Different consecutive training protocols to design an intervention program for overweight youth: a controlled study

Objective: To find the optimal exercise program to be recommended in reducing adiposity and promoting long-term physical activity adherence in a sample of overweight adolescents. Methods: Forty-five overweight adolescents were randomly divided into three exercise groups, to perform two phases of physical activity as follows: in the first phase, the first group performed a 16-week moderate-intensity resistance training (RT), the second group performed a 16-week high-intensity RT, and the third group performed a 16-week aerobic training (AT); in the second phase, all groups performed a 6-week AT. Anthropometric body composition and fitness measures were considered as outcome measures. Results: After the second protocol, both RT groups showed a significant improvement in percentage of fat mass (F2,76= 5.843; p = 0.004; η2= 0.133) and free fat mass (F2,76= 6.254; p = 0.003; η2= 0.141), and in fitness tests (p < 0.01). The VO2max values of the RT groups were significantly higher than those of the AT group (F2,38= 4.264; p = 0.021; η2= 0.183). The rate of adherence to exercise was an average of 94% in both RT groups, whereas in the AT group, it was 83%. During the 12-week post-intervention follow-up, the number of participants who continued to perform physical activities was significantly higher in both the RT groups than in the AT group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The present study provides preliminary evidence that moderate-to-intense RT, followed by AT, can be an effective treatment for overweight adolescents, and the positive effects are maintained even after 12 weeks of follow-up

The "Alzheimer's disease signature": potential perspectives for novel biomarkers

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive and neurodegenerative disorder which involves multiple molecular mechanisms. Intense research during the last years has accumulated a large body of data and the search for sensitive and specific biomarkers has undergone a rapid evolution. However, the diagnosis remains problematic and the current tests do not accurately detect the process leading to neurodegeneration. Biomarkers discovery and validation are considered the key aspects to support clinical diagnosis and provide discriminatory power between different stages of the disorder. A considerable challenge is to integrate different types of data from new potent approach to reach a common interpretation and replicate the findings across studies and populations. Furthermore, long-term clinical follow-up and combined analysis of several biomarkers are among the most promising perspectives to diagnose and manage the disease. The present review will focus on the recent published data providing an updated overview of the main achievements in the genetic and biochemical research of the Alzheimer's disease. We also discuss the latest and most significant results that will help to define a specific disease signature whose validity might be clinically relevant for future AD diagnosis

Serum amino acid profiles in normal subjects and in patients with or at risk of Alzheimer dementia

Background/Aims: Abnormalities in the plasma amino acid profile have been reported in Alzheimer disease (AD), but no data exist for the prodromal phase characterized by subjective memory complaint (SMC). It was our aim to understand if serum amino acid levels change along the continuum from normal to AD, and to identify possible diagnostic biomarkers. Methods: Serum levels of 15 amino acids and 2 organic acids were determined in 4 groups of participants – 29 with probable AD, 18 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 24 with SMC, and 46 cognitively healthy subjects (HS) – by electrospray tandem mass spectrometry. Results: Glutamate, aspartate, and phenylalanine progressively decreased, while citrulline, argi­ninosuccinate, and homocitrulline progressively increased, from HS over SMC and MCI to AD. The panel including these 6 amino acids and 4 ratios (glutamate/citrulline, citrulline/phenylalanine, leucine plus isoleucine/phenylalanine, and arginine/phenylalanine) discriminated AD from HS with about 96% accuracy. Other panels including 20 biomarkers discriminated SMC or MCI from AD or HS with an accuracy ranging from 88 to 75%. Conclusion: Amino acids contribute to a characteristic metabotype during the progression of AD along the continuum from health to frank dementia, and their monitoring in elderly individuals might help to detect at-risk subjects

Clinical features and lifestyle of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Campania: brief overview of an Italian database

Background. Physical activity and occupational exposures appeared to play a relevant role in pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease of unknown origin. Materials and methods. We aimed to make an overview of the clinical characteristics and life - style (occupation and sport) of a population of 395 patients with ALS from campania, in southern Italy. Results. ALS onset resulted anticipated of about 11 years in industry workers, whilst the more frequent site of onset among farmers was upper limbs. compared to non-athletes, athletes, particu- larly soccer players, showed a 7 years anticipation of ALS onset, with higher mortality after 5 years. Discussion and conclusions. We suggest that subjects genetically prone to abnormal response to hy - poxia during strenuous physical activity or exposed to neurotoxic agents, such as athletes, farmers or industry workers, might present increased risk to develop ALS. Future case-control and follow-up studies on our population should be implemented to deepen the present results. Riassunto (Caratteristiche cliniche e stile di vita di pazienti con sclerosi laterale amiotrofica in Campania: breve panoramica di un database italiano). Introduzione. Attivita fisica ed esposizione professionale a sostanze tossiche sembrano svolgere un ruolo rilevante nella patogenesi della sclerosi laterale amiotrofica (SLA), una malattia neurodegenerativa di origine sconosciuta. Materiali e metodi. ci siamo proposti di effettuare una panoramica delle caratteristiche cliniche e dello stile di vita (attivita lavorativa e sport) di una popolazione di 395 pazienti affetti da SLA provenienti dalla regione campania, in Italia meridionale. Risultati. L'insorgenza della SLA e risultata anticipata di circa 11 anni nei lavoratori dell'industria, mentre il sito piu frequente di insorgenza tra i contadini era caratterizzato dagli arti superiori. Rispetto ai non- sportivi, gli sportivi, soprattutto i calciatori, hanno mostrato un'anticipazione di 7 anni nell'insorgenza della SLA, con maggiore mortalita a 5 anni. Discussione e conclusioni. Abbiamo ipotizzato che i soggetti geneticamente predisposti a risposte anomale all'ipossia durante l'attivita fisica intensa o esposti ad agenti neurotossici, come gli sportivi, gli agricoltori o i lavoratori dell'industria, possano presentare un aumen - tato rischio di sviluppare la SLA. Futuri studi caso-controllo e di follow-up sulla nostra popolazione dovrebbero essere effettuati per approfondire i risultati attuali

