scholarly journals Disease Burden, Mechanism and Management of Obesity – Where Do We Stand?

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-34
Author(s):  
Irfan Sharif Shakoori ◽  
Gohar Ashraf ◽  
Fauzia Aslam ◽  
Hammad Akram

AbstractThe role of increased body mass index in general morbidity and mortality is well documented. This global public health issue continues to represent a major burden and threat to health systems and the population’s wellbeing. Global statistics show that the prevalence of obesity has increased about three times since the mid-1970s, and an upward trend is still observed, not only in developed but also in developing countries. We used several databases, including PubMed, ProQuest, and Google Scholar, to perform a literature search and review on obesity. Keywords such as “obesity”, “overweight”, and “BMI” were used in combination with multiple keywords such as “mechanism”, “factors”, “socio-economic”, “environmental”, “social determinants”, “management”, “treatment”, “non-traditional treatment”, “alternative therapies”, “non-pharmaceutical treatment” etc. and related phrases. According to the literature, the management of obesity is difficult due to the complex nature of this problem in terms of its course, complications, risks, and etiological factors. The role of alternative therapies in obesity management is still unclear, and further research is needed in this area. Recently introduced weight-loss and -management devices can also help in losing excess bodyweight. The present article summarizes relevant information related to obesity, collected from different regions of the world, and discusses diverse interventional approaches to treat obesity.

Author(s):  
Shampa Ghosh ◽  
Srividya Manchala ◽  
Manchala Raghunath ◽  
Gaurav Sharma ◽  
Abhishek Kumar Singh ◽  
...  

: Obesity has become a worldwide health problem. It triggers additional co-morbidities like cardiovascular diseases, cancer, depression, sleep disorders, gastrointestinal problems and many more. Excess accumulation of fat in obesity could be caused by many factors like sedentary lifestyle, consumption of high fat diet, genetic predisposition, etc. Imbalanced energy metabolism i.e., greater energy consumption than utilisation, invariably underlies obesity. Considering the high prevalence and continuous, uncontrolled increase of this major public health issue, there is an urgent need to find appropriate therapeutic agents with minimal or no side effects. The high prevalence of obesity in recent years has led to a surge in the number of drugs available in the market that claim to control obesity. Although there is a long list of medicines and management strategies that are available, selecting the right therapeutic intervention and feasible management of obesity is a challenge. Several phytochemicals like hydroxycitric acid, flavonoids, tannins, anthocyanins, phytohaemagglutins, thymoquinone and epigallocatechin gallate have been shown to possess promising anti-obesity properties. However, studies providing information on how various phytochemicals exert their anti-obesity effects are inadequate. This calls for more experimentation in this less explored area of research. Additionally, the complication of obesity arises when it is a result of multiple factors and associated with a number of co-morbidities. In order to handle such complexities combinatorial therapeutic interventions become effective. In this review, we have described the medicinal chemistry of different highly effective phytochemicals which can be used in the effective treatment and management of obesity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Zhong ◽  
Minjuan Ma ◽  
Tingming Liang ◽  
Li Guo

In all living organisms, metabolic homeostasis and the immune system are the most fundamental requirements for survival. Recently, obesity has become a global public health issue, which is the cardinal risk factor for metabolic disorder. Many diseases emanating from obesity-induced metabolic dysfunction are responsible for the activated immune system, including innate and adaptive responses. Of note, inflammation is the manifest accountant signal. Deeply studied microRNAs (miRNAs) have participated in many pathways involved in metabolism and immune responses to protect cells from multiple harmful stimulants, and they play an important role in determining the progress through targeting different inflammatory pathways. Thus, immune response and metabolic regulation are highly integrated with miRNAs. Collectively, miRNAs are the new targets for therapy in immune dysfunction.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 183-195
Author(s):  
Adeel Khoja ◽  
Naureen Akber Ali ◽  
Anam Feroz

