The Contribution of Tobacco Use to High Health Care Utilization and Medical Costs in Peripheral Artery Disease: A State-Based Cohort Analysis.

Background: Tobacco use is an important preventable cause of peripheral artery disease (PAD) and a major determinant of adverse clinical outcomes.

Objectives: This study hypothesized that tobacco use by PAD patients would be associated with higher health care utilization and associated costs.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study using 2011 claims data from the largest Minnesota health plan.

Linkage analysis of quantitative traits for obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidemia on the island of Kosrae, Federated States of Micronesia.

Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease are highly heritable conditions that in aggregate are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in the developed world and are growing problems in developing countries. To map the causal genes, we conducted a population screen for these conditions on the Pacific Island of Kosrae. Family history and genetic data were used to construct a pedigree for the island.

Role for stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 in leptin-mediated weight loss.

Leptin elicits a metabolic response that cannot be explained by its anorectic effects alone. To examine the mechanism underlying leptin's metabolic actions, we used transcription profiling to identify leptin-regulated genes in ob/ob liver. Leptin was found to specifically repress RNA levels and enzymatic activity of hepatic stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD-1), which catalyzes the biosynthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids.