Plasma lipocalin-2/NGAL is stable over 12 weeks and is not modulated by exercise or dieting.

Amongst other immune cells, neutrophils play a key role in systemic inflammation leading to cardiovascular disease and can release inflammatory factors, including lipocalin-2 (LCN2). LCN2 drives cardiac hypertrophy and plays a role in maladaptive remodelling of the heart and has been associated with renal injury. While lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise are known to attenuate low-grade inflammation, their ability to modulate plasma LCN2 levels is unknown.

Comparison of endothelial function and sympathetic nervous system activity along the glucose continuum in individuals with differing metabolic risk profiles and low dietary sodium intake.

Objective: Low sodium intake may trigger sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activation and endothelial dysfunction. Studies have not explored these associations along the glucose continuum. Accordingly, we compared endothelial function and SNS activity in individuals with low sodium intake and differing categories of metabolic risk along the glucose continuum.

Inverse association between sympathetic nervous system activity and bone mass in middle aged overweight individuals.

Background/purpose: Sympathetic nervous system activation in obesity is associated with impaired cardiovascular and metabolic function. Animal studies have shown a direct link between sympathetic nervous activation and bone health but little is known about this link in humans. This study examined whether sympathetic activation may impact bone health in overweight adults.

Endothelial Function in Healthy Young Individuals Is Associated with Dietary Consumption of Saturated Fat.

A diet rich in fat, in particular saturated fat (SF), may be linked to cardiovascular disease development, possibly due to a detrimental effect of fat on endothelial function (EF). We aimed to determine whether the habitual SF intake [as a ratio to total fat (the sum of saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated fat)] might influence endothelial function in young, overweight but otherwise healthy adults. Sixty-nine young adults (49 males, mean age: 23 ± 1 years, mean BMI: 29.

Does sympathetic dysfunction occur before denervation in pure autonomic failure?

Pure autonomic failure (PAF) is a rare sporadic disorder characterized by autonomic failure in the absence of a movement disorder or dementia and is associated with very low plasma norepinephrine (NE) levels-suggesting widespread sympathetic denervation, however due to its rarity the pathology remains poorly elucidated. We sought to correlate clinical and neurochemical findings with sympathetic nerve protein abundances, accessed by way of a forearm vein biopsy, in patients with PAF and in healthy controls and patients with multiple systems atrophy (MSA) in whom sympathetic nerves are considered intact. The abundance of sympathetic nerve proteins, extracted from forearm vein biopsy specimens, in 11 patients with PAF, 8 patients with MSA and 9 age-matched healthy control participants was performed following a clinical evaluation and detailed evaluation of sympathetic nervous system function, which included head-up tilt (HUT) testing with measurement of plasma catecholamines and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in addition to haemodynamic assessment to confirm the clinical phenotype.

Effects of Moxonidine and Low-Calorie Diet: Cardiometabolic Benefits from Combination of Both Therapies.

Objective: Because sympathetic nervous system activity plays a detrimental role in metabolic and cardiovascular health, this study compared the effects of a centrally acting sympatholytic agent, the effects of a weight loss (WL) program using a low-calorie diet, and the effects of a combination of both.

Methods: Young (18-30 years) male subjects with overweight (BMI > 25 kg/m ) were allocated to a WL program (n = 10), a moxonidine treatment course (M; n = 10, 0.4 mg/d), a combination of both (WL + M; n = 11), or to a control (C) group (n = 6) for 6 months.

Neck Circumference Is Associated with Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity in Overweight and Obese Men but Not Women.

Neck circumference (NC) is a predictor of cardiometabolic risk. The objective of this study was to explore the relationship of NC to muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) within an overweight and obese population. The study design was a retrospective cross-sectional analysis.

Muscle Sympathetic Nerve Activity Is Associated With Elements of the Plasma Lipidomic Profile in Young Asian Adults.

Background: Asian subjects are at increased cardio-metabolic risk at comparatively lower body mass index (BMI) compared with white subjects. Sympathetic nervous system activation and dyslipidemia, both characteristics of increased adiposity, appear to be related. We therefore analyzed the association of muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) with the plasma lipidomic profile in young adult Asian and white subjects.

Serum uric acid and the relationship with subclinical organ damage in adults.

