Wheat gluten intake increases weight gain and adiposity associated with reduced thermogenesis and energy expenditure in an animal model of obesity.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The association between gluten and body weight is inconsistent. Previously, we showed that a gluten-free diet reduces weight gain without changing food intake in mice fed high-fat diets. In the present study, we investigated the effects of gluten intake on fat metabolism, thermogenesis and energy expenditure in mice fed a standard or high-fat diet. METHODS: Mice were fed four different experimental diets during 8 weeks: a control-standard diet (CD), a CD added with 4.5% of wheat gluten (CD-G), a high-fat diet (HFD) and a HFD added with 4.5% of wheat gluten (HFD-G). After 8 weeks, the mice received (99m)Tc-radiolabeled gluten orally to study gluten absorption and biodistribution or they underwent indirect calorimetry. After killing, subcutaneous and brown adipose tissues (SAT and BAT) were collected to assess thermogenesis-related protein expression. Lipid metabolism was studied in adipocyte cultures from the four groups. RESULTS: Despite having had the same energy intake, CD-G and HFD-G mice exhibited increased body weight and fat deposits compared with their respective controls. (99m)Tc-GLU or its peptides were detected in the blood, liver and visceral adipose tissue, suggesting that gluten can even reach extraintestinal organs. Uncoupling protein-1 expression was reduced in the BAT of HFD-G and in the SAT of CD-G and HFD-G mice. Indirect calorimetry showed lower oxygen volume consumption in CD-G and HFD-G groups compared with their controls. In HFD mice, daily energy expenditure was reduced with gluten intake. Gluten also reduced adiponectin, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α and PPARγ and hormone-sensitive lipase in cultures of isolated adipocytes from HFD mice, whereas in the CD-G group, gluten intake increased interleukin-6 expression and tended to increase that of tumor necrosis factor. CONCLUSIONS: Wheat gluten promotes weight gain in animals on both HFD and CD, partly by reducing the thermogenic capacity of adipose tissues.

[Health-economic burden of Parkinson's disease in Portugal: a cohort study]. / Estudio de cohortes sobre la carga socioeconomica de la enfermedad de Parkinson en Portugal.

INTRODUCTION: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with a considerable socioeconomic burden. Health-economic evaluations of PD in the Southern European countries are limited. AIM: To evaluate the costs of PD in an outpatient cohort in Portugal. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 49 consecutive PD patients were recruited at the neurological outpatient clinic of the University of Lisbon between October 2004 and December 2005. Clinical status was evaluated using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and the Hoehn and Yahr stages. Costs were assessed from the societal perspective using health-economic questionnaires. Human capital approach was used to estimate indirect costs. Health-related quality of life was evaluated by means of the EQ-5D. RESULTS: Direct costs were 2,717 euros (95% CI = 1,147-3,351) per patient for a six-month period. Main contributors to the direct costs included drugs (544 euros; 95% CI = 426-6,940) and hospitalizations (690 euros; 95% CI = 229-1,944). Indirect costs amounted to 850 euros (95% CI = 397-1,529), whereas patient expenditures constituted 12% of direct costs. Assistance by family and other relatives played a major role. In general, costs were lower than in other Western countries. CONCLUSIONS: The economic burden of PD in Portugal is considerable. Important cost components include medications and hospitalizations. More research is needed in order to describe a comprehensive health service patterns in Portugal and to guide health policy decisions more effectively.

Monte Carlo study of the vector Blume-Emery-Griffiths model for 3He--4He mixtures in three dimensions.

A version of the Vector Blume-Emery-Griffiths model with three-dimensional spins was studied on a simple cubic lattice by Monte Carlo simulations. We obtained the phase diagram, which reproduces, for a range of the parameters of the model, the topology of the one observed for bulk mixtures of 3He--4He. The phase diagram displays a superfluid, 4He-rich phase which undergoes a phase transition to a normal phase. This transition is first or second order, depending on the region of the phase diagram examined. One of the main features of this diagram is the existence of a tricritical point, which, for some values of the parameters of the model, decomposes into a critical endpoint and a double critical endpoint. These points were located with reasonable precision. This study provides the basis for the subsequent study of dynamic properties of 3He--4He mixtures.

Assessment of pre-laying motivation in the domestic hen using social interaction

While much is known about the hormonal basis of pre-laying behaviour of domestic hens, Gallus gallus domesticuslittle is known about how the behaviour is initiated or how changes in this behaviour occur. An experiment was conducted in which hens had to overcome an aversive task, during the course of pre-laying behaviour, in order to reach a nest site. Twelve hens were tested in four treatments presented as a Latin square design. The test arena was arranged such that hens could approach the nestbox only along one corridor, and return to the home pen by another. The four treatments consisted of leaving the corridor leading to the nestbox empty, or placing a hen that was dominant, subordinate or unfamiliar to the test-bird in it. Hens took longer to enter the corridor leading to the nestbox when there was a dominant or unfamiliar stimulus-bird than with a subordinate or an empty corridor. They also made more attempts to find alternative routes to the nestbox during the searching phase of pre-laying behaviour when there was a dominant or unfamiliar stimulus-bird, than with a subordinate stimulus-bird or empty pen and made fewer entries into the corridor with an unfamiliar stimulus-bird, but not a dominant or subordinate stimulus-bird or an empty pen. We suggest that hens are weakly motivated to reach the nest site during the searching phase. However, the motivation to gain access to a nest site increases near the start of the sitting phase of pre-laying behaviour.