Glycemic control contributes to the neuroprotective effects of Mediterranean and green-Mediterranean diets on brain age: the DIRECT PLUS brain-magnetic resonance imaging randomized controlled trial.

Background: We recently reported that Mediterranean (MED) and green-MED diets significantly attenuated age-related brain atrophy by ∼50% within 18 mo.

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore the contribution of specific diet-induced parameters to brain-volume deviation from chronologic age.

Methods: A post hoc analysis of the 18-mo DIRECT PLUS trial, where participants were randomly assigned to the following groups: 1) healthy dietary guidelines, 2) MED diet, or 3) green-MED diet, high in polyphenols, and low in red meat.

Associations between person-environment fit and mental health - results from the population-based LIFE-Adult-Study.

Within occupational settings, mental health of employees can be affected by complex interactions between individuals and their work environment. The aim of this cross-sectional analysis was to investigate the association between person-environment fit and mental health in employees. Data of n = 568 participants from the LIFE adult cohort study was analysed, including socio-demographic characteristics, three dimensions of person-environment fit (P-E fit), symptoms of depression and anxiety.

[Health Literacy, Contact Points, Unmet Subjective Needs and Treatment Satisfaction of those Affected by Long Covid with Long-Lasting Neuropsychiatric Symptoms].

Objective: The bejective was to determine health literacy (HL) and care aspects of those affected by Long-COVID.

Method: 407 patients with Long-COVID and long-term neuropsychiatric symptoms were interviewed in the LIFE study center. In addition to descriptive analyses, regression models were calculated to examine the relationships between health literacy (HLS-EU-Q16) and various aspects of care (RehaQ-N1).

Cognitive performance in adults with post-COVID syndrome: Results from a German case-control study.

Numerous studies on post-COVID syndrome (PCS) describe persisting symptoms of cognitive impairment. Previous studies, however, often investigated small samples or did not assess covariates possibly linked to cognitive performance. We aimed to describe 1) global and domain-specific cognitive performance in adults with PCS, controls with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and healthy controls, 2) associations of sociodemographics, depressive symptoms, anxiety, fatigue, somatic symptoms and stress with cognitive performance and subjective cognitive decline (SCD), using data of the LIFE-Long-COVID-Study from Leipzig, Germany.

The Obese Taste Bud study: Objectives and study design.

Aims: Taste modifies eating behaviour, impacting body weight and potentially obesity development. The Obese Taste Bud (OTB) Study is a prospective cohort study launched in 2020 at the University of Leipzig Obesity Centre in cooperation with the HI-MAG Institute. OTB will test the hypothesis that taste cell homeostasis and taste perception are linked to obesity.

From the reward network to whole-brain metrics: structural connectivity in adolescents and young adults according to body mass index and genetic risk of obesity.

Background: Obesity is a multifactorial condition. Genetic variants, such as the fat mass and obesity related gene (FTO) polymorphism, may increase the vulnerability of developing obesity by disrupting dopamine signaling within the reward network. Yet, the association of obesity, genetic risk of obesity, and structural connectivity of the reward network in adolescents and young adults remains unexplored.

The different areas of chronic stress and food addiction: Results from the LIFE-Adult-Study.

There is an empirical association between stress and symptoms of food addiction (FA), but it is still not clear which domains of stress are the most relevant when it comes to FA, limiting the ability of researchers and practitioners to address problematic eating-related health outcomes. In order to address this gap in the literature, we analysed how different domains of chronic stress are related to FA. We used data from a subsample of the LIFE-Adult-Study (N = 1172), a German cohort study.

Prebiotic diet changes neural correlates of food decision-making in overweight adults: a randomised controlled within-subject cross-over trial.

Objective: Animal studies suggest that prebiotic, plant-derived nutrients could improve homoeostatic and hedonic brain functions through improvements in microbiome-gut-brain communication. However, little is known if these results are applicable to humans. Therefore, we tested the effects of high-dosed prebiotic fibre on reward-related food decision-making in a randomised controlled within-subject cross-over study and assayed potential microbial and metabolic markers.

Leptin, but not ghrelin, is associated with food addiction scores in a population-based subject sample.

Background: Ghrelin and leptin are both peptide hormones and act as opposing players in the regulation of hunger, satiety and energy expenditure. Leptin reduces appetite and feelings of hunger and is secreted mainly by adipocytes, while ghrelin increases appetite and food intake and reduces metabolic rate. Both hormones have been implicated in addictive disorders.

Neurobiology of eating behavior, nutrition, and health.

Eating behavior and food-related decision making are among the most complex of the motivated behaviors, and understanding the neurobiology of eating behavior, and its developmental dynamics, is critical to advancing the nutritional sciences and public health. Recent advances from both human and animal studies are revealing that individual capacity to make health-promoting food decisions varies based on biological and physiological variation in the signaling pathways that regulate the homeostatic, hedonic, and executive functions; past developmental exposures and current life-stage; the food environment; and complications of chronic disease that reinforce the obese state. Eating rate drives increased calorie intake and represents an important opportunity to lower rates of food consumption and energy intake through product reformulation.

Childhood sexual abuse is associated with higher total ghrelin serum levels in adulthood: results from a large, population-based study.

Ghrelin is an orexigenic peptide hormone synthesized in times of stress and hunger and alterations of the ghrelin system following acute stressors could be repeatedly shown in humans. However, little data exists on long-term effects of trauma on the ghrelin system. We aimed to investigate the influence of childhood trauma on total ghrelin serum levels in a large, population-based study.

Impact of social isolation on grey matter structure and cognitive functions: A population-based longitudinal neuroimaging study.

Background: Social isolation has been suggested to increase the risk to develop cognitive decline. However, our knowledge on causality and neurobiological underpinnings is still limited.

Methods: In this preregistered analysis, we tested the impact of social isolation on central features of brain and cognitive ageing using a longitudinal population-based magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study.

Genetic heart-brain connections.

Multiorgan imaging unveils the intertwined nature of the human heart and brain.

Suggestion of a new standard in measuring the mandible via MRI and an overview of reference values in young women.

Purpose: Adult idiopathic condylar resorption (AICR) mainly affects young women, but generally accepted diagnostic standards are lacking. Patients often need temporomandibular joint (TMJ) surgery, and often jaw anatomy is assessed by CT as well as MRI to observe both bone and soft tissue. This study aims to establish reference values for mandible dimensions in women from MRI only and correlate them to, e.

Increase in Serotonin Transporter Binding in Patients With Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder Across the Menstrual Cycle: A Case-Control Longitudinal Neuroreceptor Ligand Positron Emission Tomography Imaging Study.

Background: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) disrupts the lives of millions of people each month. The timing of symptoms suggests that hormonal fluctuations play a role in the pathogenesis. Here, we tested whether a heightened sensitivity of the serotonin system to menstrual cycle phase underlies PMDD, assessing the relationship of serotonin transporter (5-HTT) changes with symptom severity across the menstrual cycle.