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Query: UMLS:C0028754 (obesity)
 124,988 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Cochlospermum vitifolium (Willd.) Sprengel is a Mexican medicinal plant that is used in the folk medicine for the treatment of hypertension, diabetes, hepatitis and related diseases. The purpose of the present study was to assess the pharmacological properties of different extracts from Cochlospermum vitifolium bark as potential agent for the treatment of some factors related with metabolic syndrome (MS), a complex disease produced for several pathophysiological factors such as visceral fat obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia and liver steatosis. Hexane (HECv), dichloromethane (DECv) and methanol (MECv) extracts were subjected to some pharmacological assays to determine their vasorelaxant and hypoglycemic activity. On the other hand, MECv was also evaluated to determine its hepatoprotective effect on sub-chronic experimental assay. HECv showed a significant endothelium-independent relaxation on rat aorta rings (intact endothelium: IC(50)=14.42+/-5.90 microg/mL, E(max)=92.71+/-8.9%; denuded endothelium: IC(50)=27.94+/-4.0 microg/mL, E(max)=78.68+/-4.6%) and MECv produced an endothelium-dependent relaxation (IC(50)=21.94+/-6.87 microg/mL, E(max)=79.12+/-7.80%) on this tissue. Furthermore, HECv (at a dose of 120 mg/kg) also showed a significant decrease of blood glucose levels (p<0.05) on normoglycemic rats. Moreover, MECv (at a dose of 100 mg/kg) also was administered to bile duct-obstructed rats to determine its hepatoprotective activity, showing a statistically significant decrease of serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (PGT, 45%) and alkaline phosphatase (APh, 15%) (p<0.05). Finally, we obtained a crystalline polyphenolic compound from MECv by spontaneous precipitation. Those crystals were identified as (+/-)-naringenin by X-ray diffraction, NMR, IR and GC-MS techniques. Results suggest that Cochlospermum vitifolium could be used as a potential agent against MS since it shows hypoglycemic, vasorelaxant and hepatoprotective properties.
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PMID:Hypoglycemic, vasorelaxant and hepatoprotective effects of Cochlospermum vitifolium (Willd.) Sprengel: a potential agent for the treatment of metabolic syndrome. 1697 15

The unborn child is at risk from several maternal diseases and behaviors, such as smoking (tobacco and cannabis) and alcohol consumption. Other threats come from maternal infections (AIDS, hepatitis, rubella, toxoplasmosis, etc.), certain medicines, obesity, diabetes, etc. Many young women of child-bearing potential are unaware of these risks, and need to be informed well before they conceive. Healthcare professionals must be trained to provide this information, notably during preconceptional consultations. The first examination should take place during the first month of pregnancy (rather than before the third month at present), given the risks of early embryonic and fetal damage. This is not just a question of public health but also a social issue, as the lack of information is most flagrant among the poor. Everything must be done to ensure that all children have the best possible chance of growing up in good health.
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PMID:[Protecting the unborn child. Information needed long before pregnancy]. 1714 Jan 5

The immune response to foreign or self antigens mediates liver damage during viral or autoimmune hepatitis. However, it now appears that also specific antigen-independent liver diseases, where liver damage has been attributed to occur from oxygen radical formation, seem to be mediated by cells of the innate and adaptive immune response. These liver disorders include alcoholic liver disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, and ischemia/reperfusion injury that impairs the function of liver grafts. Here it seems that breakdown of the gastrointestinal barrier might increase the concentration of bacterial toxins in the portal blood, which then activate cells of the innate immune system, e. g., Kupffer cells, but, depending on the nature of the toxin, probably also conventional T cells. Invariant NKT cells which specifically recognize glycolipid antigens were supposed to become activated during metabolic disorders related to obesity. However, both steatohepatitis as well as ischemia/reperfusion injury are associated with a Th1 cytokine response characterized by IFNgamma and TNFalpha elevation, that might reflect an NKT cell response on the one hand, but also conventional T lymphocytes, in particular CD4 (+) T cells, are critical for the pathophysiology of these disorders. In 1992 we described a model of T cell-dependent liver injury inducible by the T cell-mitogenic lectin concanavalin A. This model of immune-mediated liver injury was intensively used to study pathophysiological immune effector mechanisms as well as cytokine signaling important for hepatocellular apoptosis, inhibition of apoptosis and regeneration. Recently it became evident that the inflammatory response in this model is regulated by specific cytokine signals as well as by immune regulator cells. The immune-regulatory functions of the liver are of particular interest with respect to the scavenger function of this organ, being continuously exposed to foreign antigenic material from the gut which should be eliminated without causing chronic disease.
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PMID:Cellular and cytokine-mediated mechanisms of inflammation and its modulation in immune-mediated liver injury. 1723 22

