Disease modifying efficacy of memantine in Alzheimer’s disease; a pooled analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials

Changes in Plasma Growth Differentiation Factor-15 After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy in Morbidly Obese Patients: A Prospective Study

Purpose

This study aimed to assess the potential changes of Growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in morbidly obese patients.

Methods

We conducted a prospective study on 68 patients who underwent LSG and 58 cases, who were enrolled as a control group, to whom conservative measures of weight loss were adopted. Both groups were followed for 12 months.

Results

At the baseline, the serum GDF15 was comparable between LSG and conservative groups (409.93±119 versus 385.8±120.2 pg/mL, p =0.246). However, at 12 months after the operation, the serum GDF15 was significantly higher in the LSG than conservative groups (699.941 ±193.5 versus 559 ±159.7; p <0.001). The degree of serum GDF15 increase was higher in the LSG group (290.01 ±189.9 versus 173.14 ±116.7; p <0.001). The degree of serum GDF15 increase correlated negatively with the final BMI (r = −0.352, p =0.001) and weight loss (r = −0.793, p =0.001) at 12 months after the operation. The correlation analysis demonstrated that the initial GFD15 did not correlate with any baseline parameters. Multiple regression analysis of change in serum GDF15 showed a statistical significance of the weight loss after 12 months.

Conclusion

The present work confirms the impact of successful weight loss on the circulating level of GDF15. Our study demonstrated that the circulating GDF15 increased significantly after LSG and it was correlated to the degree of weight loss.

Changes of Carotid Intima-Media Thickness After Sleeve Gastrectomy in High Cardiovascular Risk Patients: a Prospective Study

PURPOSE

There are insufficient data showing the impact of laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) on carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT). Therefore, in the current work, we investigated the improvement of metabolic syndrome and CIMT in patients with obesity after LSG.

METHODS

This study involved 120 consecutively selected Egyptian patients with a high cardiovascular risk who underwent LSG and were followed up for 12 months.

RESULTS

CIMT declined from 0.95 ± 0.17 mm to 0.83 ± 0.12 (p < 0.001) after 12 months. In addition, the mean fasting blood glucose and fasting inulin level dropped significantly from 153.3 ± 63.6 to 108.8 ± 33.8 mg/dl and from 23.1 ± 7.1 mU/ml to 14.1 ± 6.4 respectively (p < 0.001). Furthermore, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) declined from 7.02 ± 1.7 to 5.5 ± 0.96 (p < 0.001). At the end of the follow-up period, metabolic parameters such as HOMA-IR, C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, AST, and ALT decreased significantly from their respective baselines (p value < 0.001). Moreover, the reduction in CIMT showed a strong positive correlation with the degree of weight loss at 6 months and 12 months of follow-up.

CONCLUSION

LSG led to a substantial decrease in CIMT. Moreover, it significantly impacted cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, insulin resistance, lipid profile, and inflammatory markers.