80 research outputs found
A common core microbiota between obese individuals and their lean relatives? Evaluation of the predisposition to obesity on the basis of the fecal microflora profile
No full textObesity represents a crucial social problem in developed countries as a cause of multiple metabolic abnormalities. The exact etiology of this multifactorial disease is still unknown. The impact of dietary habits and lifestyle is currently under investigation but the role of other predisposing factors, such as genetic determinants and familial history, needs still to be elucidated. Significant alterations in the composition of the intestinal microbiota have been recently identified in obese mice, suggesting an involvement of gut microbes in obesity. In humans, obese subjects are supposed to have a more efficient flora in energy extraction from food, due to the detection of quantitative differences in the major bacterial groups in obese subjects compared to lean ones. Despite these observations, the homologies in gut microbiota between obese adults and their lean relatives have never been investigated in details. Few reports about the detection of common microbial profiles between members of the same family have been published in the past but only one recent scientific article, investigating the presence of a common core microbiota between obese and lean twins, correlates genetic background and gut microflora as significant variables in obesity. The hypothesis suggested herein is that the identification of a familial-specific core microbiota could be precious in order to identify key-bacterial groups to be used as biomarkers for the evaluation of predisposition to obesity
To treat or not to treat: comparison of different criteria used to determine whether weight loss is to be recommended
No full textBackground: Excess body fat is a major risk factor for disease primarily due to its endocrine
activity. In recent years several criteria have been introduced to evaluate this factor. Nevertheless,
treatment need is currently assessed only on the basis of an individual's Body Mass Index (BMI),
calculated as body weight (in kg) divided by height in m2. The aim of our study was to determine
whether application of the BMI, compared to adiposity-based criteria, results in underestimation of
the number of subjects needing lifestyle intervention.
Methods: We compared treatment need based on BMI classification with four adiposity-based
criteria: percentage body fat (%BF), considered both alone and in relation to metabolic syndrome
risk (MS), waist circumference (WC), as an index of abdominal fat, and Body Fat Mass Index (BFMI,
calculated as fat mass in kg divided by height in m2) in 63 volunteers (23 men and 40 women, aged
20 – 65 years).
Results: According to the classification based on BMI, 6.3% of subjects were underweight, 52.4%
were normal weight, 30.2% were overweight, and 11.1% were obese. Agreement between the BMI
categories and the other classification criteria categories varied; the most notable discrepancy
emerged in the underweight and overweight categories. BMI compared to almost all of the other
adiposity-based criteria, identified a lower percentage of subjects for whom treatment would be
recommended. In particular, the proportion of subjects for whom clinicians would strongly
recommend weight loss on the basis of their BMI (11.1%) was significantly lower than those
identified according to WC (25.4%, p = 0.004), %BF (28.6%, p = 0.003), and MS (33.9%, p = 0.002).
Conclusion: The use of the BMI alone, as opposed to an assessment based on body composition,
to identify individuals needing lifestyle intervention may lead to unfortunate misclassifications.
Population-specific data on the relationships between body composition, morbidity, and mortality
are needed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of at-risk individual
Plasma Apelin Levels: Relationship with Anthropometry, Body Composition Parameters, and Leptin in a sample of women with menstrual irregularities
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High frequency of psychopathology in subjects wishing to lose weight: an observational study in Italian subjects
No full textOBJECTIVE: To investigate the frequency of psychiatric disorders in subjects wishing to lose weight categorized according to BMI.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional study.
SETTING: An academic outpatient clinical nutrition service in Italy.
SUBJECTS: A total of 207 subjects (thirty-nine men and 168 women; mean age: 38.7 (sd 14.1) years) consecutively attending the study centre for the first time between January 2003 and December 2006.
RESULTS: In the entire study group, eighty-three (40 %) subjects had a psychiatric disorder according to criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, text revision. Eating disorders were the most prevalent psychiatric condition (thirty-six subjects, 17.4 %), followed by mood and anxiety disorders (9.7 % and 8.7 %, respectively). The frequency of psychiatric disorders among different BMI categories was as follows: 75.0 % in underweight, 50.0 % in normal weight, 33.3 % in overweight and 33.3 % in obese subjects.
CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatric disorders may be frequently found in subjects wishing to lose weight. Our results highlight the importance of psychiatric assessment especially in underweight and normal-weight subjects
Defective expression and function of the leukocyte associated Ig-like receptor 1 in B lymphocytes from systemic lupus erythematosus patients.
No full textSystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is characterized by the production of a wide array of autoantibodies and dysregulation of B cell function. The leukocyte associated Immunoglobulin (Ig)-like receptor (LAIR)1 is a transmembrane molecule belonging to Ig superfamily which binds to different types of collagen. Herein, we have determined the expression and function of LAIR1 on B lymphocyte from SLE patients. LAIR1 expression in peripheral blood B lymphocytes from 54 SLE, 24 mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), 20 systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, 14 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and 40 sex and age matched healthy donors (HD) have been analyzed by immunofluorescence. The effect of LAIR1 ligation by specific monoclonal antibodies, collagen or collagen producing mesenchymal stromal cells from reactive lymph nodes or bone marrow on Ig production by pokeweed mitogen and B cell receptor (BCR)-mediated NF-kB activation was assessed by ELISA and TransAM assay. The percentage of CD20(+) B lymphocytes lacking or showing reduced expression of LAIR1 was markedly increased in SLE and MCTD but not in SSc or RA patients compared to HD. The downregulation of LAIR1 expression was not dependent on corticosteroid therapy. Interestingly, LAIR1 engagement by collagen or collagen-producing mesenchymal stromal cells in SLE patients with low LAIR1 expression on B cells delivered a lower inhibiting signal on Ig production. In addition, NF-kB p65 subunit activation upon BCR and LAIR1 co-engagement was less inhibited in SLE patients than in HD. Our findings indicate defective LAIR1 expression and function in SLE B lymphocytes, possible contributing to an altered control of B lymphocytes behavior
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