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Francisco Álvarez-Nava, 1, 2 Marcia Racines-Orbe, 3 Julia Witt, 1 Jéssica Guarderas, 1 Yosselin Vicuña, 3 María Estévez, 4 Roberto Lanes 5 1Biological Sciences School, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Central University of Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador; 2Institute of Genetic Research, University of Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela; 3Institute of Biomedicine Research, Central University of Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador; 4Ecuadorian Foundation in Support of Turner Syndrome, Quito, Ecuador; 5Pediatric Endocrine Unit, Hospital De Clinicas Caracas, Caracas, VenezuelaCorrespondence: Francisco Álvarez-NavaBiological Sciences School, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Central University of Ecuador, Calle Iquique Con Calle Sodiro Number N14-121, Parroquia San Blas, Quito, Pichincha 170113, EcuadorTel/Fax +593-252-8810Email fjalvarez@uce.edu.ecBackground and purpose: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a disorder associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The frequency of each component of MetS in Turner syndrome (TS) subjects is high. An elevated incidence of hearing loss has also been reported in TS. Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) affects at least half of young women with TS. The association between MetS and SNHL has not been previously considered in TS. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between these two conditions.Patients and Methods: Cross-sectional anthropometric, cardio-metabolic and audiological data were obtained from a cohort consisting of unrelated TS subjects (> 20 years of age; n = 93). Metabolic syndrome was defined according to the International Diabetes Federation criteria. Types and severity of hearing loss were based on the American Speech Hearing Association guidelines.Results: Hearing loss was detected in 74% of ears from adult TS subjects and SNHL was observed in half of our TS subjects. The prevalence of MetS in TS subjects with or without SNHL was 64% and 11%, respectively (P < 0.05). After adjusting for age, MetS was related to a ninefold increase in the odds of SNHL. This odds increased in a stepwise manner as the number of MetS components increased.Conclusion: MetS and its individual components were associated factors for SNHL in TS subjects. A reduction in the number and severity of the components of MetS might potentially contribute to decreasing the progression of SNHL at younger ages, but further studies will be needed to explain the underlying pathological mechanism connecting MetS and SNHL.Keywords: hearing loss, metabolic syndrome, risk factors, Turner syndrome

Francisco Álvarez-Nava1,2, Marcia Racines3, Julia Witt1, Jéssica Guarderas1, María Estévez3,4, Roberto Lanes5 1Biological Sciences School, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Central University of Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador; 2Genetic Research Institute, University of Zulia, Maracaibo, Venezuela; 3Institute of Biomedicine Research, Central University of Ecuador; Quito, Ecuador; 4Ecuadorian Foundation in Support of Turner Syndrome, Quito, Ecuador; 5Pediatric Endocrine Unit, Hospital de Clinicas Caracas, Caracas, VenezuelaCorrespondence: Francisco Álvarez-NavaBiological Sciences School, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Central University of Ecuador, Calle Iquique con Calle Sodiro Number N14-121, Parroquia San Blas, Quito, Pichincha 170113, EcuadorTel +593 252 8810Fax +593 252 8810Email fjalvarez@uce.edu.ecBackground and purpose: Excessive adiposity is associated with cardiometabolic complications in Turner syndrome (TS) subjects. Reference data for predictive anthropometric indices of overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are lacking for subjects with TS. The purpose of this study was to identify the best anthropometric predictor of cardiometabolic risk in a Latin-American cohort of TS subjects.Patients and methods: This was a cross-sectional correlational study conducted in adult TS subjects (n=88) over the past seven years. Anthropometric parameters, body composition and biochemical variables were evaluated in a study and in a reference (n=57) group. Overweight/obesity and MetS were diagnosed using international consensus. The area under the ROC curve (AUC-ROC) was then used to determine the value of each anthropometric variable in predicting MetS or overweight/obesity.Results: The prevalence of MetS and overweight/obesity in TS subjects was 40% and 48%, respectively. All anthropometric and cardiometabolic variables were significantly increased in TS subjects when compared to the reference group, except for body mass index (BMI) and HDL-c. To detect MetS and overweight/obesity, waist to height ratio (WHtR) was found to have a higher correlation with cardiometabolic variables (TC, LDL-c, HDL-c levels and the LDL-c/HDL-c ratio), and to have a higher AUC-ROC and odds ratio than BMI, waist circumference (WC) and the waist to hip ratio (WHR).Conclusion: The prevalence of MetS and overweight/obesity is elevated in TS subjects. WHtR was the most useful variable in predicting the presence of MetS and overweight and obesity in this TS cohort. A combination of WHtR with BMI or with WC could have the best clinical utility in identifying adult TS subjects with overweight/obesity and MetS, respectively.Keywords: anthropometric indexes, body composition, cardiometabolic risk, metabolic syndrome, obesity, overweight, Turner syndrome

