Comparative analysis of obesity prevalence, antioxidant and oxidant status in children with Down syndrome - a sibling-controlled study

INTRODUCTION

Down syndrome (DS), a common genetic disorder, leads to various physical, cognitive, and developmental challenges. The supplementary copy of chromosome 21 introduces an abundance of genes, which potentially can influence metabolic irregularities. The aim of the study is to conduct a comprehensive comparative assessment of oxidative stress indicators (TAS, TOS, OSI), BMI, fasting glucose, and insulin levels, HOMA-IR among children and adolescents with DS in contrast to their non-DS siblings.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

and the control group (CG) comprised 20 individuals, siblings of SG (mean age 15.92 years). Anthropometric measurements were conducted. TAS, TOS, fasting glucose, and insulin were assessed. BMI, BMI SDS, OSI and HOMA-IR were calculated.

RESULTS

SG vs. CG: BMI - overweight (29,19% vs. 15%), obese (19,05% vs. 5%); TAS (1.92 mmol/l vs. 1.79 mmol/l (p = 0.0015)); TOS (51.52 mmol/l vs. 33.05 mmol/l (p = 0.014)); OSI (2475.02 vs. 1949,75 (p = 0.038)); no significant differences in fasting glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR. Statistically significant correlations in SG: TOS and BMI, BMI SDS, HOMA-IR; OSI and BMI, BMI SDS, HOMA-IR; HOMA-IR and BMI SDS; fasting insulin and BMI PC; in CG: TAS and BMI; fasting glucose and fasting insulin.

CONCLUSIONS

The research results indicate differences in metabolic processes between the group of individuals with DS compared to the CG, despite shared environmental conditions. The presence of an additional copy of chromosome 21 may contribute to the occurrence of metabolic disorders. These findings emphasize the need for further research that will lead to a better understanding of these relationships and contribute to the development of effective therapeutic strategies.

Juvenile obesity in terms of various evaluation methods

INTRODUCTION

Obesity is a civilization disease of the 21st century. The prevalence of obesity and overweight among children and adolescents is constantly increasing. BMI (body mass index) and WHR (waist to hip ratio) are methods of obesity assessment recommended by the WHO. Also, the WtHR (waist to height ratio), which takes into account height, is one of the most popular methods of diagnosing childhood obesity. A more recent diagnostic indicator is the FMI (fat mass index), which considers the percentage of the patient's body fat.

THE AIM OF THE STUDY

was to compare the methods of assessing obesity in children and adolescents using the following indicators: BMI, WHR, WtHR, and FMI and to determine the consistency of the results obtained with them.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study included 195 children aged 11-18 years, from whom the following data were collected: height, weight, waist circumference, and percentage of body fat. The calculated indices (BMI, WHR, WtHR, FMI), expressed in SDS, were compared using the Bland-Altman test, Passing-Bablok regression, and the slope chart.

RESULTS

The fewest diagnoses of obesity were shown by FMI SDS (15.9%) and the highest by WHR SDS (28.7%). WHR SDS showed the least consistent results with BMI SDS. Significant statistical differences were found between BMI SDS and both FMI SDS and WtHR SDS.

CONCLUSIONS

BMI, as the most acceptable obesity indicator, can be used as a screening method for assessing obesity. However, patients with boundary BMI values should be examined more precisely, using more than one index. FMI is recommended.

Impact of Bariatric Surgery on Moderate to Severe Psoriasis: A Retrospective Nationwide Registry Study

Studies of the effects of bariatric surgery on psoriasis are few, with conflicting results. By linking the Swedish National Register for Systemic Treatment of Psoriasis (PsoReg) with the Scandinavian Obesity Surgery Registry (SOReg), individuals with psoriasis who had undergone bariatric surgery in Sweden during 2008 to 2018 were identified, and matched with data for patients with psoriasis in PsoReg. Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) were compared between the groups. Altogether, 50 operated individuals (median body mass index (BMI) 38.7 kg/m²) and 91 non-operated individuals (median BMI 33.0 kg/m2) were included. Control of disease at baseline was good in both groups. Linear mixed models showed no significant difference in psoriasis disease burden, measured as changes in mean PASI (ΔPASI) (–1.2, p = 0.43) and DLQI (ΔDLQI) (–2.2, p = 0.34). In summary, this study demonstrated no significant effect of bariatric surgery on psoriasis disease burden in patients with relatively well-controlled moderate to severe psoriasis.

