Dissimilar Pain of Primary Epiploic Appendagitis and Malabsorption.

Primary Epiploic Appendagitis (PEA) is a rare cause of acute or subacute abdominal complaints and non-migratory pain. Usually the diagnosis of PEA is made when Computed Tomography (CT) reveals characteristic figures. Nonspecific abdominal complaints including diffuse abdominal pain may be caused by carbohydrate and/or protein malabsorption.

Long-Term Weight-Loss Maintenance by a Meal Replacement Based Weight Management Program in Primary Care.

Objective: Structured obesity treatment programs at primary care level are becoming increasingly important. However, evidence from current treatment approaches in the long term is lacking. In view of this fact we evaluated a standardized, meal replacement-based weight loss program (myLINE®; AENGUS, Graz, Austria) according to the currently applicable guidelines.

Is the molecular clock ticking differently in bipolar disorder? Methylation analysis of the clock gene ARNTL.

Objectives: The clock gene ARNTL is associated with the transcription activation of monoamine oxidase A according to previous literature. Thus, we hypothesised that methylation of ARNTL may differ between bipolar disorder (BD) and controls.

Methods: The methylation status of one CpG island covering the first exon of ARNTL (PS2) and one site in the 5' region of ARNTL (cg05733463) were analysed in patients with BD (n = 151) versus controls (n = 66).

Individual Human Metabolic Phenotype Analyzed by (1)H NMR of Saliva Samples.

Saliva is an important physiological fluid that contains a complex mixture of analytes that may produce a characteristic individual signature. In recent years, it has been demonstrated that urine possesses a clear signature of the individual metabolic phenotype. Here NMR-based metabolomics was employed to analyze saliva from 23 healthy volunteers.

EEG neurofeedback effects in the treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa.

A pre-post design including 22 females was used to evaluate the effectiveness of neurofeedback in the treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa. Resting EEG measures and a psychological test-battery assessing eating behavior traits, clinical symptoms, emotionality, and mood were obtained. While both the experimental (n = 10) and control group (n = 12) received their usual maintenance treatment, the experimental group received 10 sessions of individual alpha frequency training over a period of 5 weeks as additional treatment.

Mood Stabilizers, Oxidative Stress and Antioxidative Defense in Euthymia of Bipolar Disorder.

Background: Hitherto literature indicates that mood stabilizers exert variable effects on oxidative and antioxidative systems, which are involved in the pathogenesis of Bipolar Disorder. Herein we primarily sought to characterize markers of peripheral oxidative stress during euthymia in adults with Bipolar Disorder under current intake of different mood stabilizers (lithium, anticonvulsants and atypical antipsychotics/AAPs).

Methods: Peripheral oxidative stress parameters (TBARS/Thiobarbituric acid-reactive-substances, MDA/ malondialdehyde and carbonyl proteins) and antioxidative markers (SOD/Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, GST/glutathione Stransferase and TAC/total antioxidative capacity) were measured in serum of 115 euthymic bipolar individuals (50 females, 65 males; HAMD<11 and YMRS<8).

Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Bipolar Disorder - Almost Forgotten Therapeutic Drug Targets in the Unfolded Protein Response Pathway Revisited.

Bipolar Disorder (BD) is characterized by recurring mood swings, which are not completely understood yet. So far, it is an accepted theory that multiple factors contribute to pathogenesis of BD according to the vulnerability-stressmodel. This model combines on the one hand biological predisposing vulnerability, and on the other hand several chronic and acute stressful negative events as underlying mechanisms of BD.

Acute Physiological Responses to Short- and Long-Stage High-Intensity Interval Exercise in Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Pilot Study.

Despite described benefits of aerobic high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE), the acute responses during different HIIE modes and associated health risks have only been sparsely discovered in heart disease patients. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the acute responses for physiological parameters, cardiovascular and inflammatory biomarkers, and catecholamines yielded by two different aerobic HIIE protocols compared to continuous exercise (CE) in phase III cardiac rehabilitation. Eight cardiac patients (7 with coronary heart disease, 1 with myocarditis; 7 males, 1 female; age: 63.

Caliper vs. Lipometer--Comparing Two Methods of Subcutaneous Body Fat Measurement by Bland-Altman Diagrams.

Skinfold Calipers are widely used to obtain subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness because of its non-invasive, simple and inexpensive technique. Nevertheless, Caliper skinfold thicknesses have the disadvantage of measuring compressed adipose tissue and double layers of skin, which might reduce the precision of these results. In contrast, the computerized optical device Lipometer was developed to permit a quick, precise and non-invasive determination of non-compressed mono layers of subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness.

Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue Topography in Long-Term Enterally Fed Children and Healthy Controls.

In the context of enteral feeding in children the influence on growth and the question of fat resorption is of great interest. We, therefore, measured the thickness of subcutaneous body fat in a sample of long-term enterally fed toddlers and healthy controls. In 33 long-term enterally fed toddlers (10 girls, 23 boys) and 275 healthy controls (128 girls, 147 boys) subcutaneous body fat was measured by means) of the optical device Lipometer.

Effects of zeolite supplementation on parameters of intestinal barrier integrity, inflammation, redoxbiology and performance in aerobically trained subjects.

Background: Zeolites are crystalline compounds with microporous structures of Si-tetrahedrons. In the gut, these silicates could act as adsorbents, ion-exchangers, catalysts, detergents or anti-diarrheic agents. This study evaluated whether zeolite supplementation affects biomarkers of intestinal wall permeability and parameters of oxidation and inflammation in aerobically trained individuals, and whether it could improve their performance.

Co-occurrence of carbohydrate malabsorption and primary epiploic appendagitis.

