The Different Shades of Thermogenic Adipose Tissue.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: By providing a concise overview of adipose tissue types, elucidating the regulation of adipose thermogenic capacity in both physiological contexts and chronic wasting diseases (a protracted hypermetabolic state that precipitates sustained catabolism and consequent progressive corporeal atrophy), and most importantly, delving into the ongoing discourse regarding the role of adipose tissue thermogenic activation in chronic wasting diseases, this review aims to provide researchers with a comprehensive understanding of the field. RECENT FINDINGS: Adipose tissue, traditionally classified as white, brown, and beige (brite) based on its thermogenic activity and potential, is intricately regulated by complex mechanisms in response to exercise or cold exposure. This regulation is adipose depot-specific and dependent on the duration of exposure. Excessive thermogenic activation of adipose tissue has been observed in chronic wasting diseases and has been considered a pathological factor that accelerates disease progression. However, this conclusion may be confounded by the detrimental effects of excessive lipolysis. Recent research also suggests that such activation may play a beneficial role in the early stages of chronic wasting disease and provide potential therapeutic effects. A more comprehensive understanding of the changes in adipose tissue thermogenesis under physiological and pathological conditions, as well as the underlying regulatory mechanisms, is essential for the development of novel interventions to improve health and prevent disease.

Comparison of the prevalence of opioid use among U.S. adults with cardiac conditions before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Limited data are available on the prevalence of prescription opioid use among patients with cardiac conditions who were exposed to increased risks of cardiac events including myocardial failure and cardiac arrest. According to the U.S. National Health Interview Survey, we evaluated the prevalence of opioid use in patients with cardiac conditions who reported prescription opioid use in the past 12 months and 3 months in 2019 and 2020, respectively, and further estimated the prevalence of opioid use for acute pain or chronic pain. We also analyzed the stratified prevalence by demographical characteristics. Our results showed that there was no statistically significant change in the prevalence of opioid use in the past 12 months (26.5% in 2019 vs. 25.7% in 2020) or the past 3 months (66.6% in 2019 vs. 62.5% in 2020) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there was a significant decline in the prevalence of opioid use for acute pain, from 64.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 57.6% to 70.3%) in 2019 to 49.6% (95% CI 40.1% to 59.0%) in 2020 (P = 0.012), particularly in the subgroups of men, non-Hispanic white people, adults with education below high school, those with an income-to-poverty ratio ranging from 1.0 to 1.9, and those covered with health insurance. Our findings suggest that monitoring opioid use in the era of living with COVID-19 is important, which will help inform healthcare providers to develop care strategies to reduce health loss for vulnerable individuals.

Short-Term Association of Air Pollutant Levels and Hospital Admissions for Stroke and Effect Modification by Apparent Temperature: Evidence From Shanghai, China.

The epidemiological evidence on relationships between air pollution, temperature, and stroke remains inconclusive. Limited evidence is available for the effect modification by apparent temperature, an indicator reflecting reactions to the thermal environment, on short-term associations between air pollution and hospital admissions for stroke. We used a generalized additive model with Poisson regression to estimate the relative risk (RR) of stroke admissions in Shanghai, China, between 2014 and 2016 associated with air pollutants, with subgroup analyses by age, sex, apparent temperature, and season. During the study period, changes in the daily number of stroke admissions per 10 µg/m3 increase in nitrogen dioxide (at lags 0, 1, 0-1, and 0-2) ranged from 1.05 (95% CI: 0.82%, 2.88%) to 2.24% (95% CI: 0.84%, 3.65%). For each 10 µg/m3 increase in sulfur dioxide concentrations at lags 1, 2, 0-1, and 0-2, the RR of daily stroke admissions increased by 3.34 (95% CI: 0.955%, 5.79%), 0.32 (95% CI: -1.97%, 2.67%), 3.33 (95% CI: 0.38%, 6.37%), and 2.86% (95% CI: -0.45%, 6.28%), respectively. The associations of same-day exposure to nitrogen dioxide with stroke admissions remained significant after adjustment for ozone levels. These associations were not modified by sex, age, apparent temperature, or season. More research is warranted to determine whether apparent temperature modifies the associations between air pollution and stroke admissions.