Visceral fat and chronic diseases

BACKGROUND: Diverticular disease is a common, chronic inflammatory disease of the bowel. This study investigates the differences in body composition between patients with diverticular disease and those without. METHODS: Appropriate patients were identified using a search of the radiology database. Demographic and disease information was gathered using scanned medical records. Body composition analysis was performed at level L3 using single-slice computed tomography techniques...

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by chronic polyarticular synovitis and presents systemic changes that impact quality of life, such as impaired muscle function, seen in up to 66% of the patients. This can progress to severely debilitating state known as rheumatoid cachexia-without loss of fat mass and body weight-for which there is little consensus in terms of diagnosis or treatment. This study aims to evaluate whether the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) animal model also develops clinical and functional features characteristic of rheumatoid cachexia...

BACKGROUND: Metabolically-obese, normal-weight (MONW) individuals are not obese in terms of weight and height but have a number of obesity-related features (e.g. greater visceral adiposity, insulin resistance, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease). The MONW phenotype is related to the intake of unbalanced diets, such as those rich in fat. Increasing evidence shows a relationship between high-fat diet consumption and mild cognitive impairment and dementia. Thus, MONW individuals could be at a greater risk of cognitive dysfunction...

Chronic inflammatory status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) due to metabolic changes has an effect on body composition. Up to two thirds of patients may be affected by the loss of body cell mass and, thereby, malnutrition including its most severe form - cachexia. Among patients with RA and malnutrition, the total body weight is not reduced and the muscle loss is partially compensated by an increase in body fat. The excess of visceral and trunk adipose tissue is the main factor of increased prevalence of insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome in RA patients...

Metabolic diseases are associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, which has been indicated as a potential mediator of endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. Visceral adiposity is thought to be the starting condition of the inflammatory state through the release of inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-alpha, CRP, and IL-6, which in turn promote endothelial dysfunction, endothelial expression of chemokines (IL-1) and adhesion molecules (ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and P-selectin), and the inhibition of anti-atherogenic factors (adiponectin)...

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Angiopoietin-like 4 (ANGPTL4) is an important regulator of triacylglycerol metabolism, carrying out this role by inhibiting the enzymes lipoprotein lipase and pancreatic lipase. ANGPTL4 is a potential target for ameliorating cardiometabolic diseases. Although ANGPTL4 has been implicated in obesity, the study of the direct role of ANGPTL4 in diet-induced obesity and related metabolic dysfunction is hampered by the massive acute-phase response and development of lethal chylous ascites and peritonitis in Angptl4-/- mice fed a standard high-fat diet...

AIMS: Procollagen-III peptide (PIIINP) is a marker of fibrosis associated with increased cardio-metabolic risk and progression of chronic liver diseases such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and steatohepatitis (NASH); its association with type 2 diabetes mellitus has not been elucidated yet. Aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between circulating PIIINP levels, metabolic traits and body fat distribution in subjects with T2DM with or without NAFLD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from sixty-two T2DM subjects recruited in our Diabetes outpatient clinics at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, were analysed...

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to assess the association between chronic kidney disease (CKD) and obesity in predicting CKD among Chinese adults, distinguishing between 5 different adiposity indices: visceral fat index (VFI), percentage body fat (PBF), body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). METHODS: A total of 29,516 participants aged 35 years or above were selected using a stratified multistage random sampling method across China during 2012-2015...

Chronic pouchitis (CP) after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis is a significant clinical problem. Adipose tissues produce antiinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. We evaluated the association between abdominal visceral fat area (VFA) and CP. Patients with a preoperative CT evaluation were included. The diagnosis of CP was confirmed in all cases by endoscopy with afferent ileal limb intubation. Patients were allocated into groups of high VFA and low VFA. The study cohort of 52 patients had a median body mass index of 22 (range, 14-32)...

The aim of this study was to investigate how the effects of compound probiotics modulate the gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acid (SCFA), body composition, serum and liver lipids, and inflammatory markers in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) rats. Twenty-four male SD rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: normal control group (standard feed), high-fat diet (HFD) feeding group (83% standard feed + 10% lard oil + 1.5% cholesterol + 0.5% cholate + 5% sucrose), and compound probiotics intervention group (HFD + 0...

OBJECTIVES: Childhood obesity rates are increasing as well as chronic disease and cardiovascular risk factors for patients at young ages. In this study, we evaluate the correlation between cardiac parameters, body mass index (BMI), and other body composition indicators in children and adolescents. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we evaluated anthropometric measurements, bioelectrical impedance parameters, and echocardiographic measurements including the left ventricular mass (LVM), LVM index (LVMI), and left atrial diameter (LAD) in children and adolescents ages 7 to 15 y...

