Physical activity as protective factor against COVID-19 disease

The Coronavirus Pandemic has forced millions of people around the world to look at home. This resulted, as a consequence, in a remodelling of the lifestyle; in this scenario the correct nutrition combined with regular physical activity becomes fundamental for health. Although the sedentary lifestyle of a few weeks involves risks such as lowering the immune system, it favours overweight and obesity, high blood pressure, metabolic disorders, depression and anxiety, and in some subjects they react to the risk of onset of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other diseases. The importance of healthy lifestyle is crucial to prevent also viral infection. Indeed, as reported by many data literature, during lung infections, IL-6 and TNF-a create the pathway between adipose tissue and lung system demonstrating the important involvement of adipose tissue in lung diseases. In obese condition, adipose tissue endocrine function is altered. There is an imbalance in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-a and anti-inflammatory mediators such as IL-10. In the light of these evidences, the immune response is influenced by nutritional status and by physical activity which are able to reduce pro-inflammatory mediators and increase anti-inflammatory mediators such as IL-10 . In addition, the power of viral infection is influenced by host predisposition. For these reasons, a correct lifestyle, and physical activity are a valid strategy in the prevention and treatment of not metabolic diseases also of inflammatory diseases

Evaluation of Orexin-A serum levels in karate athletes cohort

The lateral hypothalamus products various neuropeptides, among of these the Orexin-A (hypocretin-1) is a protein that regulates numerous physiological and behavioural processes involving in energy balance and metabolic status, physical activity, blood glucose levels, and food intake. Many data literature reported that the production of Orexin-A increases following regular and structured physical activity. Indeed, it improves energy metabolism and insulin sensitivity, and also modulate energy expenditure and thermogenesis. The higher Orexin-A tone is an endogenous factor that predicts physical activity, improving BMI and the energy expenditure aspect. It is well known that physical activity has positive effects on health and body weight, it improves cognitive performance increasing Orexin-A levels. Given these evidences, the aim of this study is evaluated Orexin-A serum levels in a cohort of karate athletes. Fort these reasons, were recruited 10 young karate athletes and 10 matched non-athletes as control. We evaluated biochemical and anthropometric parameters, and Orexin-A serum levels through ELISA-test. Our results showed that there is a statistical difference between karate athletes and non-athletes in BMI and in biochemical parameters such as glycaemic and lipid profile. Interestingly, Orexin-A serum levels are statistical higher in karate athletes compared to non- athletes. The differences between athlete and non-athletes in this study could be attributed to a better training-related hypothalamic activity in karate athletes. In addition, these evidences indicate that the physical activity has beneficial effects not only on anthropometric and biochemical parameters but also on orexin-A levels, and then on central nervous system

The Role of Leptin in Antipsychotic-Induced Weight Gain: Genetic and Non-Genetic Factors

Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling mental illness affecting millions of people worldwide. A greater proportion of people with schizophrenia tends to be overweight. Antipsychotic medications have been considered the primary risk factor for obesity in schizophrenia, although the mechanisms by which they increase weight and produce metabolic disturbances are unclear. Several lines of research indicate that leptin could be a good candidate involved in pathways linking antipsychotic treatment and weight gain. Leptin is a circulating hormone released by adipocytes in response to increased fat deposition to regulate body weight, acting through receptors in the hypothalamus. In this work, we reviewed preclinical, clinical, and genetic data in order to infer the potential role played by leptin in antipsychotic-induced weight gain considering two main hypotheses: (1) leptin is an epiphenomenon of weight gain; (2) leptin is a consequence of antipsychotic-induced “leptin-resistance status,” causing weight gain

Autism spectrum disorder and physical activity

Autism is a common developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with speech and behaviours, such as lack of social abilities and repetitive behaviours. Some studies have shown that after the intervention of physical activity, all of the social interaction ability, communication ability, stereotyped behaviour and sports skills of children and adolescents with autism have been improved, which can reduce the degree of autism. The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased dramatically and is currently estimated at 1 in 68 children. ASD is defined by two symptom dimensions including social impairments and circumscribed and repetitive behaviours and interests (American Psychiatric Association). One subgroup that has increased is those with ASD without intellectual disability who currently comprise 68% of those diagnosed. Current guidelines recommend that youth engage in ≥ 60 minutes of Physical Activity daily, with the majority being moderate-to-vigorous, and muscle strengthening activities ≥ 3 days per week. Despite the significant need, few exercise programs have been developed or adapted for children with ASD, and there is a lack of evidence-based exercise treatments. Recommendations for improving exercise intervention studies in ASD include testing of treatments in function-ally-homogeneous (narrower) subgroups with ASD using larger well-characterized samples. This is necessary as children with ASD have different tolerances for activities/tasks and functional heterogeneity will likely lead to variable treatment responsiveness. Additionally, group-based treatments will be more applicable for children with ASD without intellectual disability

The Orexin-A serum levels are strongly modulated by physical activity intervention in diabetes mellitus patients

The Orexin-A (hypocretin-1) is a neuropeptide secreted by neurons in the lateral hypothalamus. This protein regulates physiological and behavioural processes that have an essential impact on energy balance and metabolic status, physical activity, blood glucose levels, and food intake. Furthermore, that orexin-A regulates insulin sensitivity, energy expenditure and metabolic rate and is involved in immune processes and then regulate inflammatory response, with an anti-inflammatory action. Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a worldwide health problem associated with obesity and sedentary lifestyle. High glycaemic levels and lipid serum profile, low col-HDL, or hypertension and increased body mass index (BMI) are significantly associated with increased T2DM risk and with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in T2DM patients. For these reasons the aim of this study is to evaluate the biochemical and anthropometric parameters, orexin-A levels by ELISA test and western blotting analysis, and inflammatory cytokines levels such as TNF-a, IL-8 and IL-10 by ELISA test in subjects affected by diabetes mellitus following an accurate physical activity program at baseline, after 3 months and after 6 months. We found that there is a ameliorate of many anthropometric and biochemical parameters; furthermore, there is a statistical increase of orexin-A serum levels already after 3 months compared to baseline in T2DM subjects and also there is a strongly modulation in inflammatory cytokines expression. These found indicates that the physical activity has beneficial effects not only on anthropometric and biochemical parameters but also on orexin-A levels, and then on CNS