Unspecific abdominal complaints including bloating and irregular bowel movements may be caused by carbohydrate malabsorption syndromes, e.g., lactose and fructose malabsorption.

The relationship of female physical attractiveness to body fatness.

Aspects of the female body may be attractive because they signal evolutionary fitness. Greater body fatness might reflect greater potential to survive famines, but individuals carrying larger fat stores may have poor health and lower fertility in non-famine conditions. A mathematical statistical model using epidemiological data linking fatness to fitness traits, predicted a peaked relationship between fatness and attractiveness (maximum at body mass index (BMI) = 22.

Yellow laser acupuncture - A new option for prevention and early intervention of lifestyle-related diseases: A randomized, placebo-controlled trial in volunteers.

Background And Aims: The yellow laser constitutes a totally new option in the field of laser acupuncture, in addition to the already existing red, near infrared, green and violet lasers. Especially for so called lifestyle-related diseases, this could open up new methods of integrative therapy. The goal of the present study was to investigate among other parameters blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and temperature effects before, during, and after stimulation of different acupoints with yellow laser.

Weight cycling in bipolar disorder.

Background: An association between excess weight and/or weight fluctuations and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is amply documented. Individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) are differentially affected by overweight/obesity, chaotic eating patterns (e.g.

The impact of free or standardized lifestyle and urine sampling protocol on metabolome recognition accuracy.

Urine contains a clear individual metabolic signature, although embedded within a large daily variability. Given the potential of metabolomics to monitor disease onset from deviations from the "healthy" metabolic state, we have evaluated the effectiveness of a standardized lifestyle in reducing the "metabolic" noise. Urine was collected from 24 (5 men and 19 women) healthy volunteers over a period of 10 days: phase I, days 1-7 in a real-life situation; phase II, days 8-10 in a standardized diet and day 10 plus exercise program.

Body fat distribution and associations with metabolic and clinical characteristics in bipolar individuals.

Overweight and obesity differentially affect bipolar disorder (BD) and are associated with a poorer prognosis. Herein, we sought to evaluate body fat distribution in a well-characterized BD sample. Anthropometric measures (i.

Significant decrease of subcutaneous body fat during tube-weaning from enteral feeding.

Background: The aim of this paper was to evaluate anthropometry and subcutaneous body fat on long-term enterally-fed children during tube weaning through a prospective cohort study with a pre-post-test design.

Methods: The LIPOMETER, an optical device, was used to measure the thickness of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) layers (in mm). The specification of 15 evenly-distributed body sites allows for a precise measurement of subcutaneous body fat distribution, known as subcutaneous adipose tissue topography (SAT-Top).

Evaluation of a meal replacement-based weight management program in primary care settings according to the actual European Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Obesity in Adults.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was the evaluation of a weight loss program in primary care settings with respect to the European Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Obesity in Adults with regard to the long-term success of changes in body weight and composition.

Methods: Overweight and obese patients (n = 1167) who underwent a standardized meal replacement-based weight loss program (myLINE(®), AENGUS, Austria) in primary care settings were included in this evaluation. Body composition was measured by conventional anthropometry and bioelectrical impedance analysis (AKERN BIA101(®), BIACORPUS RX4000(®), SoftwareBodycomp Version 8.

Exercise-induced norepinephrine decreases circulating hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell colony-forming capacity.

A recent study showed that ergometry increased circulating hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (CPC) numbers, but reduced hematopoietic colony forming capacity/functionality under normoxia and normobaric hypoxia. Herein we investigated whether an exercise-induced elevated plasma free/bound norepinephrine (NE) concentration could be responsible for directly influencing CPC functionality. Venous blood was taken from ten healthy male subjects (25.

Improvement of Cerebral Hypoperfusion with Levothyroxine Therapy in Hashimoto's Encephalopathy Demonstrated by (99m)Tc-HMPAO-SPECT.

Background: Hashimoto's encephalopathy (HE) is a rare immune-mediated encephalopathy associated with autoimmune Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Objectives And Methods: We report on a patient with HE and significant clinical improvement correlating with an increase in cerebral blood flow demonstrated by hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (HMPAO) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). HMPAO-SPECT was performed with 740 MBq of technetium-99m-HMPAO.

Motivational processing of food cues in anorexia nervosa: a pilot study.

Current literature suggests an increased attentional bias toward food stimuli in eating-disordered individuals compared to healthy controls. In line with these research efforts, the present study aims to investigate the processing of food stimuli (enriched by emotional stimuli) between patients diagnosed for anorexia nervosa (AN) and healthy controls by means of electroencephalography. Twenty-two female adolescents (eleven AN patients vs.

Normal weight estonian prepubertal boys show a more cardiovascular-risk-associated adipose tissue distribution than austrian counterparts.

Objective. Risk phenotypes for cardiovascular disease (CVD) differ markedly between countries, like the reported high difference in CVD mortality in Austria and Estonia. Hitherto, the goal of this study was to find out risk profiles in body fat distribution yet present in childhood, paving the way for later clinical end points.

Detecting body fat-A weighty problem BMI versus subcutaneous fat patterns in athletes and non-athletes.

We aimed to describe the relationship between BMI and the subcutaneous adipose tissue topography within young athletes and non-athletic controls, to comparatively evaluate the diagnostic powers of subcutaneous adipose tissue thicknesses at different body sites, furthermore to explore appropriate cut-offs to discriminate between athletes and controls. Measurements were determined in 64 males and 42 females, who were subsequently separated into two even groups (athletes and non-athletes). The optical device LIPOMETER was applied at standardised body sites to measure the thickness of subcutaneous adipose tissue layers.