Oleylethanolamide (OEA) is a natural analogue of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide. Like anandamide, OEA is produced in cells in a stimulus-dependent manner and is rapidly eliminated by enzymatic hydrolysis, suggesting a function in cellular signalling. However, OEA does not activate cannabinoid receptors and its biological functions are still unknown. Here we show that, in rats, food deprivation markedly reduces OEA biosynthesis in the small intestine. Administration of OEA causes a potent and persistent decrease in food intake and gain in body mass. This anorexic effect is behaviourally selective and is associated with the discrete activation of brain regions (the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus and the nucleus of the solitary tract) involved in the control of satiety. OEA does not affect food intake when injected into the brain ventricles, and its anorexic actions are prevented when peripheral sensory fibres are removed by treatment with capsaicin. These results indicate that OEA is a lipid mediator involved in the peripheral regulation of feeding.

The biological actions of the endogenous cannabinoid anandamide are terminated by carrier-mediated transport into neurons and astrocytes, followed by enzymatic hydrolysis. Anandamide transport is inhibited by the compound N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)arachidonylamide (AM404). AM404 potentiates several responses elicited by administration of exogenous anandamide, suggesting that it may also protect endogenous anandamide from inactivation. To test this hypothesis, we studied the effects of AM404 on the plasma levels of anandamide using high-performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS). Systemic administration of AM404 (10 mg kg(-1) intraperitoneal, i.p. ) caused a gradual increase of anandamide in rat plasma, which was significantly different from untreated controls at 60 and 120 min after drug injection. In plasma, both AM404 and anandamide were associated with a plasma protein, which we identified as albumin by non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. AM404 (10 mg kg(-1), i.p.) caused a time-dependent decrease of motor activity, which was reversed by the cannabinoid CB(1) receptor antagonist N-(piperidin-1-yl)-5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(2, 4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxamide.hydrochloride (SR141716A, 0.5 mg kg(-1), i.p). These results are consistent with the hypothesis that AM404 inhibits anandamide inactivation in vivo.

Las raíces sumergidas de Rhizophora mangle son un importante soporte para parte de la comunidad de organismos que forman un subsistema con organización y estructura dinámica propia. Son útiles como criadero de peces, camarones, cangrejos y mejillones, entre otros. El objetivo de esta investigación fue determinar la composición y la abundancia de la taxocenosis de moluscos y crustáceos asociados a las raíces sumergidas de R. mangle y su relación con algunas variables fisicoquímicas del agua en el estuario del río Ranchería. Los muestreos se llevaron a cabo entre los meses de septiembre del 2014 y marzo del 2015, en cinco estaciones de muestreo. Tres estaciones asociadas al brazo El Riíto y dos en el brazo Calancalá. En cada muestreo y en cada sitio se midieron algunas variables fisicoquímicas (salinidad, temperatura, oxígeno disuelto, pH, alcalinidad, dureza y turbidez). En cada estación se cortaron al azar dos raíces de mangle sumergidas, las cuales se colocaron en bolsas plásticas con formalina al 10 %. En el laboratorio se cuantificaron e identificaron las muestras. Se encontró un total de 38 taxones, correspondiente a un 57,89 % de moluscos y 42,11 % de crustáceos para toda el área de estudio. Aunque las estaciones estudiadas presentaron diferencias significativas entre ellas, en cuanto a salinidad y pH, la taxocenosis de moluscos y crustáceos se considera muy uniforme con una similitud mínima de 68 % entre las estaciones. Se concluye que el bivalvo Mytiliopsis leucophaeata y el anfípodo Americorophium brevis fueron las especies más abundantes, por ser especies estuarinas típicas de sustratos duros, dominando la taxocenosis en el delta del río Ranchería, el cual presenta una baja riqueza de especies de moluscos y crustáceos, que se debe principalmente al amplio cambio de salinidad a lo largo del periodo estudiado.