Body Mass Index and Diabetes Incidence Across the Adult Lifespan: The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

Context: Body composition and glucose metabolism change with aging. Whether different levels of body-mass-index (BMI) are needed to define diabetes risk across the adult lifespan is unknown.

Objective: This work aimed to investigate whether BMI similarly reflects relative fat mass (FM) and diabetes risk across age groups.

Obesity and Aging.

The obesity epidemic in aging populations poses significant public health concerns for greater morbidity and mortality risk. Age-related increased adiposity is multifactorial and often associated with reduced lean body mass. The criteria used to define obesity by body mass index in younger adults may not appropriately reflect age-related body composition changes.

Efficacy of Metreleptin Treatment in Familial Partial Lipodystrophy Due to PPARG vs LMNA Pathogenic Variants.

Context: Familial partial lipodystrophy (FPLD) is most commonly caused by pathogenic variants in LMNA and PPARG. Leptin replacement with metreleptin has largely been studied in the LMNA group.

Objective: To understand the efficacy of metreleptin in PPARG vs LMNA pathogenic variants and investigate predictors of metreleptin responsiveness.

Visceral fat does not contribute to metabolic disease in lipodystrophy.

Objectives: Lipodystrophies are characterized by regional or generalized loss of adipose tissue and severe metabolic complications. The role of visceral adipose tissue (VAT) in the development of metabolic derangements in lipodystrophy is unknown. The study aim was to investigate VAT contribution to metabolic disease in lipodystrophy versus healthy controls.

"Fat Shadows" From DXA for the Qualitative Assessment of Lipodystrophy: When a Picture Is Worth a Thousand Numbers.

Objective: Lipodystrophy syndromes are a heterogeneous group of disorders associated with selective absence of fat. Currently, the diagnosis is established only clinically.

Research Design And Methods: We developed a new method from DXA scans called a "fat shadow," which is a color-coded representation highlighting only the fat tissue.

Cognitive Function in Individuals with Normal Weight Obesity: Results from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III).

Background/objective: Normal weight obesity (NWO) is associated with increased risk of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular- and all-cause mortality. However, no data have been reported on the relationship between adiposity and cognitive performance in NWO. We therefore studied the association between cognitive function and body fat percentage (BF%) in NWO, using a representative sample of the United States population.

High ghrelin levels in post-treatment euthyroid patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis: a case-control preliminary study.

Rationale: Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a chronic inflammatory condition often associated with changes in appetite and body composition. Ghrelin is an orexigenic peptide involved in the regulation of appetite and food intake. A possible role of ghrelin in mediating inflammation has been suggested.

Association between red blood cell distribution width and macrovascular and microvascular complications in diabetes.

Aims/hypothesis: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been reported to be a risk marker of morbidity and mortality for cardiovascular disease in various study populations. However, no studies have investigated the relationship between RDW and diabetes complications. We therefore evaluated RDW as a marker of macrovascular and microvascular complications in a nationally representative sample of the adult diabetes population in the USA.

Ghrelin system in alcohol-dependent subjects: role of plasma ghrelin levels in alcohol drinking and craving.

Animal studies suggest that the gut-brain peptide ghrelin plays an important role in the neurobiology of alcohol dependence (AD). Human studies show an effect of alcohol on ghrelin levels and a correlation between ghrelin levels and alcohol craving in alcoholics. This investigation consisted of two studies.

Food fried in extra-virgin olive oil improves postprandial insulin response in obese, insulin-resistant women.

The benefits of low glycemic load (GL) diets on clinical outcome in several metabolic and cardiovascular diseases have extensively been demonstrated. The GL of a meal can be affected by modulating the bioavailability of carbohydrates or by changing food preparation. We investigated the effect on plasma glucose and insulin response in lean and obese women of adding raw or fried extra-virgin olive oil to a carbohydrate-containing meal.

Personalized medicine in diabetes.

Background: Multiple genes that are associated with the risk of developing diabetes or the risk of diabetes complications have been identified by candidate gene analysis and genomewide scanning. These molecular markers, together with clinical data and findings from proteomics, metabolomics, pharmacogenetics, and other methods, lead to a consideration of the extent to which personalized approaches can be applied to the treatment of diabetes mellitus.

Content: Known genes that cause monogenic subtypes of diabetes are reviewed, and several examples are discussed in which the genotype of an individual with diabetes can direct considerations of preferred choices for glycemic therapy.

