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Objective. To evaluate circulating FFAs in relation to glucose and insulin metabolism and to different fat compartments in men with and without diabetes. Patients and Methods. Thirtythree men with uncomplicated type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and 28 controls underwent an oral fat load and were studied at baseline and for 5 hours postprandially for serum FFAs, glucose and insulin. Abdominal fat distribution and gluteal fat accumulation were evaluated by anthropometrics and axial MRI images. Insulin resistance and sensitivity were estimated by HOMA and Matsuda index respectively. Results. Fasting and postprandial FFAs were higher in diabetics (p=0.007) despite similar fat accumulation and distribution between groups. Postprandial FFAs correlated positively with postprandial glucose, and fasting and postprandial insulin levels (p< 0.05) in controls, and with fasting and postprandial insulin levels (p< 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively) in diabetics. Postprandial FFAs were positively correlated to HOMA (p<0.01) and negatively to Matsuda index (p<0.05), and positively to total visceral and retroperitoneal fat, the strongest association observed at L2- L3 (p<0.05 and p<0.001 respectively) in diabetics. Conclusions. Diabetics have higher serum FFAs, despite similar levels of adiposity and fat distribution. Interestingly, postprandial FFAs correlate strongly and positively with total visceral fat, underlying the importance of visceral fat in metabolic abnormalities in diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/aim: Binding of FAS ligand (FASL) to its physiological receptor FAS, induces the activation of caspase-8, which triggers cell death. The FAS-FASL system regulates germ cell death. In this study, the role of the FAS-FASL system in male infertility was examined., Patients and Methods: 72 samples were used (age=38.76 ± 9.06 years). Basic semen analysis was performed according to the WHO Laboratory Manual. Soluble (s) forms of FAS and FASL were measured in seminal plasma using commercially available immunoassay kits., Results: Among the examined samples, 24 were normal and 48 abnormal, as evaluated by basic semen analysis. sFAS and sFASL levels in abnormal samples were slightly higher than in the normal ones. In all samples, sFAS correlated negatively with pH. In normal samples, sFAS was positively correlated with sperm concentration. In abnormal samples, sFAS strongly correlated with sFASL., Conclusion: Both factors of the FAS system were detected in seminal plasma. Further studies are necessary to shed light into the possible role of FAS-FASL system in male infertility.