Editorial Commentary: Restoration of Rotator Cuff Footprint Anatomy Is All That Matters,No Matter How We Get There

Delamination of rotator cuff tears presents a challenge to shoulder arthroscopists. Tear pattern recognition and an understanding of anatomy as it relates to the superior capsule guide treatment strategies. The key to management of a delaminated rotator cuff tear is to recognize differential retraction of respective layers. Successful outcomes of surgical management require conscientious and deliberate restoration of the attachment points of the cable. The goal is to produce an anatomic repair.     

Effect of Weight Reduction Following Bariatric Surgery on Serum Visfatin and Adiponectin Levels in Morbidly Obese Subjects

ObjectiveAdipokines are signaling and mediator proteins secreted from adipose tissue. A novel adipokine, visfatin, was reported as a protein which was mainly expressed in visceral adipose tissue. Controversial results have been shown regarding the changes of adipokines following weight reduction. So we investigated the effects of weight reduction on serum concentrations of adiponectin and visfatin in morbidly obese subjects.Methods35 severely obese patients (26 females and 9 males), aged 15-58 years, were studied. Anthropometric parameters and biochemical parameters as well as adiponectin and visfatin were analyzed before and 6 weeks after weight reduction.ResultsAnthropometric indices decreased significantly. Blood levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride were reduced significantly. The reduction of visfatin and the elevation of adiponectin were significant as well. However, other parameters like fasting glucose and insulin did not change. Moreover, we could not find any significant correlation between the change of serum visfatin and that of adiponectin. Conclusions: 6-week weight reduction after bariatric surgery resulted in decreased serum visfatin and increased adiponectin levels. However, we cannot find any significant correlation between changes of adiponectin, visfatin, BMI, waist circumference, and insulin resistance. Further studies with different design are suggested to clarify these associations.Key Words: Adiponectin, Visfatin, Morbid obesity, Bariatric surgery, Weight loss     

Increased expression of PD-1 in CD8 + CD3 + T cells correlates with EBV viral load in MS patients

Journal of NeuroVirology - Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the common autoimmune diseases. The exact etiology of MS is still unclear, but recent studies have shown the possibility of infectious...     

Tongue Cleaning Increases the Perceived Intensity of Salty Taste

Objective

Tongue coating, which refers to a greyish white deposit on the tongue surface, often covers the taste papillae on the dorsal tongue surface, decreasing taste sensitivity. This study investigated whether mechanical removal of the tongue coating affected the intensity of salt taste perception.

Participants

This cross-sectional single blind study included 90 subjects (29 males, 61 females) with a mean age of 45 years (range 25–70 years).

Intervention

The presence and the amount of coating on the six sextants of the tongue were scored using the Winkel Tongue Coating Index (WTCI); the 90 included subjects had total WTCI scores ≥ 3. The intensity of the salt taste was tested using a drop of prepared tomato soup applied to the middle of the dorsal surface of the tongue before and then after tongue cleaning.

Measurement

The salt taste intensity was measured using a general Labeled Magnitude Scale (gLMS).

Results

The mean salt taste intensity was significantly different (p value = 0.0002) after the intervention versus before it, with the taste intensity increasing after tongue cleaning.

Conclusions

The results indicated that the salt taste intensity increased after removal of the tongue coating. This study indicates that tongue cleaning, a simple technique used for oral hygiene, may be an effective way to reduce excess salt intake. Tongue cleaning could help individuals adhere to the WHO recommendations on dietary salt intake.

     

Evaluating Possible Mechanisms Linking Obesity to COVID-19: a Narrative Review

Obesity Surgery - Currently, pneumonia caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic. To date, there is no specific antiviral treatment for the disease, and universal access to...     

Comparison of novel risk factors for cardiovascular disease between hemodialysis patients with and without protein-energy wasting

Purpose

The present study was designed to compare novel risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) between hemodialysis (HD) patients with or without protein-energy wasting (PEW) for determining novel risk factors for CVD in HD patients with PEW.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study, 291 HD patients were randomly selected from among 2,302 adult HD patients in Tehran hemodialysis centers. The presence of PEW in HD patients was determined by subjective global assessment. In addition, 4 mL blood was obtained before dialysis and analyzed for serum concentrations of novel risk factors for CVD, including C-reactive protein (CRP), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule type 1 (sICAM-1), soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule type 1 (sVCAM-1), sE-selectin, malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), endothelin-1 and lipoprotein (a) [Lp (a)].

Results

Serum CRP and sICAM-1 were significantly higher in HD patients with PEW as compared to those without PEW (P < 0.01), whereas there were no significant differences in serum sVCAM-1, sE-selectin, MDA, NO, endothelin-1 and Lp (a) between the two groups. Serum CRP and sICAM-1 were significantly higher in HD patients with PEW type IIa and IIb than in those with PEW type I (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

The present study indicates that serum CRP and sICAM-1, as two CVD risk factors, increase in HD patients with PEW as compared to those without PEW and these increases occur in HD patients with PEW type IIa and IIb who have inflammation.