Chronobiological evaluation and an intervention study on timing of food intake in the treatment of obesity.

BACKGROUND: The chronotype of patients who cannot reach their ideal weight despite diet and exercise may play a role in this resistance. In this study, the relationship between BMI and chronobiological preferences was examined and a weight loss programme was applied to refractory obese patients with evening type (ET). METHOD: The study included 50 obese (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2 ), 50 overweight (BMI = 25-29 kg/m2 ) and 50 normal weight (BMI < 25 kg/m2 ). The patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire including questions about sociodemographic characteristics, breakfast and night eating habits, as well as the morningness-eveningness quastionnaire (MEQ). In the second stage of the study, awareness interviews were held with ET obese patients in terms of eating time and habits. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference was observed between the BMI averages and the MEQ scores of ET, intermediate type (IT) and morning type (MT) groups (P = .0001). There was a statistically significant difference between the ET, IT and MT groups in terms of the distribution of late-night eating habits (P = .0001). The habit of skipping breakfast and taking more calories at dinner was found to be high in the ET patients (respectively; P = .021, P < .001). According to the results of the 3-month follow-up and intervention, the ET patients lost an average of 9.07±4.30 kg and a significant decrease was observed in the BMI scores (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The study results support the idea that an individualised weight loss programme according to the patient's chronotype preferences may increase the success rate of obesity treatment. A weight loss programme that includes the timing of food intake and regulation of eating habits in evening-type obese patients can be used in the treatment of obesity.

Serum Th1, Th2 and Th17 cytokine profiles and alpha-enolase levels in recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

BACKGROUND: All aspects of aetiopathogenesis of recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) have not been elucidated. RAS and Behçet's disease (BD) have clinical and immunological characteristics in common. Although T17 cytokines and alpha-enolase have been shown to play effective roles in BD and many other autoinflammatory diseases recently, their roles in RAS have not been studied extensively. In the present study, we investigated levels of several Th1, Th2 and Th17 pathways related cytokines and alpha-enolase to elucidate pathogenesis of RAS and to obtain data about possible treatment alternatives for the condition. METHODS: Serum interleukin-1, interleukin-13, interleukin-17, interleukin-18, interferon gamma and alpha-enolase levels in 24 patients with RAS, 30 patients with BD and 20 healthy controls were measured. RESULTS: Serum interleukin-1, interleukin-13, interleukin-17, interleukin-18, interferon gamma and alpha-enolase levels were higher in patients with RAS and patients with BD than in healthy controls (P < 0.005). CONCLUSION: Like Th1 and Th2 cells, Th17 cells were found to be effective in pathogenesis of RAS. In addition, alpha-enolase, the levels of which were high, may play an important role in etio-pathogenesis of RAS. Further studies to be designed in the light of these findings are required to shed light on pathogenesis and treatment of the condition.