Increased serum high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol concentration in celiac disease after gluten-free diet treatment correlates with body fat stores.

Background: Low high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration correlates with increased cardiovascular risk. A great prevalence of celiac disease (CD) was reported among patients with low HDL-C concentration, and gluten-free diet (GFD) treatment seems to normalize lipid profile. We evaluated blood lipids and body composition in 26 CD patients with low HDL-C level (<1.

Celiac disease in the 21st century: issues of under- and over-diagnosis.

Until the 1960s celiac disease (CD) or sprue was considered a pediatric disease that was rarely diagnosed in adulthood. Thanks to greater awareness of the disease and the availability of improved diagnostic tools (above all, sophisticated endoscopic techniques and the development of reliable serological markers), the prevalence of CD in Western countries has been increasing steadily, and it is now recognized as a common disorder, even in adults. However, many cases of this disease still go undiagnosed, especially among the elderly and in patients with atypical clinical presentations (which are by no means uncommon).

Is cortisol involved in the alcohol-related fat mass impairment? A longitudinal clinical study.

Aims: Subjects with chronic alcohol abuse can present several metabolic and nutritional alterations. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis may play a role in these nutritional and metabolic disorders. The goal of this study was to investigate if there is any relationship between HP-hormones and metabolic and nutritional parameters in alcoholic subjects.

Relationship between the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis and alcohol craving in alcohol-dependent patients: a longitudinal study.

Background: A relationship between some hypothalamic-pituitary-related hormones and craving for alcohol has been suggested, leading to hypothesize a role of some hormones in the neurobiology of alcohol dependence. Investigating this association in alcohol-dependent (AD) patients was the aim of this preliminary and exploratory study.

Methods: Cortisol, adrenocorticotropic hormone, prolactin, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free T3, free T4, growth hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone as well as administering the Obsessive-Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) and Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks in 25 current AD patients.

Intestinal malabsorption and skin diseases.

Several skin manifestations were described in patients affected by intestinal disorders. The development of skin diseases in these patients could be related to the impairment of intestinal absorption and motility, other than to immunological and hormonal changes. The growing evidence of the association between skin disorders and intestinal diseases suggests that the skin could be considered the 'mirror of the gut'.

Metabolic and nutritional features in adult celiac patients.

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic immune-mediated gluten-dependent enteropathy induced by ingestion of gluten-containing products, characterized by intestinal malabsorption and subtotal or total atrophy of intestinal villi, which improves after gluten-free diet (GFD). Untreated patients affected by the classic form of CD are at high risk of malnutrition, but an impairment of nutritional status is frequently reported also in patients with the subclinical form of the disease. Strict adherence to a GFD greatly improves nutritional status, inducing an increase in fat and bone compartments, but does not completely normalize body composition.

Celiac disease: what's new about it?

In the present review we will try to summarize the clinical and diagnostic features of celiac disease (CD) as well as the new findings on extraintestinal manifestation. CD is an immune-mediated enteropathy caused by a permanent gluten intolerance. In the last years, the diagnosis is becoming more and more frequent because of the recognition of 'new' symptoms and associated extraintestinal manifestations.

Insulin but not insulin growth factor-1 correlates with craving in currently drinking alcohol-dependent patients.

Background: Preclinical data suggest that brain insulin and insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) may contribute to the development of addiction. The aim of this clinical study was to evaluate the relationships between insulin and IGF-1 plasma concentrations and alcohol craving.

Methods: The correlations between insulin and craving in actively drinking alcoholics were evaluated in the experiment 1 retrospectively and in the experiment 2 in a case-control study.

Analysis of the T1288R mutation of the Wilson disease ATP7B gene in four generations of a family: possible genotype-phenotype correlation with hepatic onset.

Wilson disease, an autosomal recessive disorder due to mutations of the ATP7B gene, is characterized by copper accumulation and toxicity in the liver and subsequently in other organs, mainly the brain and cornea. A new missense mutation (T1288R) of the ATP7B gene has recently been discovered in a Wilson disease patient in our laboratory. The aim of the present study was to analyze clinical and genetic features of more generations of the family of the patient in which the new mutation T1288R was discovered.

Relationship between ghrelin levels, alcohol craving, and nutritional status in current alcoholic patients.

Background: Ghrelin is a peptide produced mainly by the gut and hypothalamus. Ghrelin is able to stimulate food-seeking behavior. Alcohol-craving and food-seeking behavior could share common neural circuits.