Gut Microbiota and Obesity in Adults and Children: The State of the Art

In recent decades, obesity has become a serious public health problem affecting both children and adults. Considering the multifactorial origin of obesity, including modifiable factors, childhood was identified as the golden age for investing in obesity prevention by both promoting proper lifestyles and actively intervening in possible triggers. The gut microbiota is at the center of the most recent scientific studies and plays a key role in obesity development because it is intimately linked to energetic-humoral variations in the host: its alterations can promote a state of excessive energy storage, and it can be manipulated to maintain energy homoeostasis. This review aims to offer a panoramic understanding of the interplay between obesity and the gut microbiota, focusing on the contribution that the gut microbiota could have to the prevention of childhood obesity and its complications in adulthood. Currently, the use of some specific probiotic strains has been shown to be able to act on some secondary metabolic consequences of obesity (such as liver steatosis and insulin resistance) without any effect on weight loss. Although definitive conclusions cannot be drawn on the real impact of probiotics and prebiotics, there is no doubt that they represent an exciting new frontier in the treatment of obesity and associated metabolic dysfunctions. Targeted studies randomized on specific populations and homogeneous for ethnicity, sex, and age are urgently needed to reach definitive conclusions about the influence of microbiota on weight. In particular, we still need more studies in the pediatric population to better understand when the switch to an obese-like gut microbiota takes place and to better comprehend the right timing of each intervention, including the use of pre/probiotics, to improve it

Childhood Vaccinations and Type 1 Diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is the most common paediatric endocrine disease, and its frequency has been found to increase worldwide. Similar to all conditions associated with poorly regulated glucose metabolism, T1D carries an increased risk of infection. Consequently, careful compliance by T1D children with schedules officially approved for child immunization is strongly recommended. However, because patients with T1D show persistent and profound limitations in immune function, vaccines may evoke a less efficient immune response, with corresponding lower protection. Moreover, T1D is an autoimmune condition that develops in genetically susceptible individuals and some data regarding T1D triggering factors appear to indicate that infections, mainly those due to viruses, play a major role. Accordingly, the use of viral live attenuated vaccines is being debated. In this narrative review, we discussed the most effective and safe use of vaccines in patients at risk of or with overt T1D. Literature analysis showed that several problems related to the use of vaccines in children with T1D have not been completely resolved. There are few studies regarding the immunogenicity and efficacy of vaccines in T1D children, and the need for different immunization schedules has not been precisely established. Fortunately, the previous presumed relationship between vaccine administration and T1D appears to have been debunked, though some doubts regarding rotavirus vaccines remain. Further studies are needed to completely resolve the problems related to vaccine administration in T1D patients. In the meantime, the use of vaccines remains extensively recommended in children with this disease

Prader Willi syndrome and growth hormone treatment in children and adults.

Prader Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex multi system genetic disorder, including severe neonatal hypotonia, early onset of hyperphagia and development of morbid obesity, short stature, hypogonadism, learning disabilities, behavioural problems and psychiatric phenotypes.PWS patients’ body composition resembles that of individuals with growth hormone deficiency, including short stature and reduced lean body mass with concomitant increased fat mass. Previous studies suggest that GH therapy may be beneficial in children and adults with PWS. While short term benefits of treatment with GH have been shown, whether these beneficial effects are dose dependent and persist or wane with prolonged therapy remains uncertain in adults. This review focuses on the benefits, safety and adverse effects of the GH treatment in children and adults

Carbonate Accretion Processes, Conservation and Enjoyment of the "Mannute Caves" Geoheritage site (Salento, Southern Italy)

The Mannute Caves (Salento, Italy) are a karst system that can only be reached using vertical rope techniques for caving and, hence, are not suitable for tourist visits because of their inaccessibility. New texture, geochemistry and age data of a peculiar type of carbonate accretion known as ‘bulky stalactites’ are presented here. Based on previous topographic surveys and observations on calcareous tufas, new geological data enables us to infer the palaeo-environmental history of the Mannute Piccola Cave. The present location of the bulky stalactites, close to the entrance of the cave, is in disagreement with an accretion process which requires sciophilous conditions. Based on U-Th dating, the growth of the bulky stalactites can be shown to have occurred in the Holocene and ended abruptly when the entrance of the cave was enlarged, probably due to a rockslide. The growing demand for geotourism in Salento suggests that management guidelines are required for coastal cave attractions, along with strategies to protect and evaluate the Mannute Piccola Cave as a potential geosite. Improved geological knowledge of the cave should be seen as a preliminary stage for geoheritage promotion through information communication technology (ICT) strategies, with the aim being to integrate the site within regional networks for cultural heritage enjoyment

Thermodynamic effects of 3 different diode lasers on an implant-bone interface: An ex-vivo study with review of the literature

The aim of this study is to assess the increase of temperature following laser irradiation with 810 nm, 980 nm, and 1064 nm diode laser wavelengths, of an implant under conditions that more closely replicate those of the human body. A 4314 mm machined surface implant was placed in a porcine rib to replicate the conductivity of heat given by the bone. A peri-implant vertical defect was made that was 2 mm wide and 2 mm deep to simulate bone resorption. Two thermocouples were positioned crestally and apically on the implant surface. The tip of the laser was kept 3 mm away from the surface and continuously moved in an up-and-down and side-to-side fashion, inside the defect for 60 seconds. Initial temperatures and the time needed to reach an increase of 10°C were recorded. The experiment was repeated at room temperature and in a 37°C water bath with the following settings: 0.6 W, 0.8 W, 1 W continuous and repeated in pulsed. A critical increase of temperature of more than 10°C is reached with all lasers at 0.8 W and 1 W in continuous mode at room temperature. Only the 1064 nm diode laser reached the critical increase at 0.8 W in pulsed mode. No critical increase of temperature was registered with other settings and when the bone block was placed in a 37°C water bath. The results of this study suggest that use of these diode lasers does not cause a harmful increase in temperature when used under conditions similar to those of the human body

Current evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric endocrine conditions

Severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) interacts with the host cells through its spike protein by binding to the membrane enzyme angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and it can have a direct effect on endocrine function as ACE2 is expressed in many glands and organs with endocrine function. Furthermore, several endocrine conditions have features that might increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the severity and course of the infection, as obesity for the underlying chronic increased inflammatory status and metabolic derangement, and for the possible changes in thyroid function. Vitamin D has immunomodulatory effects, and its deficiency has negative effects. Adrenal insufficiency and excess glucocorticoids affect immune conditions also besides metabolism. This review aims to analyze the rationale for the fear of direct effects of SARS-Cov-2 on endocrinological disorders, to study the influence of pre-existing endocrine disorders on the course of the infection, and the actual data in childhood. Currently, data concerning endocrine function during the pandemic are scarce in childhood and for many aspects definite conclusions cannot be drawn, however, data on properly managed patients with adrenal insufficiency at present are re-assuring. Too little attention has been paid to thyroid function and further studies may be helpful. The available data support a need for adequate vitamin D supplementation, caution in obese patients, monitoring of thyroid function in hospitalized patients, and confirm the need for an awareness campaign for the increased frequency of precocious puberty, rapidly progressive puberty and precocious menarche. The changes in lifestyle, the increased incidence of overweight and the change in the timing of puberty lead also to hypothesize that there might be an increase in ovarian dysfunction, as for example polycystic ovarian disease, and metabolic derangements in the next years, and in the future we might be facing fertility problems. This prompts to be cautious and maintain further surveillance