Genome-wide analyses reveal a potential role for the MAPT, MOBP, and APOE loci in sporadic frontotemporal dementia.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common cause of early-onset dementia after Alzheimer disease (AD). Efforts in the field mainly focus on familial forms of disease (fFTDs), while studies of the genetic etiology of sporadic FTD (sFTD) have been less common. In the current work, we analyzed 4,685 sFTD cases and 15,308 controls looking for common genetic determinants for sFTD. We found a cluster of variants at the MAPT (rs199443; p&nbsp;= 2.5&nbsp;×&nbsp;10-12, OR&nbsp;= 1.27) and APOE (rs6857; p&nbsp;= 1.31&nbsp;×&nbsp;10-12, OR&nbsp;= 1.27) loci and a candidate locus on chromosome 3 (rs1009966; p&nbsp;= 2.41&nbsp;×&nbsp;10-8, OR&nbsp;= 1.16) in the intergenic region between RPSA and MOBP, contributing to increased risk for sFTD through effects on expression and/or splicing in brain cortex of functionally relevant in-cis genes at the MAPT and RPSA-MOBP loci. The association with the MAPT (H1c clade) and RPSA-MOBP loci may suggest common genetic pleiotropy across FTD and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) (MAPT and RPSA-MOBP loci) and across FTD, AD, Parkinson disease (PD), and cortico-basal degeneration (CBD) (MAPT locus). Our data also suggest population specificity of the risk signals, with MAPT and APOE loci associations mainly driven by Central/Nordic and Mediterranean Europeans, respectively. This study lays the foundations for future work aimed at further characterizing population-specific features of potential FTD-discriminant APOE haplotype(s) and the functional involvement and contribution of the MAPT H1c haplotype and RPSA-MOBP loci to pathogenesis of sporadic forms of FTD in brain cortex

Genome-wide analyses reveal a potential role for the MAPT, MOBP, and APOE loci in sporadic frontotemporal dementia

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common cause of early-onset dementia after Alzheimer disease (AD). Efforts in the field mainly focus on familial forms of disease (fFTDs), while studies of the genetic etiology of sporadic FTD (sFTD) have been less common. In the current work, we analyzed 4,685 sFTD cases and 15,308 controls looking for common genetic determinants for sFTD. We found a cluster of variants at the MAPT (rs199443; p = 2.5 × 10−12, OR = 1.27) and APOE (rs6857; p = 1.31 × 10−12, OR = 1.27) loci and a candidate locus on chromosome 3 (rs1009966; p = 2.41 × 10−8, OR = 1.16) in the intergenic region between RPSA and MOBP, contributing to increased risk for sFTD through effects on expression and/or splicing in brain cortex of functionally relevant in-cis genes at the MAPT and RPSA-MOBP loci. The association with the MAPT (H1c clade) and RPSA-MOBP loci may suggest common genetic pleiotropy across FTD and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) (MAPT and RPSA-MOBP loci) and across FTD, AD, Parkinson disease (PD), and cortico-basal degeneration (CBD) (MAPT locus). Our data also suggest population specificity of the risk signals, with MAPT and APOE loci associations mainly driven by Central/Nordic and Mediterranean Europeans, respectively. This study lays the foundations for future work aimed at further characterizing population-specific features of potential FTD-discriminant APOE haplotype(s) and the functional involvement and contribution of the MAPT H1c haplotype and RPSA-MOBP loci to pathogenesis of sporadic forms of FTD in brain cortex

Global disparities in surgeons’ workloads, academic engagement and rest periods: the on-calL shIft fOr geNEral SurgeonS (LIONESS) study

: The workload of general surgeons is multifaceted, encompassing not only surgical procedures but also a myriad of other responsibilities. From April to May 2023, we conducted a CHERRIES-compliant internet-based survey analyzing clinical practice, academic engagement, and post-on-call rest. The questionnaire featured six sections with 35 questions. Statistical analysis used Chi-square tests, ANOVA, and logistic regression (SPSS® v. 28). The survey received a total of 1.046 responses (65.4%). Over 78.0% of responders came from Europe, 65.1% came from a general surgery unit; 92.8% of European and 87.5% of North American respondents were involved in research, compared to 71.7% in Africa. Europe led in publishing research studies (6.6 ± 8.6 yearly). Teaching involvement was high in North America (100%) and Africa (91.7%). Surgeons reported an average of 6.7 ± 4.9 on-call shifts per month, with European and North American surgeons experiencing 6.5 ± 4.9 and 7.8 ± 4.1 on-calls monthly, respectively. African surgeons had the highest on-call frequency (8.7 ± 6.1). Post-on-call, only 35.1% of respondents received a day off. Europeans were most likely (40%) to have a day off, while African surgeons were least likely (6.7%). On the adjusted multivariable analysis HDI (Human Development Index) (aOR 1.993) hospital capacity &gt; 400 beds (aOR 2.423), working in a specialty surgery unit (aOR 2.087), and making the on-call in-house (aOR 5.446), significantly predicted the likelihood of having a day off after an on-call shift. Our study revealed critical insights into the disparities in workload, access to research, and professional opportunities for surgeons across different continents, underscored by the HDI