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global public health issue that can cause both acute and chronic liver diseases. There is a high risk of HCV burden, but limited access and cost remain a challenge for proper diagnosis and treatment. Leveraging eHealth technology may indicate a viable solution for the management of HCV patients. Objective: To review the literature regarding the role of eHealth, including telemedicine, in the management of HCV. Methods: Databases including PubMed, Google Scholar, Medline, Web of Science, and Science Direct were searched from 1 January 2008 to 30 June 2020 to identify different types of eHealth interventions used for the management of adult HCV patients. Our search also determined the role of telehealth for HCV patients in the current pandemic. Results: Four main categories emerged from this scoping review that includes improving treatment rates via utilizing telehealth services, satisfaction with the telehealth services, disease management, health promotion, and similarity between telehealth and traditional modalities. Conclusion: Current evidence suggests that telemedicine is a cost-effective and unique platform to improve patients’ access to quality services that curb the increasing burden of this silent killer in developing countries. This modality can certainly be utilized in the current crisis to manage care for HCV patients efficiently.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (11) ◽  
pp. 1764-1781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kilis-Pstrusinska

: Carnosine (beta-alanyl-L-histidine) is an endogenously synthesised dipeptide which is present in different human tissues e.g. in the kidney. Carnosine is degraded by enzyme serum carnosinase, encoding by CNDP1 gene. Carnosine is engaged in different metabolic pathways in the kidney. It reduces the level of proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines, inhibits advanced glycation end products’ formation, moreover, it also decreases the mesangial cell proliferation. Carnosine may also serve as a scavenger of peroxyl and hydroxyl radicals and a natural angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor. : This review summarizes the results of experimental and human studies concerning the role of carnosine in kidney diseases, particularly in chronic kidney disease, ischemia/reperfusion-induced acute renal failure, diabetic nephropathy and also drug-induced nephrotoxicity. The interplay between serum carnosine concentration and serum carnosinase activity and polymorphism in the CNDP1 gene is discussed. : Carnosine has renoprotective properties. It has a promising potential for the treatment and prevention of different kidney diseases, particularly chronic kidney disease which is a global public health issue. Further studies of the role of carnosine in the kidney may offer innovative and effective strategies for the management of kidney diseases.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 522-568
Author(s):  
Cory M. Gavito

Among the roughly 150 Italian songbooks published between 1610 and 1665 with the guitar tablature known as alfabeto, about thirteen are anthologies. These anthologies often advertise the role of a compiler who has gathered together music by diverse authors. The extent to which compilers also functioned as authors and editors is not well understood. This essay considers the case of Giovanni Stefani, a compiler who, in the preface to his Scherzi amorosi of 1622, describes the anthology as a collection of his choosing that contains “varie compositioni de Virtuosi della prima classe” (various compositions of first-class virtuosos). Intriguingly, none of the settings Stefani prints (in both this alfabeto anthology and two others) include attributions. Since the 1880s, scholars have been preoccupied with matters of transmission and attribution, unearthing a network of textual and musical concordances. This article expands the nexus of Stefani’s songs and their concordant sources, revealing an array of examples that range from identical copies to “partial” concordances that take over motives, phrases, refrains, or harmonic schemes. These examples indicate that in preparing his anthologies, Stefani mined a corpus of existing prints and manuscripts while also relying heavily on oral transmission. The complex nature of Stefani’s approach, taken together with his complete avoidance of composer attributions, points toward an editorial process shaped by a fluid exchange between oral and written musical practices.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (SPL1) ◽  
pp. 977-982
Author(s):  
Mohamed J. Saadh ◽  
Bashar Haj Rashid M ◽  
Roa’a Matar ◽  
Sajeda Riyad Aldibs ◽  
Hala Sbaih ◽  
...  

SARS-COV2 virus causes Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and represents the causative agent of a potentially fatal disease that is of great global public health concern. The novel coronavirus (2019) was discovered in 2019 in Wuhan, the market of the wet animal, China with viral pneumonia cases and is life-threatening. Today, WHO announces COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic. COVID-19 is likely to be zoonotic. It is transmitted from bats as intermediary animals to human. Also, the virus is transmitted from human to human who is in close contact with others. The computerized tomographic chest scan is usually abnormal even in those with no symptoms or mild disease. Treatment is nearly supportive; the role of antiviral agents is yet to be established. The SARS-COV2 virus spreads faster than its two ancestors, the SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), but has lower fatality. In this article, we aimed to summarize the transmission, symptoms, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, and vaccine to control the spread of this fatal disease.


