Search

Objective : Craniopharyngiomas (CPs) are associated with hypothalamic damage that causes hypothalamic obesity, however, the mechanisms underlying CP-related postoperative weight gain remain debatable. This study aimed to elucidate whether the major determinant of postoperative weight gain in patients with CP is hypothalamic injury or steroid replacement therapy. Methods : We included 48 adult patients with CP (age ≥18 years) who underwent transsphenoidal surgery between 2010 and 2018 in a single tertiary center, and whose body weight was measured pre- and postoperatively (<120 days after the surgery). We recruited 144 age- and body mass index-matched patients with non-functioning pituitary adenoma (NFPA) as controls. Results : Patients with CP experienced greater postoperative weight gain than patients with NFPA (3.0±5.1 vs. 0.1±3.6 kg, p<0.001). The prevalence of postoperative steroid use was significantly higher in patients with CP than in those with NFPA (89.6% vs. 34.0%, p<0.001). Steroid replacement therapy and CP were associated with postoperative weight gain after adjusting for covariates in overall patients (p=0.032 and 0.007, respectively). In subgroup analysis with postoperative steroid users, weight gain was significantly greater in patients with CP (n=43, 0.96±0.25 kg/month) than in patients with NFPA (n=49, 0.26±0.23 kg/month) even after adjusting for the daily steroid dose (p=0.048). Conclusion : Patients with CP experience greater postoperative weight gain than those with NFPA. Hypothalamic damage itself as well as steroid replacement may contribute to the postoperative weight gain in patients with CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex oxide heterostructures can host two-dimensional electron systems with better properties than bulk materials. Choe et al. show that the combination of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction and Fermi energy at LAO/STO interfaces gives a larger nonreciprocal response than in bulk polar conductors.

What drives us to eat? It is one of the most fundamental questions in the obesity research field which have been investigated for centuries. Numerous novel in vivo technologies in the neuroscience field allows us to reevaluate the multiple components and phases of food-related behaviors. Focused on the cognitive, executive, behavioral and temporal aspects, food-related behaviors can be distinguished into appetitive phase (food craving→food seeking) and \consummatory phase (food consumption). Food craving phase is an internal state or stage in which the animal has the motivation to eat the food but there is no actual food specific behaviors or actions. Food seeking phase entails repeated behaviors with a food searching purpose until the animal discovers the food (or food-related cue) and the approach behavior stage after the discovery of food. Food consumption phase is the step that the animal grabs, chews and intake the food. This review will specifically focus on characteristics and evaluation methods for each phase of food-related behavior in rodent, non-human primates and human. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disorder characterized by reduced bone mineral density (BMD) and increased risk of fracture. We studied the effects of transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) overexpressing receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB (RANK)-Fc and CXC chemokine receptor-4 (CXCR4) using retrovirus on ovariectomy (OVX)-induced bone loss in mice. Ten-week-old adult female C57BL/6 mice were divided into six groups as follows: Sham-operated mice treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (Sham-op + PBS); OVX mice intravenously transplanted with syngeneic MSCs overexpressing RANK-Fc-DsRED and CXCR4-GFP (RANK-Fc + CXCR4); RANK-Fc-DsRED and GFP (RANK-Fc + GFP); CXCR4-GFP and DsRED (CXCR4 + RED); DsRED and GFP (RED + GFP); or treated with PBS only (OVX + PBS). Measurement of BMD showed that introduction of RANK-Fc resulted in significant protection against OVX-induced bone loss compared to treatment with PBS (−0.1% versus −6.2%, P < 0.05) at 8 weeks after cell infusion. CXCR4 + RED group also significantly prevented bone loss compared to OVX + PBS group (2.7% versus −6.2%, P < 0.05). Notably, the effect of RANK-Fc + CXCR4 was greater than that of RANK-Fc + GFP (4.4% versus −0.1%, P < 0.05) while it was not significantly different from that in CXCR4 + RFP group (4.4% versus 2.7%, P = 0.055) at 8 weeks. Transplantation of MSCs with control virus (RED + GFP group) also resulted in amelioration of bone loss compared to OVX + PBS group (−1.7% versus −6.2%, P < 0.05). Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis for GFP from bone tissue revealed enhanced cell trafficking to bone by co-overexpression of CXCR4. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that intravenous transplantation of syngeneic MSCs overexpressing CXCR4 could promote increased in vivo cell trafficking to bone in OVX mice, which could in itself protect against bone loss but also enhance the therapeutic effects of RANK-Fc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]