Associations between objectively assessed physical activity and indicators of body fatness in 9- to 10-y-old European children: a population-based study from 4 distinct regions in Europe (the European Youth Heart Study)

BACKGROUND: The rising prevalence of obesity in children may be due to a reduction in physical activity (PA). OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to study the associations of objectively measured PA volume and its subcomponents with indicators of body fatness. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study of 1292 children aged 9-10 y from 4 distinct regions in Europe (Odense, Denmark; the island of Madeira, Portugal; Oslo; and Tartu, Estonia) was conducted. PA was measured by accelerometry, and indicators of body fatness were the sum of 5 skinfold thicknesses and body mass index (BMI; in kg/m(2)). We examined the associations between PA and body fatness by using general linear models adjusted for potential confounding variables. RESULTS: After adjustment for sex, study location, sexual maturity, birth weight, and parental BMI, time (min/d) spent at moderate and vigorous PA (P = 0.032) and time (min/d) spent at vigorous PA were significantly (P = 0.015) and independently associated with body fatness. Sex, study location, sexual maturity, birth weight, and parental BMI explained 29% (adjusted R(2) = 0.29) of the variation in body fatness. Time spent at vigorous PA explained an additional 0.5%. Children who accumulated <1 h of moderate PA/d were significantly fatter than were those who accumulated >2 h/d. CONCLUSIONS: The accumulated amount of time spent at moderate and vigorous PA is related to body fatness in children, but this relation is weak; the explained variance was <1%.     

Low platelet MAO activity associated with high dysfunctional impulsivity and antisocial behavior: evidence from drunk drivers

Rationale Low platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity is associated with problem drinking and other deviant behaviors. Since the majority of alcohol abusers are smokers, and tobacco smoke has a direct inhibitory effect on the enzyme, these associations may not be meaningful.Objective The authors compared platelet MAO activity and impulsivity in police-referred subjects caught driving while intoxicated and in control subjects, controlling for smoking.Methods Platelet MAO activity was measured radioenzymatically and impulsivity scores obtained from questionnaires. Smoking status was self-reported.Results Subjects caught driving while intoxicated had significantly higher dysfunctional impulsivity and lower platelet MAO activity than control subjects. This difference in platelet MAO activity between the two groups was significant in non-smokers and ex-smokers.Conclusions These findings demonstrate that platelet MAO activity is lower in subjects with socially deviant behavior, and the association of low platelet MAO and problem drinking is not an artifact of smoking.     

Endotoxin impairs endothelium-dependent vasodilation more in the coronary and renal arteries than in other arteries of the rat

Endotoxemia may result in endothelial dysfunction, and some vascular beds may be affected more than others. To test this hypothesis, we studied, in vitro, the reactivity of isolated rat coronary, renal, superior mesenteric, and hepatic arteries exposed to endotoxin (E. coli, 50 microg. mL(-1)) or saline for 2 h at 37 degrees C. Vascular smooth muscle function was tested using 125 mM KCl, the vasoconstrictors norepinephrine (NE), and the thromboxane analog U46619 (coronary artery). Endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation was tested with acetylcholine (ACh) in preconstricted vessels. Although differing between vessel types, the smooth muscle contractile responses were not affected by endotoxin, either in the presence or absence of L-arginine. Endotoxin impaired the response to ACh in rat coronary arteries (92.7 +/- 4.6% vasodilation in control and 41.3 +/- 11.6% in endotoxin-exposed segments) and in renal arteries (66.7 +/- 5.2% vasodilation in control and 43.2 +/- 4.9% in endotoxin-exposed segments), so that there was a mean 55% decrease vs controls in coronary and a mean 35% decrease in renal arteries. Endotoxin did not affect superior mesenteric and hepatic arteries. Brief endotoxin exposure of isolated rat arteries may thus inactivate endothelial NO synthase, independent of iNOS. The increase in heterogeneity among endothelium-dependent vasodilation after endotoxin may help to explain early blood flow maldistribution in endotoxin shock.     

Platelet monoamine oxidase in healthy 9- and 15-years old children: the effect of gender, smoking and puberty

1. The effect of gender, smoking and pubertal development on platelet monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity was described in a randomly selected, large sample of 9- and 15-years old healthy children.

2. Platelet MAO activity was measured in 1129 children by a radioenzymatic method with β-phenylethylamine as the substrate. Smoking habits were reported in an anonymous questionnaire. Pubertal status was assessed visually using Tanner's stages.