It's Not All Sunshine: Non-sun-related Melanoma Risk-factors

There is increasing evidence that the behaviour of naevi and melanoma is under significant genetic and/or epigenetic control. Melanoma tumours behaves similarly all over the world. Many genes have now been implicated in melanoma risk and naevi number. Embryogenesis has also been important in the discovery of links between several neurological diseases and melanoma susceptibility. Telomere biology, which regulates cell senescence, is increasingly relevant in melanoma. Melanoma is often found in the context of family cancer syndromes and the identification of these families is important as screening for cancer will save lives. Melanoma is also one of the most immunogenic cancer as the behaviour of naevi and melanoma differ in patients with vitiligo or eczema. The search for non-sun related melanoma risk factors should continue as it is likely to lead to important discoveries which will, in turn, have an impact on therapeutic targets for this tumour.

[Correlation of age, body mass index and obesity-related biochemical indexes with semen quality in males intending for a second child]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the influence of age, body mass index (BMI) and obesity-related biochemical indexes on semen quality in adult males intending to have a second child in Guangzhou.

METHODS

We conducted a questionnaire investigation among 632 adult males seeking medical advice on their intention for a second child at Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center from August 2017 to July 2018. We obtained their lipid metabolism indicators and semen parameters, and analyzed the correlation of semen quality with age, BMI, obesity-related biochemical indexes, living environment and occupation.

RESULTS

Age, BMI, season of sperm extraction, living environment and occupation all influenced the semen quality of the males. Age was correlated negatively with the percentage of progressively motile sperm (PMS) (r = －0.109, P < 0.05), BMI positively with the semen volume (r = 0.103, P < 0.05) but negatively with the percentage of morphologically normal sperm (MNS) (r = －0.138, P < 0.05), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) negatively with PMS (r = －0.168, P < 0.01) and the percentage of immotile sperm (IM) (r = －0.135, P < 0.05), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) negatively with the semen volume (r = －0.124, P < 0.01), PMS (r = －0.127, P < 0.05), sperm concentration (r = －0.121, P < 0.05) and total sperm count (r = －0.210, P < 0.01) but positively with IM (r = 0.140, P < 0.01). Multivariate regression analysis showed BMI and LDL to be independent factors influencing the semen volume, uric acid to be an independent factor influencing semen liquefaction time, age, HDL and LDL to be independent factors influencing PMS, age, and HDL to be independent factors influencing IM, LDL to be independent factors influencing total sperm count, while BMI and TG to be independent factors influencing MNS.

CONCLUSIONS

Age, BMI, season of sperm extraction, living environment and occupation may affect the semen quality of the males in Guangzhou.

[Application of da Vinci robot's bilateral axillo-breast approach in thyroid surgery of obese patients]

