Journal of internal medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Effects of individual and combined dietary weight loss and exercise interventions in postmenopausal women on adiponectin and leptin levels.
Excess body weight and a sedentary lifestyle are associated with the development of several diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer in women. One proposed mechanism linking obesity to chronic diseases is an alteration in adipose-derived adiponectin and leptin levels. We investigated the effects of 12-month reduced calorie, weight loss and exercise interventions on adiponectin and leptin concentrations. ⋯ Weight loss through diet or diet + exercise increased adiponectin concentrations. Leptin concentrations decreased in all of the intervention groups, but the greatest reduction occurred with diet + exercise. Weight loss and exercise exerted some beneficial effects on chronic diseases via effects on adiponectin and leptin.
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Breast cancer is now the most frequently diagnosed cancer and leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Strategies targeting the primary tumour have markedly improved, but systemic treatments to prevent metastasis are less effective; metastatic disease remains the underlying cause of death in the majority of patients with breast cancer who succumb to their disease. ⋯ Results from studies in animal models suggest that specific subtypes of breast cancer may direct metastasis through recruitment and activation of haematopoietic cells. In this review, we focus on data implicating breast cancer as a systemic disease.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Effects of an isocaloric healthy Nordic diet on insulin sensitivity, lipid profile and inflammation markers in metabolic syndrome -- a randomized study (SYSDIET).
Different healthy food patterns may modify cardiometabolic risk. We investigated the effects of an isocaloric healthy Nordic diet on insulin sensitivity, lipid profile, blood pressure and inflammatory markers in people with metabolic syndrome. ⋯ Healthy Nordic diet improved lipid profile and had a beneficial effect on low-grade inflammation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Circulating interleukin-6 concentration and cognitive decline in old age: the PROSPER study.
Inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and cognitive decline. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has a role in cardiovascular disease, but the association of IL-6 concentration and the functional IL-6 -174 polymorphism with cognitive decline has not been demonstrated unequivocally. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between both high concentration of IL-6 and the -174 promoter polymorphism, and increased cognitive decline in old age. ⋯ Higher circulating levels of IL-6 were associated with worse cognitive function and steeper cognitive decline and provide preliminary genetic evidence for a potential causal association. The findings support the importance of the need for further investigation of the IL-6 pathway in cognitive decline.
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Patients with decompensated cirrhosis are susceptible to bacterial infections, which are associated with organ failure and a high mortality rate. Reliable biomarkers are needed to identify patients who require intensified treatment. Our objective was to study the regulation and prognostic relevance of elevated concentrations of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) in patients with advanced cirrhosis. ⋯ Blood and ascitic suPAR levels provide distinct, but relevant prognostic information on the severity of complications in patients with end-stage liver disease.