A very-low-calorie ketogenic diet normalises obesity-related enhanced levels of erythropoietin compared with a low-calorie diet or bariatric surgery.

PURPOSE: Nutritional ketosis synergistically with body-weight loss induced by a very-low-calorie ketogenic diet (VLCKD) has proven to be effective in improving obesity-related pathophysiology. Recently, growing attention has been focused on the relation between erythropoietin (EPO) and obesity. Thus, this study aims to investigate whether nutritional ketosis and weight loss induced by a VLCKD modify the circulating levels of EPO in patients with obesity in comparison with the effect of low-calorie diet (LCD) or bariatric surgery (BS). METHODS: EPO levels, iron status and body composition parameters were evaluated in 72 patients with overweight or obesity and 27 normal-weight subjects at baseline and after the three different weight-reduction therapies (VLCKD, LCD and BS) in 69 patients with excess body weight. ß-hydroxybutyrate levels were also measured in the VLCKD group. The follow-up was established at 2-3 months and 4-6 months. RESULTS: It was found that EPO levels were higher in morbid obesity and correlated with higher basal weight, fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) in the overall sample. High baseline EPO levels were also correlated with higher impact on the course of weight loss and changes in FM and FFM induced by the three weight-loss interventions. Furthermore, the VLCKD induced a decrease in EPO levels coinciding with maximum ketosis, which was maintained over time, while statistically significant changes were not observed after LCD and BS. CONCLUSION: The obesity-related increased EPO levels are restored after VLCKD intervention at the time of maximum ketosis, suggesting a potential role of the nutritional ketosis induced by the VLCKD. Baseline EPO levels could be a biomarker of response to a weight-loss therapy.

Inmunoterapia oral con huevo en un hospital comarcal / Oral immunotherapy with egg in a regional hospital

Introducción y objetivos. La inmunoterapia oral (ITO) es una alternativa a la dieta de evitación en algunas alergias alimentarias. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar la eficacia y seguridad de la ITO con huevo en una consulta de alergia pediátrica. Material y métodos. Estudio observacional, longitudinal y retrospectivo de pacientes pediátricos con alergia al huevo persistente sometidos a ITO. Para la inducción se utilizó proteína de clara de huevo deshidratada administrada diariamente y con incrementos semanales hasta alcanzar una dosis de 4 gramos. Para la fase de mantenimiento se indicó una ingesta de al menos dos o tres huevos a la semana. Resultados. Se trataron 14 pacientes (6 niñas), de entre 5 y 13 años (mediana 5,5 años). Se consiguió desensibilización completa al final de la inducción en 11 pacientes (78,6%), que se mantuvo en todos ellos tras una mediana de tiempo de seguimiento de 29 meses. Durante la inducción los síntomas más frecuentes fueron: prurito orofaríngeo (9/14), dolor abdominal (7/14) y rinoconjuntivitis (6/14). Se emplearon antihistamínicos en 8 casos (57,1%) y ninguno precisó adrenalina. Entre los pacientes que consiguieron desensibilización se observó una tendencia al descenso de las IgE específicas, siendo estadísticamente significativo para las IgE a huevo completo (p = 0,047), clara de huevo (p = 0,031) y ovoalbúmina (p = 0,016). Conclusiones. La ITO con clara de huevo deshidratada resultó ser un tratamiento muy eficaz y bien tolerado en población pediátrica con alergia al huevo (AU)

Background and objective. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is an alternative to strict avoidance for the management of some food allergies. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of egg OIT in a paediatric allergy outpatient service. Methods. Retrospective, longitudinal observational study in children with persistent hen egg allergy who received egg OIT. For the build-up phase, dehydrated egg white was used daily. Updosing was performed weekly at the allergy unit, up to a final dose of 4 grams. Maintenance phase was carried out with a daily intake of one egg at least two or three times a week. Results. 14 patients (6 girls), whose ages ranged from 5 to 13 years (median 5.5 years) were treated with egg OIT. Eleven subject (78.6%) reached total desensitization, and all of them remained desensitized after a median follow-up time of 29 months. The most frequent adverse effects detected during the build-up phase were: oropharyngeal pruritus (9/14), abdominal pain (7/14), and rhinoconjuntivitis (6/14). Eight patients (57.1%) required oral antihistamines, and none received adrenaline. In those subjects that reached total desensitization, a trend to lower specific IgE levels was observed. That trends were statistically significand for whole egg (p = 0.047), egg white (p = 0.031), and ovalbumin (p = 0.016). Conclusions. Egg OIT was an effective and well tolerated treatment in children with egg allergY (AU)

Lack of Adipocyte-Fndc5/Irisin Expression and Secretion Reduces Thermogenesis and Enhances Adipogenesis.

Irisin is a browning-stimulating molecule secreted from the fibronectin type III domain containing 5 precursor (FNDC5) by muscle tissue upon exercise stimulation. Despite its beneficial role, there is an unmet and clamorous need to discern many essential aspects of this protein and its mechanism of action not only as a myokine but also as an adipokine. Here we contribute to address this topic by revealing the nature and role of FNDC5/irisin in adipose tissue. First, we show that FNDC5/irisin expression and secretion are induced by adipocyte differentiation and confirm its over-secretion by human obese visceral (VAT) and subcutaneous (SAT) adipose tissues. Second, we show how secreted factors from human obese VAT and SAT decrease PGC1α, FNDC5 and UCP1 gene expression on differentiating adipocytes; this effect over UCP1 is blunted by blocking irisin in obese secretomes. Finally, by stable gene silencing FNDC5 we reveal that FNDC5-KO adipocytes show reduced UCP1 expression and enhanced adipogenesis.

