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The relationship between lipid mediators and severe obesity remains unclear. Our study investigates the impact of severe obesity on plasma concentrations of oxylipins and fatty acids and explores the consequences of weight loss. In the clinical trial identifier NCT05554224 study, 116 patients with severe obesity and 63 overweight/obese healthy controls matched for age and sex (≈2:1) provided plasma. To assess the effect of surgically induced weight loss, we requested paired plasma samples from 44 patients undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy one year after the procedure. Oxylipins were measured using ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer via semi-targeted lipidomics. Cytokines and markers of interorgan crosstalk were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. We observed significantly elevated levels of circulating fatty acids and oxylipins in patients with severe obesity compared to their metabolically healthier overweight/obese counterparts. Our findings indicated that sex and liver disease were not confounding factors, but we observed weak correlations in plasma with circulating adipokines, suggesting the influence of adipose tissue. Importantly, while weight loss restored the balance in circulating fatty acids, it did not fully normalize the oxylipin profile. Before surgery, oxylipins derived from lipoxygenase activity, such as 12-HETE, 11-HDoHE, 14-HDoHE, and 12-HEPE, were predominant. However, one year following laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, we observed a complex shift in the oxylipin profile, favoring species from the cyclooxygenase pathway, particularly proinflammatory prostanoids like TXB2, PGE2, PGD2, and 12-HHTrE. This transformation appears to be linked to a reduction in adiposity, underscoring the role of lipid turnover in the development of metabolic disorders associated with severe obesity. Despite the reduction in fatty acid levels associated with weight loss, the oxylipin profile shifts towards a predominance of more proinflammatory species. These observations underscore the significance of seeking mechanistic approaches to address severe obesity and emphasize the importance of closely monitoring the metabolic adaptations after weight loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the availability of thousands of health apps worldwide, when considering those addressing children's first 1000 days of life, most apps fail to consider the continuity between the prenatal and postnatal stages, and their joint impact on maternal and child health. The reliability, quality, and effectiveness of these apps are largely unknown, and the provided content seems questionable in terms of completeness, updating, and trustworthiness.Objective: This study evaluates available Italian pregnancy and postnatal care apps to highlight the main gaps to be overcome and the resulting future challenges to be met in this mobile health-related field.Methods: A systematic search was conducted on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and basic information was collected for all identified apps. After deduplication and further selection based on the exclusion criteria, an in-depth analysis of each app was performed by two researchers independently. A 71-item six-domain questionnaire about the desirable features of apps was used to assess information, functionalities, and technical features, while the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) was employed for app quality evaluation.Results: From an initial sample of 684 apps, 22 were deeply analyzed. Most apps did not fulfill the expectations, as just one achieved 50% of all desirable aspects. Postnatal care and counselling for both the mother and child was the least accomplished domain. Moreover, the quality of app information was generally rated more negatively than the quality of their functionality and esthetic features. The lacking aspects were information about methods for postpartum family planning and birth spacing (1/22, 5%) and immunization (2/22, 9%).Conclusions: The identified gaps could serve as a basis for designing and implementing increasingly high-quality, targeted, and effective apps for pregnancy and postnatal health care, which provide comprehensive, reliable, and evidence-based information, as well as appropriate esthetic and functional characteristics, with relevant implications in terms of maternal and newborn health prevention and promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]