Essential hypertension is associated with the metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and the development of fatty liver. Fatty liver disease is a spectrum of liver diseases ranging from simple hepatic steatosis through steato-hepatitis to cirrhosis and hepatoma. The purpose of this review is to discuss the evidence for an association between essential hypertension and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and to consider the diagnosis and management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. We conclude that it is important to consider the diagnosis of fatty liver disease in hypertensive patients, to measure the liver function tests at diagnosis and not to ignore minor elevations of serum aminotransferases. Hypertensive patients with raised liver enzymes should be referred for further assessment, particularly if risk factors for progressive liver disease, such as obesity and diabetes, are present.
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PMID:Hypertension and fatty liver: guilty by association? 1727 55

Several autoimmune diseases are thought to be mediated in part by interleukin (IL)-18. Many are those with associated increased interferon-gamma (IFNgamma) levels such as systemic lupus erythematosus, macrophage activation syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, and graft-versus-host disease. In addition, ischemia, including acute renal failure in human beings, appears to involve IL-18. Animal studies also support the concept that IL-18 is a key player in models of lupus erythematosus, atherosclerosis, graft-versus-host disease, and hepatitis. Unexpectedly, IL-18 plays a role in appetite control and the development of obesity. IL-18 is a member of the IL-1 family; IL-1beta and IL-18 are related closely, and both require the intracellular cysteine protease caspase-1 for biological activity. The IL-18 binding protein, a naturally occurring and specific inhibitor of IL-18, neutralizes IL-18 activities and has been shown to be safe in patients. Other options for reducing IL-18 activities are inhibitors of caspase-1, human monoclonal antibodies to IL-18, soluble IL-18 receptors, and anti-IL-18 receptor monoclonal antibodies.
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PMID:Interleukin-18 and the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. 1733 92

Non-alcoholic steato-hepatitis (NASH) is related to insulin resistance and, thus, frequently occurs as part of the metabolic changes that accompany obesity, diabetes and hyperlipidemia. In childhood, the overwhelming boost of obesity and its co-morbidities have lead to the extraordinarily increased prevalence of NASH. Establishing effective therapeutic strategies to treat the disease represents the challenge for hepatologists and gastroenterologists in the next decade. Therapeutic approaches have aimed at treating associated conditions (obesity, insulin resistance, hyperlipemia, etc) or reducing liver oxidative damage (vitamin E).
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PMID:Therapeutic strategies for pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a challenge for health care providers. 1755 19

Cholangiocarcinoma occurs with a varying frequency in different areas of the world. Some of the variations in incidence rates can be explained by the distribution of risk factors in different geographic regions and ethnic groups. Several accepted risk factors for cholangiocarcinoma include infestation with liver flukes, primary sclerosing cholangitis, hepatolithiasis, choledochal cysts, cirrhosis, and infusion of certain chemical agents. Approximately, 90% of patients diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma do not have a recognized risk factor for the malignancy. The study by Ahrens et al. [16] finds that obesity and gallstones are risk factors for developing extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma in men patients. Obesity was found to have a 'dose-effect' relationship with the strength of statistical association. No significant association was reported for tobacco or alcohol use, hepatitis, cirrhosis, diabetes, or inflammatory bowel disease. Although the author's definition of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma was unusual, the association of obesity with the risk of developing cholangiocarcinoma persisted for all anatomic subsites.
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PMID:Risk factors for cholangiocarcinoma. 1762 30

