Annals of medicine
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Adiponectin is an adipocytokine with lowered blood levels in obesity and Type 2 diabetes mellitus. We sought to define the specific effects of different alleles of the gene encoding adiponectin. ⋯ The carriers of the His111 allele may have a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Racial differences were found between Blacks and Whites in body composition and lipids according to ACDC genotypes. Sequence variants in the adiponectin gene appear to be associated with diabetes and diabetes-related phenotypes.
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Comparative Study
Relationship between tumor necrosis factor-alpha and ammonia in patients with hepatic encephalopathy due to chronic liver failure.
We have recently demonstrated that in humans, circulating levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) correlate positively with severity of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) due to chronic liver failure.AIM. The main aim of this larger population study is to determine the relationship between TNF and ammonia in patients with HE and chronic liver failure due to liver cirrhosis. ⋯ The results of this study demonstrate a significant relationship between TNF and ammonia in patients with chronic liver failure and HE, and so strengthen the suggestion that TNF could be strongly involved in the pathogenesis of HE in these patients. Hence, we suggest a new theory in the pathogenesis of HE, the "TNF theory".