Result of a national audit of bariatric surgery performed at academic centers: a 2004 University HealthSystem Consortium Benchmarking Project.

Hypothesis: Bariatric surgery performed at US academic centers is safe and associated with low mortality.

Design: Multi-institutional consecutive cohort study.

Setting: Academic medical centers.

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-terminal pro-BNP in obese patients without heart failure: relationship to body mass index and gastric bypass surgery.

Background: Further investigations are warranted to better characterize variables that may confound the clinical interpretation of plasma natriuretic peptide measurements, which are increasingly recognized to have diagnostic and predictive importance.

Methods: Blood samples (EDTA plasma) from patients (n = 206) attending clinics for the medical treatment and follow-up of obesity were analyzed for B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP; Bayer assay) and the N-terminal segment of its prohormone (NT-proBNP; Roche assay). Natriuretic peptide concentration ranges were evaluated in those without diagnosis of congestive heart failure (CHF) or chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Impact of weight loss and regain on quality of life: mirror image or differential effect?

Objective: To compare the impact of weight regain and weight loss on health-related quality of life.

Research Methods And Procedures: Subjects were 122 (106 women, 16 men) overweight and obese participants in a weight reduction program (phentermine-fenfluramine and dietary counseling) who had initially lost at least 5% of their total body weight and then regained at least 5% of their weight during the follow-up period. Follow-up periods ranged from 10 to 41 months (mean, 28 months).