2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (11) ◽  
pp. 255-268
Author(s):  
Amit Kumar

Modern politics, particularly prevalent in the Western Democracies, is replete with instances wherein communication has come to play a pivotal role in the formation or dislodging a government. This is not to say that in traditional political scenario, the role of communication was any lesser. Far from it, communication has always characterized the build-up of events in politics. However, the significance of the same has increased manifold thanks to the advent of social media and complex nature of modern politics as well as due to rise of such concepts as political branding which has gained traction in the wake of proliferation of technology. The same holds true in the Indian political scenario as well. The last few years have redefined the role of communication and its tools in Indian politics, especially during a mega-political event like election. The last two general elections were testimonies to the same. The might of social media has been realized by even its staunchest critics. Along with it, the popular concept of permanent campaign has also characterized the phenomenon of political communication. This paper goes on to explore the underlying concept of political communication and how the same has come to influence the turn of events as well as the final outcome of an election.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexia Bourgeois ◽  
Carole Guedj ◽  
Emmanuel Carrera ◽  
Patrik Vuilleumier

Selective attention is a fundamental cognitive function that guides behavior by selecting and prioritizing salient or relevant sensory information of our environment. Despite early evidence and theoretical proposal pointing to an implication of thalamic control in attention, most studies in the past two decades focused on cortical substrates, largely ignoring the contribution of subcortical regions as well as cortico-subcortical interactions. Here, we suggest a key role of the pulvinar in the selection of salient and relevant information via its involvement in priority maps computation. Prioritization may be achieved through a pulvinar- mediated generation of alpha oscillations, which may then modulate neuronal gain in thalamo-cortical circuits. Such mechanism might orchestrate the synchrony of cortico-cortical interaction, by rendering neural communication more effective, precise and selective. We propose that this theoretical framework will support a timely shift from the prevailing cortico- centric view of cognition to a more integrative perspective of thalamic contributions to attention and executive control processes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Mohammad Nabavi ◽  
Kasi Pandima Devi ◽  
Sethuraman Sathya ◽  
Ana Sanches-Silva ◽  
Listos Joanna ◽  
...  

: Obesity is a major health concern for a growing fraction of the population, with the prevalence of obesity and its related metabolic disorders not being fully understood. Over the last decade, many attempts have been undertaken to understand the mechanisms at the basis of this condition, in which the accumulation of fat occurring in adipose tissue, leads to the pathogenesis of obesity related disorders. Among the most recent studies, those on Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptors (PPARs) revealed that these nuclear receptor proteins acting as transcription factors, among others, regulate the expression of genes involved in energy, lipid, and glucose metabolisms, and chronic inflammation. The three different isotypes of PPARs, with different tissue expression and ligand binding specificity, exert similar or overlapping functions directly or indirectly linked to obesity. In this study, we reviewed the available scientific reports concerning the PPARs structure and functions, especially in obesity, considering both natural and synthetic ligands and their role in the therapy of obesity and obesity-associated disorders. In the whole, the collected data show that there are both natural and synthetic compounds that show beneficial promising activity as PPAR agonists in chronic diseases related to obesity.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-158
Author(s):  
Aditi Priyamvara ◽  
Amit K. Dey ◽  
Antara Bagchi ◽  
Raveena Kelkar ◽  
Rajaram Sharma

Background: It is known that hormonal imbalances during pregnancy make women more susceptible to dental problems. High levels of progesterone and estrogen during pregnancy, lead to an increased inflammatory response to dental plaque thus causing predisposing to gum diseases such as gingivitis. If untreated, gingivitis leads to chronic periodontitis which may manifest systemically in form of cardiovascular, endocrine or even respiratory disorders. Also, hyperacidity in the oral cavity due to gastric reflux and vomiting leads to decreased pH thus damaging the tooth enamel making the oral cavity more prone to tooth decay and tooth loss. Studies also show that periodontal disease can also lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes such as pre-term and low birth weight babies. Objectives: We sought to understand the role of oral health in pregnancy. Methods: We identified major articles of interest in the field of oral health in pregnancy and drafted a mini-symposium based on relevant information. Conclusion: Regular dental visits and cognizant efforts to sustain a healthy oral environment can help women in the prevention and treatment of dental issues during pregnancy. The paper highlights the common oral manifestations during pregnancy and their local and systemic impact on the body during pregnancy. Furthermore, it also emphasizes the importance of good oral health practices to counteract the oral complications and the significance of oral health awareness in pregnant women.


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