Physical activity has numerous beneficial effects on metabolic and inflammatory processes

Obesity is a long-term multifactorial chronic disease, characterized by energy imbalance, due to an excess of caloric intake compared to energy expenditure and deregulation of other metabolic parameters, as, altered lipid profile, increased insulin resistance and chronic pro-inflammatory state. A healthy lifestyle, characterized by hypocaloric diet and physical activity, is important to reduce a chronic inflammation, oxidative stress and metabolic disorders typical of obesity. It is well known that the chronic inflammation state and oxidative stress are responsible for the aging and development of many diseases, such as cancer. In the light of these evidences, the aim of this study is to analyse body composition, metabolic profile and oxidative stress levels in obese patients subjected to a physical activity program before and after weight loss. We analysed the glycaemic and lipid profile, body composition such as visceral adipose tissue (VAT), fat mass (FM), and the dROMs serum levels via the Fenton's reaction. We found that in obese patients before physical activity intervention there are higher levels in dROMs serum levels, altered glycaemic and lipid profile and body composition compared to obese patients after physical activity intervention. In conclusion, the physical activity has numerous beneficial effects in obesity, modulating not only metabolic profile but also inflammatory and oxidative stress response

The beneficial effects of physical activity and weight loss on human colorectal carcinoma cell lines

Recent studies have demonstrated that obesity is a significant risk factor for the development of several malignancies such as cancer. Colorectal cancer is among the most common cancers worldwide and is strong linked to obesity. A healthy lifestyle, characterized by hypocaloric diet and physical activity, is important to reduce a chronic inflammation, oxidative stress and metabolic disorders typical of obesity (Messina et al, 2018; Messina et al, 2017; Messina et al, 2015). It is well known that the chronic inflammation state and oxidative stress are responsible for the aging and development of many diseases, such as cancer. Dysregulation of cytokine’s secretion probably participates in the establishment of cancer in obese patients. The aim of this study is to analyse the effects of sera from obese patients subjected to a physical activity program before and after weight loss on cell viability, apoptosis and oxidative stress in HCT116 carcinoma cell line treated for 24, 48 and 72 hours through MTT test. We analysed the expression of cytokines in HCT116 cells. We found that sera from obese after physical activity intervention compared to treatment with sera from obese patients before physical activity intervention reduce the survival rate of HCT116 cells through induction of apoptosis and oxidative stress. Finally, we found a reduction of mRNA levels corresponding to the pro-inflammatory IL-6 and IL-8 cytokines together with an increase of the anti-inflammatory IL-10 cytokine. We can conclude that the physical activity has numerous beneficial effects also in colorectal cancer cell, indeed the physical activity and weight loss in obese subjects have an inhibitory and anti-inflammatory effects in a short period on carcinoma cell line

Role of the orexin system on the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis

Hypocretin/orexin (ORX) are two hypothalamic neuropeptides discovered in 1998. Since their discovery, they have been one of the most studied neuropeptide systems because of their projecting fields innervating various brain areas. The orexinergic system is tied to sleep-wakefulness cycle, and narcolepsy is a consequence of their system hypofunction. Orexinergic system is also involved in many other autonomic functions such as feeding, thermoregulation, cardiovascular and neuroendocrine regulation. The main aim of this mini review article is to investigate the relationship between ORX and thyroid system regulation. Although knowledge about the ORX system is evolving, its putative effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis still appear unclear. We analyzed some studies about ORX control of HPT axis to know better the relationship between them. The studies that were analyzed suggest Hypocretin/ORX to modulate the thyroid regulation, but the nature (excitatory or inhibitory) of this possible interaction remains actually unclear and needs to be confirmed

The Social Brain and Emotional Contagion: COVID-19 Effects

Background and objectives: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly contagious infectious disease, responsible for a global pandemic that began in January 2020. Human/COVID-19 interactions cause dierent outcomes ranging from minor health consequences to death. Since social interaction is the default mode by which individuals communicate with their surroundings, dierent modes of contagion can play a role in determining the long-term consequences for mental health and emotional well-being. We examined some basic aspects of human social interaction, emphasizing some particular features of the emotional contagion. Moreover, we analyzed the main report that described brain damage related to the COVID-19 infection. Indeed, the goal of this review is to suggest a possible explanation for the relationships among emotionally impaired people, brain damage, and COVID-19 infection. Results: COVID-19 can cause several significant neurological disorders and the pandemic has been linked to a rise in people reporting mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. Neurocognitive symptoms associated with COVID-19 include delirium, both acute and chronic attention and memory impairment related to hippocampal and cortical damage, as well as learning deficits in both adults and children. Conclusions: Although our knowledge on the biology and long-term clinical outcomes of the COVID-19 infection is largely limited, approaching the pandemic based on lessons learnt from previous outbreaks of infectious diseases and the biology of other coronaviruses will provide a suitable pathway for developing public mental health strategies, which could be positively translated into therapeutic approaches, attempting to improve stress coping responses, thus contributing to alleviate the burden driven by the pandemic