3. Boys, younger children and smokers had significantly lower platelet MAO activity than girls, older children and non-smokers, respectively. Girls in Tanner's stage V for breast and public hair development had significantly lower MAO than girls in stage IV.

4. Differences in gender, age, pubertal status and smoking habits must be taken into account if the relationship between platelet MAO activity, personality and psychiatric disorders is studied in children.

Effect of chronic stress on behavior and cerebral oxidative metabolism in rats with high or low positive affect

The 50 kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) in rats have been associated with positive affect and rewarding experience. We have previously reported that stable inter-individual differences exist in the expression of these USVs (chirps). We have examined the effect of four weeks of chronic variable stress on cerebral oxidative metabolism, and depression and anxiety related behavior in male and female high (HC) and low (LC) chirping rats. Significant differences in regional oxidative metabolic activity as measured by cytochrome c oxidase (COX) histochemistry were found between male and female rats: Females had lower oxidative metabolism in several brainstem areas such as dorsal and median raphe and pontine nucleus, some cortical areas, and reward-related forebrain regions such as striatum and nucleus accumbens, but higher oxidative metabolism in amygdala and related limbic regions. Chronic stress increased oxidative metabolism in several depression-related brain regions in male but not female LC-rats such as amygdala, hippocampus and anterior thalamus. No systematic behavioral effect of stress was evident in females. In LC males, stress elicited increased levels of 22-kHz USVs, earlier and more stable reduction of weight gain, persistently lower sucrose intake and preference, and higher levels of immobility in the forced swimming test. These behavioral changes, accompanied by increased oxidative metabolism in limbic brain regions, indicate greater vulnerability to stress of male LC-rats, and suggest that in males low inherent positive affectivity predisposes to anxiety and affective disorders.     

Papillary carcinoma of the prostate, location, morphology, and immunohistochemistry: the histogenesis and entity of so-called endometrioid carcinoma

Fifty carcinomas that were partially to completely papillary in nature were examined. According to urethroscopic and rectal palpation findings, six of the carcinomas were located centrally, 40 tumors were in the prostate proper, and four were clinical stage T0. The epithelium of the papillary portions of the tumors was dark in some instances, light in others. Immunohistochemistry revealed that 20 of 22 tumors were positive for prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). In no case was a topical relationship to the utriculus prostaticus demonstrable. The epithelium of the utriculus in seven additional patients who were not involved in this series also stained positively for PAP and PSA. Usual carcinomas of the prostate proper can develop endometrioid structures that do not differ immunohistochemically from ordinary portions of the carcinoma. Tumors located in central portions of the prostate are, in our opinion, morphologic variants of usual prostatic carcinomas, and apparently arise in prostatic ducts. We conclude that a distinction between endometrioid carcinomas and tumors of prostatic ducts does not seem justified and that papillary prostatic carcinomas should be treated like common prostatic cancer.     

Rat behavior after chronic variable stress and partial lesioning of 5-HT-ergic neurotransmission: effects of citalopram

Deficits in serotonergic (5-HT-ergic) neurotransmission and stressful life events have been implicated in affective disorders, and chronic variable stress (CVS) can elicit behavioral changes reminiscent of increased emotionality, anxiety and atypical depression after partial 5-HT depletion. This study examined the effect of chronic citalopram treatment (10 mg/kg daily) on these changes. Parachloroamphetamine (PCA) (2 mg/kg) reduced the levels of 5-HT and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the frontal cortex, increased anxiety in the social interaction test, and increased activity in the open field. CVS reduced social activity in the social interaction test and immobility time in the forced swimming test. Reduction of excrements left during immobilization indicated partial adaptation with the CVS. Specific stressors had different effects on body weight gain, shorter lasting stressors having a smaller effect in general than those that lasted longer. Combination of CVS and PCA increased sucrose intake after two weeks of stress. In addition, combination of the two treatments reduced diving in the forced swimming test. Citalopram prevented the increase in sucrose consumption in the PCA+CVS rats, and in 5-HT-depleted animals blocked the increase in struggling and reduced the number of defecations in the forced swim test. In conclusion, citalopram treatment prevented several effects of either 5-HT depletion or combined PCA+CVS treatment, suggesting that these behavioral changes could be used in studies on the neural mechanisms underlying emotional behavior that may have relevance to the neurobiology of depression.