PURPOSE: Visceral obesity is considered to be associated not only with chronic systemic inflammation but also with aggressive cancer behavior. However, the implication of visceral obesity in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is unclear. METHODS: Computed tomography volumetry was performed in 364 patients who underwent esophagectomy for ESCC. We calculated the ratio of the visceral fat area to the subcutaneous fat area (VS ratio), which is a valuable parameter of visceral obesity...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cardiovascular (CV) risk assessment based on conventional risk factors has a limited performance in the prediction of obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Therefore, our aim was to provide a complete assessment on the associations between single or combined cardiovascular ultrasound indexes and the complexity of CAD in high and very-high risk patients. METHODS: Two hundred fifteen patients scheduled for elective coronary angiography were enrolled in the study (F/M: 80/135 pts; age: 61...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obesity are major causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and a relationship between COPD and obesity is increasingly recognized. The nature and underlying mechanisms of the link between obesity and COPD are still largely unknown. Obesity, and abdominal adiposity in particular, is linked to metabolic syndrome. Hypertension, hyperglycemia, and abdominal adiposity seem to be the most prevalent components of metabolic syndrome in COPD. Adipose tissues function as a source of a variety of signaling molecules in the pathobiology of respiratory diseases...

AIM: Management of low skeletal muscle mass (LSM) is a very important topic as LSM affects patient mortality in liver diseases. Changes in body composition are unexplored in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients, including those with liver cirrhosis, who receive direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy. Body composition measurements and liver function tests were carried out before and after DAA therapy. METHODS: Blood examination, visceral fat area (VFA) and extremity skeletal muscle mass were measured using the multifrequency bioelectrical impedance analysis method: (i) at 24 weeks before DAA therapy; (ii) at the start of DAA therapy; (iii) at the end of DAA therapy; (iv) at 24 weeks after DAA therapy; and (v) at 48 weeks after DAA therapy...

Early life inadequate nutrition triggers developmental adaptations and adult chronic disease. Maternal high-fat (HF) diet promotes visceral obesity and hypothalamic leptin resistance in male rat offspring at weaning and adulthood. Obesity is related to over active endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS consists mainly of endogenous ligands, cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2), and the enzymes fatty acid anandamide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). We hypothesized that perinatal maternal HF diet would regulate offspring ECS in hypothalamus and brown adipose tissue (BAT) at birth, prior to visceral obesity development, and program food preference and energy expenditure of adult offspring...

Obesity promotes excessive inflammation, which is associated with senescence-like changes in visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and the development of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and cardiovascular diseases. We have reported that a unique population of CD44hi CD62Llo CD4+ T cells that constitutively express PD-1 and CD153 exhibit cellular senescence and cause VAT inflammation by producing large amounts of osteopontin. Weight loss improves glycemic control and reduces cardiovascular disease risk factors, but its long-term effects on cardiovascular events and longevity in obese individuals with T2DM are somewhat disappointing and not well understood...

Worldwide prevalence of noncommunicable chronic degenerative diseases is among the main causes of death worldwide. The consumption of some foods such as nuts and seeds may be beneficial in preventing these diseases. Dipteryx alata Vogel (DA), known popularly as Baru, belongs to the family Fabaceae and is a native fruit tree from the Brazilian savanna. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of seeds of DA on the metabolic and oxidative profile of Wistar rats. Animals were divided randomly into four groups (n = 10): G1 (control group), and G2 (treated with DA 20%), G3 (treated with DA 30%), and G4 (treated with DA 40%)...

Central obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, and is a risk factor for cardiometabolic syndrome. The Mediterranean diet pattern has a convincing evidence-base for improving cardiometabolic health. This review investigated the impact of Mediterranean diet interventions on central obesity, specifically. A systematic literature search was conducted in the MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and Cochrane library databases. Search terms included: 'Mediterranean Diet', 'Mediterranean dietary pattern', 'central obesity' and 'visceral fat'...

Over the last two decades, the understanding of adipose tissue has undergone radical change. The perception has evolved from an inert energy storage tissue to that of an active endocrine organ. Adipose tissue releases a cluster of active molecules named adipokines. The severity of obesity-related diseases does not necessarily correlate with the extent of body fat accumulation but is closely related to body fat distribution, particularly to visceral localization. There is a distinction between the metabolic function of central obesity (visceral abdominal) and peripheral obesity (subcutaneous) in the production of adipokines...