Functional and Mechanistic Integration of Infection and the Metabolic Syndrome / 당뇨병

The metabolic syndrome refers to a well defined group of risk factors, including central obesity and inflammation, for the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Interestingly, many studies have recently led to the emergence of somewhat unexpected relationships between several infectious diseases and various aspects of the metabolic syndrome. Our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these interactions is also rapidly developing and some of these are summarized in this article. We will focus first on bacterial infection, and most notably the role of gut microbiota in regulaton of both obesity and inflammation. In particular, we focus on the role of inflammasomes and propose that understanding the role of Toll-like receptors and Nod-like receptors in the pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders with or without infection may provide novel targets for prevention and/or treatment of associated diseases. Secondly, chronic bacterial or viral infection and emerging links with metabolism will be reviewed. Finally, consideratons of biomarkers for metabolic syndrome, in particular lipocalin-2, and their link with infection will be discussed.

A rare diagnosis: testicular dysgenesis with carcinoma in situ detected in a patient with ultrasonic microlithiasis / 亚洲男科学杂志(英文版)

A rare case is presented where a dysgenetic testis with microinvasive carcinoma in situ (CIS, also known as intratubular germ cell neoplasm of unclassified type [IGCNU] and testicular intraepithelial neoplasia [TIN]) with microinvasion to rete testis and the interstitial tissue was found in a 32-year-old man presenting with mild scrotal pain and ultrasonic testicular microlithiasis. Knowledge of the association of ultrasound and CIS is important to diagnose patients at the stage prior to development of an overt germ cell tumor. The patient had three of four disorders considered symptoms of the testicular dysgenesis syndrome (TDS): a dysgenetic left testicle with CIS, a mild left-sided cryptorchidism (high positioned scrotal hypotrophic testis) and a slightly reduced semen quality. Therefore, it should be kept in mind that a patient with one TDS symptom may harbour the other, even CIS or testicular cancer. Accordingly, patients with one TDS symptom ought to be examined for the presence of the others, and if more that one is present, extra concern is warranted.