Aims: Elevated serum uric acid (SUA) is often present in conditions associated with increased cardiovascular risk yet it is not recognized as a marker of risk. We evaluated whether SUA was associated with evidence of early markers of cardiovascular risk factor including subclinical early organ damage, sympathetic tone and metabolic profile in a healthy population with a high prevalence of obesity.

Material And Methods: Data from 281 patients (175 women and 106 men, mean age: 35.

Interrupting prolonged sitting in type 2 diabetes: nocturnal persistence of improved glycaemic control.

Aims/hypothesis: We aimed to examine the effect of interrupting 7 h prolonged sitting with brief bouts of walking or resistance activities on 22 h glucose homeostasis (including nocturnal-to-following morning hyperglycaemia) in adults with type 2 diabetes.

Methods: This study is an extension of a previously published randomised crossover trial, which included 24 inactive overweight/obese adults with type 2 diabetes (14 men; 62 ± 6 years) who completed three 7 h laboratory conditions, separated by 6-14 day washout periods: SIT: (1) prolonged sitting (control); (2) light-intensity walking (LW): sitting plus 3 min bouts of light-intensity walking at 3.2 km/h every 30 min; (3) simple resistance activities (SRA): sitting plus 3 min bouts of simple resistance activities (alternating half-squats, calf raises, brief gluteal contractions and knee raises) every 30 min.

Markers of sympathetic nervous system activity associate with complex plasma lipids in metabolic syndrome subjects.

Background And Aims: Plasma sphingolipids including ceramides, and gangliosides are associated with insulin resistance (IR) through effects on insulin signalling and glucose metabolism. Our studies of subjects with metabolic syndrome (MetS) showed close relationships between IR and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity including arterial norepinephrine (NE). We have therefore investigated possible associations of IR and SNS activity with complex lipids that are involved in both insulin sensitivity and neurotransmission.

Comparable Attenuation of Sympathetic Nervous System Activity in Obese Subjects with Normal Glucose Tolerance, Impaired Glucose Tolerance, and Treatment Naïve Type 2 Diabetes following Equivalent Weight Loss.

Elevated sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity is a characteristic of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) that contributes to target organ damage and cardiovascular risk. In this study we examined whether baseline metabolic status influences the degree of sympathoinhibition attained following equivalent dietary weight loss. Un-medicated obese individuals categorized as normal glucose tolerant (NGT, = 15), impaired glucose tolerant (IGT, = 24), and newly-diagnosed T2D ( = 15) consumed a hypocaloric diet (29% fat, 23% protein, 45% carbohydrate) for 4-months.

Norepinephrine transporter expression is inversely associated with glycaemic indices: a pilot study in metabolically diverse persons with overweight and obesity.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the cross-sectional relationship between the expression of norepinephrine transporter (NET), the protein responsible for neuronal uptake-1, and indices of glycaemia and hyperinsulinaemia, in overweight and obese individuals.

Methods: Thirteen non-medicated, non-smoking subjects, aged 58 ± 1 years (mean ± standard error of the mean), body mass index (BMI) 31.4 ± 1.

Interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of light walking or simple resistance activities reduces resting blood pressure and plasma noradrenaline in type 2 diabetes.

Objective: Prolonged sitting is increasingly recognized as a ubiquitous cardiometabolic risk factor, possibly distinct from lack of physical exercise. We examined whether interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of light-intensity activity reduced blood pressure (BP) and plasma noradrenaline in type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Methods: In a randomized crossover trial, 24 inactive overweight/obese adults with T2D (14 men; mean ± SD; 62 ± 6 years) consumed standardized meals during 3 × 8 h conditions: uninterrupted sitting (SIT); sitting + half-hourly bouts of walking (3.

Benefits for Type 2 Diabetes of Interrupting Prolonged Sitting With Brief Bouts of Light Walking or Simple Resistance Activities.

Objective: To determine whether interrupting prolonged sitting with brief bouts of light-intensity walking (LW) or simple resistance activities (SRA) improves postprandial cardiometabolic risk markers in adults with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Research Design And Methods: In a randomized crossover trial, 24 inactive overweight/obese adults with T2D (14 men 62 ± 6 years old) underwent the following 8-h conditions on three separate days (with 6-14 days washout): uninterrupted sitting (control) (SIT), sitting plus 3-min bouts of LW (3.2 km · h(-1)) every 30 min, and sitting plus 3-min bouts of SRA (half-squats, calf raises, gluteal contractions, and knee raises) every 30 min.

