Irisin: A new potential hormonal target for the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes

Exercise as an Adjuvant Intervention in Opiate Dependence

We read with interest the article by Weinstock et al. in whichthe authors propose exercise as an adjuvant intervention inopiate agonist treatment based on current research findings(1).The use of an opiate agonist, such as buprenorphine, butmainly, methadone, for the treatment of opiate dependenceis currently an effective therapy for this type of addiction.The main benefits of this treatment occur through a relieffrom craving narcotic drugs, a temporally suppression ofwithdrawal symptoms, and by blocking the euphoric effectsof opiates (2). Unfortunately, patients needing treatment foropiatedependenceoftenfaceavarietyofco-occurringissues,suchashepatitisBandCvirusesorhumanimmunodeficiencyvirus (H…

Exercise, Neuroplasticity, and Growth Factors in Adolescence

Autism spectrum disorders: possible implications of BDNF modulation through epigenetics

New Molecular Targets and Lifestyle Interventions to Delay Aging Sarcopenia

The term sarcopenia was originally created to refer age-related loss of muscle mass with consequent loss of strength (Morley et al., 2001). There are now four international definitions of sarcopenia (Cruz-Jentoft et al., 2010; Muscaritoli et al., 2010; Morley et al., 2011). In essence they all agree, requiring a measure of walking capability [either low gait speed or a limited endurance (distance) in a 6-min walk], together with an appendicular lean mass of <2 SDs of a sex and ethnically corrected normal level for individuals 20–30 years old. Sarcopenia is a prevalent health problem among the elderly. On average, 5–13 and 11–50% of people aged 60−70 years and ≥80 years, respectively suffer …