Scientists Identify And Improve Protein That Causes Weight Loss And Improves Health In Obese Mice And Monkeys.

reports scientists “report they have identified and improved upon a naturally occurring protein that brought about significant changes in obese mice and monkeys, including weight loss and rapid improvements on measures of metabolic and heart health.” The findings were published in Science Translational Medicine. http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-weight-loss-protein-20171019-story.html

Do Obesity and Depression Have Immunometabolic Ties? Disorders may share pathophysiologic mechanisms

The shared pathophysiologic mechanisms may include immunometabolic pathways characterized by an increased pro-inflammatory response and the dysregulation of hormones responsible for energy metabolism. "Obesity is characterized by low-grade pro-inflammatory activation. Peripheral immune activation could trigger brain inflammatory responses participating in depressive neurochemical and/or endocrine processes (i.e., depletion and degradation of tryptophan toward neurotoxic end products or hyperactivation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis)," they wrote. https://www.medpagetoday.com/endocrinology/obesity/68627

Obesity Found To Be A Risk Factor For 30-Day Readmission Among Young Children Recently Hospitalized For Asthma.

reports that research indicated “obesity was...a risk factor for 30-day readmission among young children recently hospitalized for asthma.” In the “study of more than 38,000 children living in Japan, obese patients were more likely to be older, male, and have pre-existing comorbidities.” Additionally, “they...showed significantly higher 30-day readmission (adjusted odds ratio 1.26, 95% CI 1.03-1.54) and longer length of stay (adjusted difference 0.12 days, 95% CI 0.10- 0.20 days) than the children whose weight was classified as normal.” The findings were published in Pediatric Allergy and Immunology. https://www.medpagetoday.com/pediatrics/asthma/68638

Women With Type 2 Diabetes Who Receive Long-Acting Insulin Glargine May Have Increased Risk Of Breast Cancer,

reports that researchers found that “women with type 2 diabetes who received long-acting insulin glargine...had a 1.4-fold increased risk of breast cancer compared with women who were given intermediate-acting neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin during roughly 4 years and up to 12 years of follow-up.” However, individuals “who received insulin detemir...did not have any increased risk of breast cancer.” Medscape adds that “of note, the breast-cancer signal with insulin glargine was only significant among prior insulin users and not new users.” https://login.medscape.com/login/sso/getlogin?urlCache=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubWVkc2NhcGUuY29tL3ZpZXdhcnRpY2xlLzg4NzIwNA==&ac=401

Study Reveals Association Between Depression, Sagging Testosterone Levels In New Fathers.

reports research indicates that postpartum depression “may occur in from 7 percent to 10 percent of new fathers, compared to about 12 percent of new mothers, and that depressed dads were more likely to spank their children and less likely to read to them.” Now, research published in Hormones and Behavior “has found a link between depression and sagging testosterone levels in new dads, adding physiological weight to the argument that postpartum depression isn’t just for women anymore.” In addition, the study revealed that “while high testosterone levels in new dads helped protect against depression in fathers, it correlated with an increased risk of depression in new moms.” https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/17/well/family/can-fathers-have-postpartum-depression.html

Health Experts Call For Changes To Food Environment As CDC Research Shows Rising Obesity Rates.

With obesity rates in the US at “a new high,” public health experts are calling for “an aggressive shift in strategy – one that would change the food environment through initiatives such as soda taxes,” USA Today (10/17, Toy) reports. Traditional “public health efforts have centered on communicating messages about what is healthy in the hopes of changing people’s behavior,” but new research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics shows a steady increase in obesity rates among US adults, up from 30.5 percent in 1999-2000 to 39.8 percent in 2015-2016. The article cites “Craig Hales, the study’s lead researcher and a medical epidemiologist at the CDC,” and notes that “physician Jerome Adams, who was sworn in as surgeon general in August, on Monday cited obesity as among the Department of Health and Human Services’...top priorities.” https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/10/17/obesity-rates-skyrochave-hit-new-high-and-health-experts-say-its-time-change-how-were-dealing-proble/773015001/

Shingles Seen as Possible Trigger for Cardiovascular Events Younger age associated with increased risk; but biological mechanism unclear

https://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/MyocardialInfarction/66384?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2017-10-17&eun=g721819d0r&pos=3