A polymorphism in the norepinephrine transporter gene is associated with affective and cardiovascular disease through a microRNA mechanism.

Norepinephrine released from sympathetic nerves is removed from the neuroeffector junction via the action of the norepinephrine transporter (NET). NET impairment is evident in several clinically important conditions including major depressive disorder (MDD), panic disorder (PD), essential hypertension and the postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). We aimed to determine whether a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the NET gene is associated with NET impairment and to elucidate the mechanisms involved.

Diet low in advanced glycation end products increases insulin sensitivity in healthy overweight individuals: a double-blind, randomized, crossover trial.

Background: The consumption of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) has increased because of modern food processing and has been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes in rodents.

Objective: We determined whether changing dietary AGE intake could modulate insulin sensitivity and secretion in healthy, overweight individuals.

Design: We performed a double-blind, randomized, crossover trial of diets in 20 participants [6 women and 14 men; mean ± SD body mass index (in kg/m(2)): 29.

The functional and clinical outcomes of exercise training following a very low energy diet for severely obese women: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Clinical practice guidelines globally recommend lifestyle modification including diet and exercise training as first-line treatment for obesity. The clinical benefits of exercise training in adults with obesity is well-documented; however, there is no strong evidence for the effectiveness of exercise training for weight loss in class II and class III obesity. The purpose of the randomised controlled trial described in this protocol article is to examine the effect of exercise training, in addition to a very low energy diet (VLED), in clinically severe obese women for changes in body composition, physical function, quality of life, and markers of cardiometabolic risk.

Reduction in peripheral vascular resistance predicts improvement in insulin clearance following weight loss.

Background: The hyperinsulinemia of obesity is a function of both increased pancreatic insulin secretion and decreased insulin clearance, and contributes to cardiovascular risk. Whilst weight loss is known to enhance insulin clearance, there is a paucity of data concerning the underlying mechanisms. This study was conducted to examine the inter-relationships between changes in sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity, vascular function and insulin clearance during a weight loss program.

Should the sympathetic nervous system be a target to improve cardiometabolic risk in obesity?

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) plays a key role in both cardiovascular and metabolic regulation; hence, disturbances in SNS regulation are likely to impact on both cardiovascular and metabolic health. With excess adiposity, in particular when visceral fat accumulation is present, sympathetic activation commonly occurs. Experimental investigations have shown that adipose tissue releases a large number of adipokines, cytokines, and bioactive mediators capable of stimulating the SNS.

Sympathetic activation and endothelial dysfunction in polycystic ovary syndrome are not explained by either obesity or insulin resistance.

Objective: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine condition underpinned by insulin resistance and associated with increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and adverse cardiovascular risk profile. Previous data suggest autonomic imbalance [elevated sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and decreased heart rate variability (HRV)] as well as endothelial dysfunction in PCOS. However, it is not clear whether these abnormalities are driven by obesity and metabolic disturbance or whether they are independently related to PCOS.

Pioglitazone treatment enhances the sympathetic nervous system response to oral carbohydrate load in obese individuals with metabolic syndrome.

Context: Insulin resistance is associated with blunted sympathetic nervous system (SNS) response to carbohydrate ingestion which may contribute to postprandial hypotension and impaired body weight homeostasis.

Objective: This study was conducted to examine the effects of pharmacological insulin sensitization on whole-body norepinephrine kinetics during a standard 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in obese, insulin resistant subjects with metabolic syndrome.

Methods: Un-medicated individuals (n=42, mean age 56±0.

Arterial norepinephrine concentration is inversely and independently associated with insulin clearance in obese individuals with metabolic syndrome.

Context: Impaired insulin clearance contributes to the hyperinsulinemia of obesity, yet relatively little is known concerning the pathophysiological determinants of insulin clearance in obese populations.

Objective: To examine the cross-sectional relationship between insulin clearance and resting sympathetic nervous system activity in a cohort of obese subjects with metabolic syndrome.

Participants And Methods: Unmedicated, nonsmoking subjects (31 male, 27 female; aged 56 ± 1 year; body mass index 33.

Fat-free mass loss generated with weight loss in overweight and obese adults: What may we expect?

There is concern that intentional weight loss may generate excessive loss of fat-free mass (FFM). Idealists target minimal loss of FFM, while others consider that FFM loss of up to 25% of weight loss is acceptable. In a cross-sectional study of 275 weight-stable, overweight or obese adults, we used whole-body dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to measure FFM.