Development of Organic Food Production in some European Countries

The aim of the study was to compare the development of organic food production in eight European countries: Austria, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Norway and Sweden. The comparison was done between years 1998 and 2014. Many countries have set similar targets for organic agriculture: the most general for the production is 20 % of the field area before year 2020. Austria as the first European country has already reached it, but it had an earlier start for the organic development. Best practices to increase production are better targeted subsidies, national development programs with precise goals and proper actions to reach them and co-operation between farmers and research. Best countries in consumption of organics are Denmark, Sweden and Austria. The best methods to increase the consumption in Denmark were providing information to the consumers (pesticides, when found) and efficient marketing campaigns. The municipality level programs to enhance the welfare of the nature and humans by including organic food into public catering were effective especially in Denmark and Sweden. The diversification of production has been made possible with policy actions and national level decisions to better target subsides e.g. for plants and products that need an increase in production (Austria, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Sweden). The reasons for the differences pointed out, are basically cultural. In some countries organic food production is more generally accepted and promoted (Austria, Denmark, Sweden) than in others. In some countries consumers are actively demanding organic food (France, Denmark, Sweden). If the conventional production is considered good enough by the citizens, national food policy is targeted to that more than to organic production (Norway, Finland)

Miksi Suomessa tehdään liian vähän lihavuuskirurgisia leikkauksia

Teema : lihavuuskirurgi

Endokriinisten sairauksien PET-kuvantaminen

Neuroendokriiniset (NE) kasvaimet ovat yleistyneet, ja niiden kokonaisennuste on hyvä. Somatostatiinireseptorin kuvantaminen PET-menetelmällä on avainasemassa kaikkien hyvin erilaistuneiden NE-kasvainten primaaridiagnostiikassa, levinneisyyden ja hoitovasteen arvioinnissa. Huonosti erilaistuneissa NE-kasvaimissa, ja jos Ki-67 indeksi ylittää 20 %, käytetään 18F-FDG:tä merkkiaineena. GLP-1R-agonisti, eksendiini, on uusi merkkiaine somatostatiinireseptorinegatiivisen insulinooman paikantamiseen. 18F-LDOPA:n käyttö on vähentynyt mutta sillä on edelleen käyttöaiheena feokromosytooma ja medullaarinen kilpirauhassyöpä. Tulevaisuudessa on tärkeätä saada pidemmällä puoliintumisajalla (positronisäteilijä) leimattu somatostatiiniagonisti- tai antagonisti käyttöön, mikä mahdollistaa PET-menetelmän laajemman käytön NE-kasvainten kuvantamisessa

Circulating Docosahexaenoic Acid Associates with Insulin-Dependent Skeletal Muscle and Whole Body Glucose Uptake in OlderWomen Born from Normal Weight Mothers

Background: Obesity among pregnant women is common, and their offspring are predisposed to obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes. The circulating metabolites that are related to insulin resistance and are associated with this decreased tissue-specific uptake are unknown. Here, we assessed metabolite profiles in elderly women who were either female offspring from obese mothers (OOM) or offspring of lean mothers (OLM). Metabolic changes were tested for associations with metrics for insulin resistance. Methods: Thirty-seven elderly women were separated into elderly offspring from obese mothers (OOM; n = 17) and elderly offspring from lean/normal weight mothers (OLM; n = 20) groups. We measured plasma metabolites using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) and insulin-dependent tissue-specific glucose uptake in skeletal muscle was assessed. Associations were made between metabolites and glucose uptake. Results: Compared to the OLM group, we found that the docosahexaenoic acid percentage of the total long-chain n-3 fatty acids (DHA/FA) was significantly lower in OOM (p = 0.015). DHA/FA associated significantly with skeletal muscle glucose uptake (GU) (p = 0.031) and the metabolizable glucose value derived from hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp technique (M-value) in the OLM group only (p = 0.050). Conclusions: DHA/FA is associated with insulin-dependent skeletal muscle glucose uptake and this association is significantly weakened in the offspring of obese mothers.Peer reviewe

Hepatic Positron Emission Tomography: Applications in Metabolism, Haemodynamics and Cancer

Evaluating in vivo the metabolic rates of the human liver has been a challenge due to its unique perfusion system. Positron emission tomography (PET) represents the current gold standard for assessing non-invasively tissue metabolic rates in vivo. Here, we review the existing literature on the assessment of hepatic metabolism, haemodynamics and cancer with PET. The tracer mainly used in metabolic studies has been [F-18]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (F-18-FDG). Its application not only enables the evaluation of hepatic glucose uptake in a variety of metabolic conditions and interventions, but based on the kinetics of F-18-FDG, endogenous glucose production can also be assessed. 14(R,S)-[F-18]fluoro-6-thia-Heptadecanoic acid (F-18-FTHA), C-11-Palmitate and C-11-Acetate have also been applied for the assessment of hepatic fatty acid uptake rates (F-18-FTHA and C-11-Palmitate) and blood flow and oxidation (C-11-Acetate). Oxygen-15 labelled water (O-15-H2O) has been used for the quantification of hepatic perfusion. F-18-FDG is also the most common tracer used for hepatic cancer diagnostics, whereas C-11-Acetate has also shown some promising applications in imaging liver malignancies. The modelling approaches used to analyse PET data and also the challenges in utilizing PET in the assessment of hepatic metabolism are presented

Pleiotropic Effects of Secretin: A Potential Drug Candidate in the Treatment of Obesity?

