Abdominal Fat SIRT6 Expression and Its Relationship with Inflammatory and Metabolic Pathways in Pre-Diabetic Overweight Patients.

The role of sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) in adipose abdominal tissue of pre-diabetic (pre-DM) patients is poorly known. Here, we evaluated SIRT6 expression in visceral abdominal fat of obese pre-diabetic patients and the potential effects of metformin therapy. Results indicated that obese pre-DM subjects showed low SIRT6 protein expression and high expression of nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR-γ), and sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1 (SREBP-1).

Inflammatory Cytokines and SIRT1 Levels in Subcutaneous Abdominal Fat: Relationship With Cardiac Performance in Overweight Pre-diabetics Patients.

In obese patients the superficial adipose tissue expresses cytokines, and sirtuins, that may affect myocardial function. In this study, we investigated the effect of metformin therapy added to a hypocaloric diet on the inflammatory pattern and cardiac performance (MPI) in obese patients with pre-diabetic condition. Fifty-eight obese patients that were enrolled for abdominoplastic surgery were divided into patients with pre-diabetic condition (n 40) and normo-glycemic patients (n18).

Endotoxinemia contributes to steatosis, insulin resistance and atherosclerosis in chronic hepatitis C: the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress.

Purpose: Endotoxin is a component of the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria that live in the intestine. Endotoxinemia is reported in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and in cirrhotic patients, causing various biological and clinical effects in the host. It is not known whether endotoxinemia occurs in chronic hepatitis C patients (CHC), therefore we evaluated the occurrence of endotoxinemia and its effect on inflammation, liver damage, insulin resistance (IR) and atherosclerosis.

Comparative study on the occurrence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in breast milk and infant formula and risk assessment.

The study compared the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) profile of human milk collected from Italian mothers and different brands of infant formula available on Italian market. Levels of 14 PAHs most frequently occurred in food, PAH markers listed by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006, and carcinogenic PAHs classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector.

In routine clinical practice, few physicians use early viral kinetics to guide HCV dual therapy treatment decisions.

Background & Aims: PROPHESYS is a large, multinational, non-interventional prospective cohort study of chronic hepatitis C patients treated with peginterferon alfa/ribavirin. This subanalysis assesses rates of premature treatment discontinuation stratified by on-treatment virological response (VR).

Methods: This PROPHESYS subanalysis is restricted to treatment-naive, hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype (G)1/2/3 mono-infected patients who received peginterferon alfa-2a (40KD)/ribavirin with intended treatment duration of 48 (G1) or 24 weeks (G2/3).

Relationship between autonomic cardiac activity, beta-cell function, anthropometrics and metabolic indices in type II diabetics.

Objective: Recent studies have demonstrated that C-peptide exerts beneficial effects on the diabetic state, including improvements in kidney and nerve function. Thus, we investigated the effect of residual pancreatic C-peptide secretion on the cardiac autonomic nervous system in well- and poorly controlled type II diabetic patients.

Design: Randomised cross-sectional study.