Search results for "Skin Physiology"
showing 10 items of 883 documents
Leptin and leptin receptor expression in asthma.
2009
Background The adipokine leptin is a potential new mediator for bronchial epithelial homeostasis. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by airway remodeling that might affect disease chronicity and severity. TGF-β is a tissue growth factor the dysregulation of which is associated with airway remodeling. Objective We sought to determine whether a bronchial epithelial dysfunction of the leptin/leptin receptor pathway contributes to asthma pathogenesis and severity. Methods We investigated in vitro the presence of leptin/leptin receptor on human bronchial epithelial cells. Then we studied the effect of TGF-β and fluticasone propionate on leptin receptor expression. Finally, th…
The leptin system during human endometrial receptivity and preimplantation development.
2004
The leptin system is implicated in the regulation of body weight and reproductive function, acting at endocrine and paracrine levels. This ligand-receptor system is mandatory for embryonic implantation in rodents. Here, we investigate the expression pattern of total leptin receptor (OB-R(T)), the long form (OB-R(L)) and short isoforms HuB219.1 and HuB219.3 in the human endometrium. Furthermore, we studied leptin and OB-R(T) mRNA during human embryonic preimplantation development and the embryonic regulation of the endometrial OB-R(L). Leptin receptor expression and its isoforms increase in the luteal phase and peak in the late part. Leptin receptor was localized at the epithelial and glandu…
Evaluation of 24-hour gastric acidity in patients with hepatic cirrhosis.
1996
Data from previous studies on gastric acid secretion in patients with hepatic cirrhosis are controversial, due, at least in part, to the possible interference of liver failure and altered gastric mucosal microcirculation on the pharmacological action of the substances used to stimulate the parietal cell. For this reason, we wished to investigate the circadian pattern of gastric acidity by means of continuous 24-hour pH monitoring, which permits measurement of pH fluctuations in a nearly physiological manner and does not require any pharmacological stimulus.Forty-nine patients with liver cirrhosis of different aetiology were recruited for this study. They underwent 24-hour gastric pH-metry w…
Transient elastography: A non-invasive tool for assessing liver fibrosis in HIV/HCV patients
2010
AIM: To assess the prevalence of advanced liver fibrosis (ALF) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HIV/HCV patients using transient elastography, and to identify factors associated with ALF. METHODS: Between September 2008 and October 2009, 71 HIV mono-infected, 57 HIV/HCV co-infected and 53 HCV mono-infected patients on regular follow-up at our Center were enrolled in this study. Alcohol intake, the main parameters of liver function, presence of HCV-RNA, HIV-RNA, duration of highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) and CD4 cell count were recorded. ALF was defined as liver stiffness (LS) ≥ 9.5 kPa. To estimate liver fibrosis (LF) a further 2 reliable bio…
Personality and eating habits revisited: Associations between the big five, food choices, and Body Mass Index in a representative Australian sample
2019
Abstract Objective Personality traits are related to health and health-related behavior such as eating habits. However, results are inconsistent regarding exactly which traits are related to eating habits. The eating habits assessed across studies are also not easily comparable, as they are based on different food items and on different computational methods. This study investigated eating habits and their relationship to both the Big Five personality traits and Body Mass Index (BMI; an objective criterion of health status) in a representative Australian sample. Method Participants were 13,892 adults from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey. An analysis of 14 food …
Chewing bread: impact on alpha-amylase secretion and oral digestion
2017
During chewing, saliva helps in preparing food bolus by agglomerating formed particles and initiates food enzymatic breakdown. However, limited information is actually available on the adaptation of saliva composition during oral processing of complex foods, especially for foods that are sensitive to salivary enzymes. We addressed this question in the context of starch–based products and salivary alpha-amylase. The objectives were two-fold: 1) determining if salivary alpha-amylase secretion can be modulated by bread type and 2) evaluating the contribution of the oral phase in bread enzymatic breakdown.Mouthfuls of three different wheat breads (industrial, artisan and whole breads) were chew…
THE VITAMIN D RECEPTOR TAQ I POLYMORPHISM IS ASSOCIATED WITH REDUCED VDR AND INCREASED PDIA3 PROTEIN LEVELS IN HUMAN INTESTINAL FIBROBLASTS
2020
The synonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs731236, located in the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene (Taq I) has been associated with both decreased levels of the protein in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and a fibrosis-related complication in Crohn´s disease (CD). Interactions between VDR and a protein-disulfide isomerase-associated 3 (PDIA3) in the regulation of extracellular matrix have been reported and we aim to analyze the relevance of the VDR genotypes and the effects of Vitamin D (VD) in the expression of VDR, PDIA3 and proliferation of intestinal fibroblasts. Human intestinal fibroblasts were isolated from the non-affected surgical resections of colorectal patients and cl…
Similarities and differences between eating disorders and obese patients in a virtual environment for normalizing eating patterns.
2016
Virtual reality has demonstrated promising results in the treatment of eating disorders (ED); however, few studies have examined its usefulness in treating obesity. The aim of this study was to compare ED and obese patients on their reality judgment of a virtual environment (VE) designed to normalize their eating pattern. A second objective was to study which variables predicted the reality of the experience of eating a virtual forbidden-fattening food. ED patients, obese patients, and a non-clinical group (N = 62) experienced a non-immersive VE, and then completed reality judgment and presence measures. All participants rated the VE with similar scores for quality, interaction, engagement,…
Meaning in life is associated with the psychopathology of eating disorders: differences depending on the diagnosis
2019
Previous studies indicated that meaning in life was inversely associated with eating behaviors and a negative attitude toward food, body satisfaction, and borderline symptoms. However, research on the association between meaning in life and eating disorder psychopathology is scarce, and there are no studies on the association between meaning in life and the eating disorder psychopathology depending on the diagnosis. The aim of the present study is to verify whether meaning in life is differentially associated with a broad range of psychopathology symptoms commonly observed in people with ED, depending on the diagnosis, in a sample of 240 ED patients. We found that meaning in life was negati…
Compulsive exercise as a mediator between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology
2016
The aim of this study was to examine whether compulsive exercise mediates the relationship between clinical perfectionism and eating pathology, based on the cognitive behavioral model of compulsive exercise. Participants were 368 adults who participated regularly in sport/exercise and completed online measures of perfectionism, compulsive exercise and eating disorders. In support of the well-established link between perfectionism and eating disorders, clinical perfectionism predicted eating pathology both directly and indirectly mediated by compulsive exercise. In addition, there were also direct effects of clinical perfectionism on the avoidance/rule-driven behavior, weight control, and mo…