Secretin is the first hormone that has been discovered, inaugurating the era and the field of endocrinology. Despite the initial focus, the interest in its actions faded away over the decades. However, there is mounting evidence regarding the pleiotropic beneficial effects of secretin on whole-body homeostasis. In this review, we discuss the evidence from preclinical and clinical studies based on which secretin may have a role in the treatment of obesity.</p

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial DNA content and aerobic metabolism in patients with antiretroviral therapy-associated lipoatrophy

Objectives To assess whether mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscle characterizes antiretroviral therapy (ART)-associated lipoatrophy (LA). Methods A cross-sectional study comparing HIV-infected, antiretroviral-treated patients with LA (n = 5; LA+) and without LA (n = 5; non-LA) was conducted. Positron emission tomography was used to measure blood flow, oxygen extraction and oxygen consumption in quadriceps femoris muscle during rest and aerobic exercise. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was quantified by PCR. Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and magnetic resonance imaging. All data are given as means ± SEM. Results Compared with the non-LA group, the LA+ group had significantly less limb fat and more intra-abdominal fat, but similar leg muscle mass. The LA+ group versus the non-LA group had reduced mtDNA content per nucleus in adipose tissue (173 ± 38 versus 328 ± 62; P = 0.067), but not in skeletal muscle (2606 ± 375 versus 2842 ± 309; P = 0.64). Perfusion in resting muscle (34 ± 7 versus 28 ± 6 mL/kg/min in the LA+ group versus the non-LA group; P = 0.5), and the mean absolute (277 ± 30 versus 274 ± 43 mL/kg/min, respectively; P = 0.95) and relative (10.6 ± 2.5- versus 11.9 ± 1.5-fold change, respectively; P = 0.67) increases in perfusion during exercise were similar between the groups. Oxygen consumption at rest (2.2 ± 0.7 versus 2.1 ± 0.3 mL/kg/min in the LA+ group versus the non-LA group; P = 0.9), and the mean absolute (14.6 ± 1.7 versus 24.3 ± 8.8 mL/kg/min, respectively; P = 0.3) and relative (10.3 ± 2.8- versus 11.7 ± 2.4-fold change, respectively; P = 0.73) exercise-induced increases in oxygen consumption were similar between the groups. The oxygen extraction fraction was comparable between the groups, both at rest and during exercise. Plasma lactate concentrations remained unchanged in both groups during exercise. Conclusions HIV-infected patients with ART-associated LA have similar mtDNA content in skeletal muscle and comparable skeletal muscle aerobic exercise metabolism to antiretroviral-treated non-lipoatrophic patient

Brain Glucose Metabolism in Health, Obesity, and Cognitive Decline-Does Insulin Have Anything to Do with It? A Narrative Review

Imaging brain glucose metabolism with fluorine-labelled fluorodeoxyglucose ([F-18]-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) has long been utilized to aid the diagnosis of memory disorders, in particular in differentiating Alzheimer's disease (AD) from other neurological conditions causing cognitive decline. The interest for studying brain glucose metabolism in the context of metabolic disorders has arisen more recently. Obesity and type 2 diabetes-two diseases characterized by systemic insulin resistance-are associated with an increased risk for AD. Along with the well-defined patterns of fasting [F-18]-FDG-PET changes that occur in AD, recent evidence has shown alterations in fasting and insulin-stimulated brain glucose metabolism also in obesity and systemic insulin resistance. Thus, it is important to clarify whether changes in brain glucose metabolism are just an epiphenomenon of the pathophysiology of the metabolic and neurologic disorders, or a crucial determinant of their pathophysiologic cascade. In this review, we discuss the current knowledge regarding alterations in brain glucose metabolism, studied with [F-18]-FDG-PET from metabolic disorders to AD, with a special focus on how manipulation of insulin levels affects brain glucose metabolism in health and in systemic insulin resistance. A better understanding of alterations in brain glucose metabolism in health, obesity, and neurodegeneration, and the relationships between insulin resistance and central nervous system glucose metabolism may be an important step for the battle against metabolic and cognitive disorders