Quantifying pruning impacts on olive tree architecture and annual canopy growth by using UAV-based 3D modelling.

BACKGROUND: Tree pruning is a costly practice with important implications for crop harvest and nutrition, pest and disease control, soil protection and irrigation strategies. Investigations on tree pruning usually involve tedious on-ground measurements of the primary tree crown dimensions, which also might generate inconsistent results due to the irregular geometry of the trees. As an alternative to intensive field-work, this study shows a innovative procedure based on combining unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology and advanced object-based image analysis (OBIA) methodology for multi-temporal three-dimensional (3D) monitoring of hundreds of olive trees that were pruned with three different strategies (traditional, adapted and mechanical pruning). The UAV images were collected before pruning, after pruning and a year after pruning, and the impacts of each pruning treatment on the projected canopy area, tree height and crown volume of every tree were quantified and analyzed over time. RESULTS: The full procedure described here automatically identified every olive tree on the orchard and computed their primary 3D dimensions on the three study dates with high accuracy in the most cases. Adapted pruning was generally the most aggressive treatment in terms of the area and volume (the trees decreased by 38.95 and 42.05% on average, respectively), followed by trees under traditional pruning (33.02 and 35.72% on average, respectively). Regarding the tree heights, mechanical pruning produced a greater decrease (12.15%), and these values were minimal for the other two treatments. The tree growth over one year was affected by the pruning severity and by the type of pruning treatment, i.e., the adapted-pruning trees experienced higher growth than the trees from the other two treatments when pruning intensity was low (<10%), similar to the traditionally pruned trees at moderate intensity (10-30%), and lower than the other trees when the pruning intensity was higher than 30% of the crown volume. CONCLUSIONS: Combining UAV-based images and an OBIA procedure allowed measuring tree dimensions and quantifying the impacts of three different pruning treatments on hundreds of trees with minimal field work. Tree foliage losses and annual canopy growth showed different trends as affected by the type and severity of the pruning treatments. Additionally, this technology offers valuable geo-spatial information for designing site-specific crop management strategies in the context of precision agriculture, with the consequent economic and environmental benefits.

Plasma FGF21 levels in obese patients undergoing energy-restricted diets or bariatric surgery: a marker of metabolic stress?

BACKGROUND: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) has been suggested to be an endocrine signal of nutritional status and an active regulator of metabolism. However, there is no agreement on the effect of weight-loss therapies on circulating levels of FGF21 in humans. OBJECTIVE: To assess FGF21 circulating levels in adiposity excess and after different weight-loss strategies prescribed in five different groups from four independent centers. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Body composition, ketosis, insulin sensitivity and FGF21 were evaluated in 181 excess body weight and 14 normal-weight subjects. From the excess body weight patients, two independent groups (discovery cohort; n=20 and validation cohort; n=28) undertook a very low-calorie ketogenic (VLCK) diet, a third group followed a low-calorie (LC) diet (n=84) and other two groups underwent bariatric surgery (discovery cohort; n=24 and validation cohort; n=25). The follow-up was 4 to 6 or 12 months, respectively. RESULTS: FGF21 levels were higher in excess body weight patients than in normal-weight subjects. The energy-restriction therapy to lose weight induced a significant decrease, with respect to baseline, in circulating levels of FGF21 (VLCK: -62.5 pg ml-1 or -14.8 pg ml-1 and LC diet: -67.9 pg ml-1). There were no differences in FGF21 levels between both energy-restriction treatments. On the contrary, after bariatric surgery morbidly obese patients showed a significant increase in FGF21, especially 1 month after surgery (148.8 pg ml-1 higher than baseline). The FGF21 differential changes occur concomitantly with a non-induced ketosis situation (0.66±0.56 mm) in bariatric surgery, and an improvement in adiposity and insulin sensitivity induced by the three therapies. CONCLUSIONS: FGF21 levels were reduced after energy-restricted treatments and severely increased after bariatric surgery, independently of the weight reduction magnitude, insulin sensitivity or ketosis. Therefore, FGF21 appears to be a marker of severe nutritional stress.

A single growth hormone determination 30 minutes after the administration of the GHRH plus GHRP-6 test is sufficient for the diagnosis of somatotrope dysfunction in patients who have suffered traumatic brain injury.

UNLABELLED: As hypopituitarism is frequent in patients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) a hormonal check-up is necessary. However, the prevalence of TBI is so large that the number of potential candidates to be tested is difficult to manage, in particular for GH deficiency diagnosis that requires cumbersome and expensive dynamic tests. GHRH plus GH-releasing hexapeptide (GHRP-6) is a safe and effective test capable of segregating normal subjects from GH deficient patients. As the GHRH+GHRP-6 test induces GH peaks consistently in the first 30 min, the working hypothesis assessed in this study was whether a single determination of GH 30 min after stimulus could provide the same biochemical classification as the whole secretory curve. A total of 83 subjects who suffered TBI at least one year before the study were administered GHRH 1 mug/kg iv plus GHRP-6 1 mug/kg iv at 0 min, and blood samples were obtained at regular intervals. GH was determined in all samples. An excellent correlation was observed between GH values at 30 min and GH peaks (r=0.972, p<0.0001). When comparing the 30-min GH values against the peaks, the biochemical classification changed only in 5 out of 83 subjects from normal GH secretion to uncertain. CONCLUSIONS: The GHRH+GHRP-6 test is convenient, safe and in patients with TBI can be reduced to a single fixed GH determination 30 min after stimulus without losing diagnostic power.