the Management of LUTS in Patients with Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy: A Pilot Study.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a common cause of male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) that can reduce quality of life. Even if several drugs can be used in its treatment, the development of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) represents the most common cause of low adherence. In the present study, we evaluate both the efficacy and the safety of a new nutrient fixed combination of Pollen Extract plus Teupolioside, named Xipag®, in patients with LUTS.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation as a Tool to Investigate Motor Cortex Excitability in Sport.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation, since its introduction in 1985, has brought important innovations to the study of cortical excitability as it is a non-invasive method and, therefore, can be used both in healthy and sick subjects. Since the introduction of this cortical stimulation technique, it has been possible to deepen the neurophysiological aspects of motor activation and control. In this narrative review, we want to provide a brief overview regarding TMS as a tool to investigate changes in cortex excitability in athletes and highlight how this tool can be used to investigate the acute and chronic responses of the motor cortex in sport science.

Aerobic Exercise and Metabolic Syndrome: The Role of Sympathetic Activity and the Redox System.

Background: Aerobic exercise can greatly assist in reducing collateral effects of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Moreover, aerobic exercise is associated with sympathetic activation and adaptive responses to sustain muscle engagement, changes in the release of Orexin A, a pleiotropic neuropeptide.

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the beneficial effects of aerobic exercise without dietary changes, in a cohort of MetS subjects, focusing on the role of sympathetic and orexinergic activity.

The Important Role of Adiponectin and Orexin-A, Two Key Proteins Improving Healthy Status: Focus on Physical Activity.

Exercise represents the most important integrative therapy in metabolic, immunologic and chronic diseases; it represents a valid strategy in the non-pharmacological intervention of lifestyle linked diseases. A large body of evidence indicates physical exercise as an effective measure against chronic non-communicable diseases. The worldwide general evidence for health benefits are both for all ages and skill levels.

Inhibition of aldose-reductase-2 by a benzofuroxane derivative bf-5m increases the expression of kcne1, kcnq1 in high glucose cultured H9c2 cardiac cells and sudden cardiac death.

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is characterized by prolonged QT interval, leading to sudden cardiac death. Hyperglycemia is an important risk factor for LQTS, inhibiting the cardiac rapid component delayed rectifier K+ current (Iks), responsible for QT interval. We previously showed that the new ALR2 inhibitor BF-5m supplies cardioprotection from QT prolongation induced by high glucose concentration in the medium, reducing QT interval prolongation and preserving morphology.

Functional Changes Induced by Orexin A and Adiponectin on the Sympathetic/Parasympathetic Balance.

Obesity and lifestyle-related diseases are major problems faced by people in developed nations. Although exercise training prevents the progression of diabetes and obesity, the motivation for exercise is generally low in obese animals and humans. The autonomic nervous system (SNA) plays a crucial role in the regulation of eating behavior.

Non-Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Parasomnias and Migraine: A Role of Orexinergic Projections.

Introduction: Sleep and migraine share a common pathophysiological substrate, although the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The serotonergic and orexinergic systems are both involved in the regulation of sleep/wake cycle, and numerous studies show that both are involved in the migraine etiopathogenesis. These two systems are anatomically and functionally interconnected.

Influence of Football on Physiological Cardiac Indexes in Professional and Young Athletes.

After long-term intensive training, considerable morphological and functional heart changes occur in professional athletes. Such changes arise progressively and regress upon interruption of the physical activity. Morphological and functional alterations on heart are known as "Athlete's heart" condition.

Heart rate variability as predictive factor for sudden cardiac death.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) represents about 25% of deaths in clinical cardiology. The identification of risk factors for SCD is the philosopher's stone of cardiology and the identification of non-invasive markers of risk of SCD remains one of the most important goals for the scientific community.The aim of this review is to analyze the state of the art around the heart rate variability (HRV) as a predictor factor for SCD.

Functional Changes of Orexinergic Reaction to Psychoactive Substances.

It is becoming increasingly apparent the importance of the central nervous system (CNS) as the major contributor to the regulation of systemic metabolism. Antipsychotic drugs are used often to treat several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder However, antipsychotic drugs prescription, particularly the second-generation ones (SGAs), such as clozapine and olanzapine, is related to a considerable weight gain which usually leads to obesity. The aim of this paper is to assess the influence of orexin A on sympathetic and hyperthermic reactions to several neuroleptic drugs.

Role of Sex Hormones in the Control of Vegetative and Metabolic Functions of Middle-Aged Women.

In women's life, menopause is characterized by significant physiological changes often associated with an increase in body mass and obesity-associated sicknesses. Numerous researches described interdependencies of estrogen deficiency, aging, and resting energy expenditure (REE) downfall in the obesity correlated with the menopause. The aim of this study was to determining whether healthy, obese menopausal women underwent HRT treatment, showed changes in their REE, autonomic asset, and assessment of oxidative stress in comparison with obese pre- and post-menopausal women.

Primary Motor Cortex Excitability in Karate Athletes: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study.

The mechanisms involved in the coordination of muscle activity are not completely known: to investigate adaptive changes in human motor cortex Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was often used. The sport models are frequently used to study how the training may affect the corticospinal system excitability: Karate represents a valuable sport model for this kind of investigations for its high levels of coordination required to athletes. This study was aimed at examining possible changes in the resting motor threshold (rMT) and in the corticospinal response in karate athletes, and at determining whether athletes are characterized by a specific value of rMT.

Improvement of Bone Physiology and Life Quality Due to Association of Risedronate and Anastrozole.

The endocrine therapy is the new frontiers of many breast cancers hormone sensitive. Hormone therapy for treating women with hormone receptor-positive cancer suppresses breast cancer growth either by reducing estrogen synthesis or by interfering with the action of estrogen within tumor cells. In this prospective randomized observational study we investigate the effect of adjuvant anastrozole in monotherapy or associated with risedronate on bone physiology and quality of life in postmenopausal, hormone-sensitive early breast cancer women at mild to moderate risk of fragility fractures.

Cluster headache patients are not affected by restless legs syndrome: an observational study.

Objective: To investigate the presence of Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) in Cluster Headache (CH) patients compared to headache-free controls.

Design And Setting: Cross-sectional case-control study of CH patients presenting at tertiary headache centers over the period January-December 2008.

Patients And Participants: Fifty consecutive patients (6 women and 44 men) of mean age of 39.