Objective:To discuss the effect of obesity on the operation of thyroid gland surgery and surgical results.Method:The clinical data of 446 patients who underwent robot thyroid surgery through bilateral axillo-breast approach (BABA) from the General Hospital of Jinan Military region from February 2014 to November 2017 were analyzed retrospectively, and the patients were divided into BMI<25 kg/m²; group, BMI 25-30 kg/m²; group and BMI>30 kg/m²; group according to body mass index (BMI). The operative complications were compared between the three groups of benign and malignant patients, such as operation time, postoperative lead flow, postoperative hospitalization time, tumor size (malignant), lymph node metastasis (malignant), cosmetic satisfaction score, laryngeal nerve injury and parathyroid function decrease. Statistical methods using Variance analysis and χ² test to compare the differences between the two groups of indicators, difference is statistically significant (P<0.05).Result:The difference of operation time, postoperative average hospitalization time and postoperative drainage fluid volume in 3 groups was not statistically significant（P>0.05）. ①Intraoperative and postoperative pathological results were benign: BMI<25 kg/m²; group 69 cases, BMI 25-30 kg/m²; group 48 cases, BMI>30 kg/m²; group 8 cases, temporary recurrent laryngeal nerve injury were 1 case, 0 case and 0 case respectively, temporary parathyroid function decrease 3 cases, 2 cases and 1 case. ②Intraoperative and postoperative pathological results were malignant:BMI<25 kg/m²; group 180 cases, BMI 25-30 kg/m²; group 119 cases,BMI>30 kg/m²; group 22 cases, temporary recurrent laryngeal nerve injury were 2 cases,1 case and 0 case respectively, temporary parathyroid dysfunction in 64 cases,29 cases and 5 cases respectively.③1 patient in BMI<25 kg/m²; group had lymphatic leakage after operation, 1 patient in BMI 25-30 kg/m²; group had subcutaneous tunnel hemorrhage, and 1 patient had lymphatic leakage during operation.Conclusion:For overweight or obese patients, the da Vinci robot thyroid operation is reliable, does not increase the risk of surgical complications, but also has a good cosmetic effect.

[Influence of body fat percentage and body mass index on semen parameters in adult males]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the influence of body fat percentage (BF%) and body mass index (BMI) on the semen quality of adult males.

METHODS

A total of 125 randomly selected male infertility patients underwent examinations of semen quality, BMI and BF% on the day of enrollment. With BMI ≥28 kg/m2 as the criterion of obesity, 50 of the patients fell into the category of obesity and 75 into that of non-obesity, while with BF% >25% as the criterion, 69 belonged to the obesity and 56 to the non-obesity type. We compared the semen parameters of the subjects between the obesity and non-obesity groups based on the two criteria and analyzed the correlation of semen quality with age, BF% and BMI.

RESULTS

With BF% as the criterion, the obesity patients, as compared with the non-obesity men, showed significantly lower semen volume (［2.94 ± 1.15］ vs ［3.51 ± 1.27］ ml, P < 0.05), percentage of grade a+b sperm (［33.37 ± 19.80］% vs ［41.87 ± 15.43］%, P < 0.05) and sperm motility (［56.31 ± 22.26］% vs ［64.95 ± 18.22］%, P < 0.05). Similar results were observed with BMI as the criterion in the semen volume (［2.86 ± 1.11］ vs ［3.34 ± 1.26］ ml, P < 0.05), percentage of grade a sperm (［16.33 ± 13.80］% vs ［25.09 ± 15.06］%, P < 0.05), percentage of grade a+b sperm (［30.10 ± 18.43］% vs ［39.80 ± 17.50］%, P < 0.05) and sperm motility (［53.62 ± 21.56］% vs ［62.83 ± 20.47］%, P < 0.05). Age was correlated negatively with sperm motility (r = －0.20,P < 0.05), BF% negatively with the semen volume (r = －0.21, P < 0.05), the percentage of grade a sperm (r = －0.21, P < 0.05) and the percentage of grade a+b sperm (r = －0.18, P <0.05), and BMI negatively with the semen volume (r = －0.26, P < 0.01), percentage of grade a sperm (r = －0.23, P<0.01) and percentage of grade a+b sperm (r = －0.18, P < 0.05). Further multivariate analysis also showed that BF% was negatively correlated with the semen volume and percentage of grade a+b sperm after exclusion of age and other factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Obesity affects the semen volume, percentage of grade a sperm, percentage of grade a+b sperm and sperm motility in male infertility patients. And BF% can be used as an indicator in the diagnosis of obesity.