Obesity Takes Its Toll on Visceral Pain: High-Fat Diet Induces Toll-Like Receptor 4- Dependent Visceral Hypersensitivity

Exposure to high-fat diet induces both, peripheral and central alterations in TLR4 expression. Moreover, functional TLR4 is required for the development of high-fat diet-induced obesity. Recently, central alterations in TLR4 expression have been associated with the modulation of visceral pain. However, it remains unknown whether there is a functional interaction between the role of TLR4 in diet-induced obesity and in visceral pain. In the present study we investigated the impact of long-term exposure to high-fat diet on visceral pain perception and on the levels of TLR4 and Cd11b (a microglial cell marker) protein expression in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus. Peripheral alterations in TLR4 were assessed following the stimulation of spleenocytes with the TLR4-agonist LPS. Finally, we evaluated the effect of blocking TLR4 on visceral nociception, by administering TAK-242, a selective TLR4-antagonist. Our results demonstrated that exposure to high-fat diet induced visceral hypersensitivity. In parallel, enhanced TLR4 expression and microglia activation were found in brain areas related to visceral pain, the PFC and the hippocampus. Likewise, peripheral TLR4 activity was increased following long-term exposure to high-fat diet, resulting in an increased level of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Finally, TLR4 blockage counteracted the hyperalgesic phenotype present in mice fed on high-fat diet. Our data reveal a role for TLR4 in visceral pain modulation in a model of diet-induced obesity, and point to TLR4 as a potential therapeutic target for the development of drugs to treat visceral hypersensitivity present in pathologies associated to fat diet consumption

Trace elements in glucometabolic disorders: an update

Many trace elements, among which metals, are indispensable for proper functioning of a myriad of biochemical reactions, more particularly as enzyme cofactors. This is particularly true for the vast set of processes involved in regulation of glucose homeostasis, being it in glucose metabolism itself or in hormonal control, especially insulin. The role and importance of trace elements such as chromium, zinc, selenium, lithium and vanadium are much less evident and subjected to chronic debate. This review updates our actual knowledge concerning these five trace elements. A careful survey of the literature shows that while theoretical postulates from some key roles of these elements had led to real hopes for therapy of insulin resistance and diabetes, the limited experience based on available data indicates that beneficial effects and use of most of them are subjected to caution, given the narrow window between safe and unsafe doses. Clear therapeutic benefit in these pathologies is presently doubtful but some data indicate that these metals may have a clinical interest in patients presenting deficiencies in individual metal levels. The same holds true for an association of some trace elements such as chromium or zinc with oral antidiabetics. However, this area is essentially unexplored in adequate clinical trials, which are worth being performed

Change in the glacier extent in Turkey during the Landsat Era

WOS: 000355771300004We report the latest study for small glaciers, using Turkey as an example, and update previous studies of glaciers in Turkey from the 1970s to 2012-2013. We used seventy-two Landsat scenes from the Multispectral Scanner (MSS), Return Beam Vidicon-3 (RBV-3), Thematic Mapper (TM), Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+), and Operational Land Imager (OLI); five Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) images; and forty-one commercial satellite images. IKONOS, Quickbird-2, GeoEye-1, and WorldView-1 and -2 commercial satellite images were used to evaluate mapping accuracies, to understand debris-covered glacial margins, to map glacier margins in shadows, and to better determine the area of the smaller glaciers in Turkey. We also used nine Landsat-5 simultaneously acquired TM and MSS images to more accurately process MSS imagery from the 1970s. The area of the glaciers in Turkey decreased from 25 km(2) in the 1970s to 10.85 km(2) in 2012-2013. By 2012-2013, five glaciers had disappeared, six were less than 0.5 km(2), one was 0.8 km(2), and only two were 3.0 km(2) or larger. No trends in 1980 to 2012 annual precipitation, 1980 to 2012 winter precipitation, and 1980 to 2008 cloud cover extent were found, while surface temperatures increased, with summer minimum temperatures showing the greatest increases. We attribute glacier recession in Turkey from the 1970s to 2012-2013 to increasing summer minimum temperatures with no changes in precipitation or cloud cover over this time period. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Comparison of pressure support ventilation and volume support ventilation models in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Kroni̇k öbstrukti̇f akci̇ger hastalarinda volüm-destekli̇ venti̇lasyon ve basinç-destekli̇ venti̇lasyon modelleri̇ni̇n karşilaştirilmasi

Purpose: To compare the effects of volume and pressure support ventilation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Patients and Methods: The study was performed at the Medical Intensive Care Unit of Erciyes University, Medical Faculty. Twenty male patients with COPD who required ventilatory support were included in the study. Pressure regulated volume controlled mechanical ventilation was used until clinical, hemodynamic and laboratory parameters were stabilised. Then ventilator mode was switched to volume-supported ventilation (VSV). Number of breaths, peak inspiratory pressure, mean airway pressure, tidal volume (VT), blood pressure and heart rate were measured at the beginning of this mode and after two hours. Blood gases were assessed at second hour. Following this process, pressure-supported ventilation (PSV) was applied, and these parameters were measured. Results: In our study, patients supported with PSV compared with VSV ventilation showed significantly higher VT and lower airway pressure. Both VSV and PSV have similar hemodynamic effects. However, improvement of blood gases was better in PSV than VSV. Conclusion: This study showed that PSV provided more comfortable, more effective and less risky ventilation support compared with VSV