Awareness of prostate cancer among patients and the general public: results of an international survey

The objective of this study was to assess the level of awareness of prostate cancer (PCa) among the general public and PCa patients in Europe and North America. A survey was undertaken across four European countries (UK, Germany, Italy and Spain), and across the United States and Canada in late 2007. In total, 1008 men with PCa and their partners (the ‘prostate sample'), and 911 men without PCa and their partners (the ‘well sample') participated in the survey, all aged ⩾50 years. Interviews were conducted through telephone, pen and paper, and online. Many people surveyed (53%) thought that breast cancer is more common than PCa. Moreover, 1 in 10 people from the well sample (10%) thought that PCa affects both men and women. When the prostate sample was asked about their perceived level of risk of PCa before diagnosis, 50% believed that they/their husband or partner were previously at low or very low risk, before they were diagnosed. Awareness of the major risk factors for PCa (age and family history) was generally good, but respondents were less clear about the role of other potential factors, such as smoking and drinking alcohol. This international survey, thought to be largest of its type, shows that although patient and public awareness of PCa is generally satisfactory, there is still a considerable lack of clarity about PCa risk factors, and a danger for people to underestimate their own/their partner's perceived risk for PCa. Programmes to responsibly educate and inform men and their partners about risk factors, prevalence and screening tools for PCa are required

Diacylglycerol acyltransferase 2 links glucose utilization to fatty acid oxidation in the brown adipocytes

Brown adipose tissue uptake of glucose and fatty acids is very high during nonshivering thermogenesis. Adrenergic stimulation markedly increases glucose uptake, de novo lipogenesis, and FA oxidation simultaneously. The mechanism that enables this concerted response has hitherto been unknown. Here, we find that in primary brown adipocytes and brown adipocyte-derived cell line (IMBAT-1), acute inhibition and longer-term knockdown of DGAT2 links the increased de novo synthesis of fatty acids from glucose to a pool of TAG that is simultaneously hydrolyzed, providing FA for mitochondrial oxidation. DGAT1 does not contribute to this pathway, but uses exogenous FA and glycerol to synthesize a functionally distinct pool of TAG to which DGAT2 also contributes. The DGAT2-dependent channelling of 14C from glucose into TAG and CO2 was reproduced in β3-agonist-stimulated primary brown adipocytes. Knockdown of DGAT2 in IMBAT-1 affected the mRNA levels of UCP1 and genes important in FA activation and esterification. Therefore, in β3-agonist activated brown adipocytes, DGAT2 specifically enables channelling of de novo synthesized FA into a rapidly mobilized pool of TAG, which is simultaneously hydrolyzed to provide substrates for mitochondrial fatty acid oxidatio