Insulin resistance (IR) in childhood has importance to the understanding and prevention of the growing epidemic of insulin resistance syndrome (IRS) in adults with attendant obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2DM), atherosclerotic diseases, hypertension, gout, non-alcoholic, steato-hepatitis (NASH), gall bladder disease, nephropathy, polycystic ovarian disease (PCOS), infertility and premature senility. The severity of IR and its' complications in children unfortunately and usually progresses in their pubertal transition to adulthood; affected young children are more likely than adults to have underlying causal monogenic disorders; the sequence of natural history and events give insights into disease pathogeneses, and optimal life style choices that last are best made during the early formative years. Some features of IR in children discussed herein are: a strong tendency to low birth weight for gestational age, adverse effects of adrenarche and therapeutic steroid therapy, predisposition to premature pubarche, acanthosis nigricans, tall stature despite pituitary GH suppression, allergic diathesis, hyperandrogenism and PCOS, dyslipidemia and fatty liver disease, and diagnosis by clinical and biochemical markers of IR including insulin regulated hepatic hormonal binding proteins such as IGFBP-1. The national preoccupation with the "metabolic syndrome" T2DM and obesity, should be appropriately directed to an improved understanding of IR in children and their management, if the looming health crisis in affected adults is to be seriously addressed. The nation is facing its' first generation of children who will be less healthy and die younger than the previous generation (Marks (2005) Presentation to the American Association of Diabetes Educators 32nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition, August 10-13, Washington, DC).
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PMID:Childhood obesity and insulin resistance. 1770 76

When a patient taking methotrexate should have a liver biopsy to assess for liver damage is a difficult and critical question for rheumatologists. It is not cost effective nor medically necessary to perform biopsies on all patients after a specific dose of methotrexate has been reached, nor after they have been treated for a definite length of time. Clinicians should take into account a patient's possible pre-existing factors (hepatitis, diabetes, obesity, past and present alcohol consumption), concomitant medications, intercurrent illnesses and serial laboratory evaluations when assessing the need for a biopsy in an individual patient being treated with methotrexate.
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PMID:[Not Available]. 1803 Oct 82

Orlistat, an anti-obesity drug, is a potent and specific inhibitor of intestinal lipases. In light of the recent US FDA approval of the over-the-counter sale of orlistat (60 mg three times daily), clinicians need to be aware that its use may be associated with less well known, but sometimes clinically relevant, adverse effects. More specifically, the use of orlistat has been associated with several mild-to-moderate gastrointestinal adverse effects, such as oily stools, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and faecal spotting. A few cases of serious hepatic adverse effects (cholelithiasis, cholostatic hepatitis and subacute liver failure) have been reported. However, the effects of orlistat on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease are beneficial. Orlistat-induced weight loss seems to have beneficial effects on blood pressure. No effect has been observed on calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, copper or zinc balance or on bone biomarkers. Interestingly, the use of orlistat has been associated with rare cases of acute kidney injury, possibly due to the increased fat malabsorption resulting from the inhibition of pancreatic and gastric lipase by orlistat, leading to the formation of soaps with calcium and resulting in increased free oxalate absorption and enteric hyperoxaluria. Orlistat has a beneficial effect on carbohydrate metabolism. No significant effect on cancer risk has been reported with orlistat.Orlistat interferes with the absorption of many drugs (such as warfarin, amiodarone, ciclosporin and thyroxine as well as fat-soluble vitamins), affecting their bioavailability and effectiveness. This review considers orlistat-related adverse effects and drug interactions. The clinical relevance and pathogenesis of these effects is also discussed.
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PMID:Orlistat-associated adverse effects and drug interactions: a critical review. 1809 46


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