Sex differences in the peripubertal response to a short-term, high-fat diet intake.

Obesity is one of the most important health problems facing developed countries because being overweight is associated with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as other comorbidities. Although increased weight gain results from a combination of poor dietary habits and decreased energy expenditure, not all individuals have equal propensities to gain weight or to develop secondary complications of obesity. This is partially a result not only of genetics, including sex, but also the time during which an individual is exposed to an obesogenic environment. In the present study, we have compared the response of male and female mice to short-term exposure to a high-fat diet (HFD) or a low-fat diet during the peripubertal period (starting at 42 days of age) because this is a stage of dramatic hormonal and metabolic modifications. After 1 week on a HFD, there was no significant increase in body weight, although females significantly increased their energy intake. Serum leptin levels increased in both sexes, even though no change in fat mass was detected. Glyceamia and homeostasis model assessment increased in males, suggesting a rapid change in glucose metabolism. Hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin mRNA levels were significantly higher in females on a HFD compared to all other groups, which may be an attempt to reduce their increased energy intake. Hypothalamic inflammation and gliosis have been implicated in the development of secondary complications of obesity; however, no indication of activation of inflammatory processes or gliosis was found in response to 1 week of HFD in the hypothalamus, hippocampus or cerebellum of these young mice. These results indicate that there are both sex and age effects in the response to poor dietary intake because peripubertal male and female mice respond differently to short-term dietary changes and this response is different from that reported in adult rodents.

No laughing matter: Latinas' high quality of conversations relate to behavioral laughter.

Latinx in the United States have greater life expectancy than other groups, in spite of their socioeconomic and psychosocial disadvantage. This phenomenon has been described as the Latinx health paradox. This investigation observed the interplay of cultural processes and social networks to shed light on this paradox. Latina (N = 26) and White-European (N = 24) mothers wore a digital recorder as they went about their daily lives. Four conversation styles were characterized from the recordings to measure the mothers' quality of their conversations (small talk and substantive conversations) within different social networks (with the father vs. other adults). As a positive indicator of well-being, laughter was assessed during the conversations. Results demonstrated that Latina mothers tend to laugh more than White-European mothers; and that this relation is mediated by substantive conversations with others. This suggests that Latinas' cultural processes afford meaningful conversations, which relates to more behavioral laughter, a process that may have positive implications on well-being.

Neonatal Overnutrition Increases Testicular Size and Expression of Luteinizing Hormone ß-Subunit in Peripubertal Male Rats.

Proper nutrition is important for growth and development. Maturation of the reproductive axis and the timing of pubertal onset can be delayed when insufficient nutrition is available, or possibly advanced with nutritional abundance. The childhood obesity epidemic has been linked to a secular trend in advanced puberty in some populations. The increase in circulating leptin that occurs in association with obesity has been suggested to act as a signal that an adequate nutritional status exists for puberty to occur, allowing activation of central mechanisms. However, obesity-associated hyperleptinemia is linked to decreased leptin sensitivity, at least in adults. Here, we analyzed whether neonatal overnutrition modifies the response to an increase in leptin in peripubertal male rats, as previously demonstrated in females. Wistar rats were raised in litters of 4 (neonatal overnutrition) or 12 pups (controls) per dam. Leptin was administered sc (3 µg/g body weight) at postnatal day 35 and the rats killed 45 min or 2 h later. Postnatal overfeeding resulted in increased body weight and circulating leptin levels; however, we found no overweight-related changes in the mRNA levels of neuropeptides involved in metabolism or reproduction. In contrast, pituitary expression of luteinizing hormone (LH) beta-subunit was increased in overweight rats, as was testicular weight. There were no basal differences between L4 and L12 males or in their response to leptin administration in pSTAT3 levels in the hypothalamus at either 45 min or 2 h. In contrast, pJAK2 was found to be higher at 45 min in L4 compared to L12 males regardless of leptin treatment, while at 2 h it was higher in L4 leptin-treated males compared to L12 leptin-treated males, as well as L4 vehicle-treated rats. There were no changes in response to leptin administration in the expression of the neuropeptides analyzed. However, serum LH levels rose only in L4 males in response to leptin, but with no change in testosterone levels. In conclusion, the advancement in pubertal onset in males with neonatal overnutrition does not appear to be related to overt modifications in the central response to exogenous leptin during the peripubertal period.

Influencia de la reserva cognitiva en la calidad de vida en sujetos con enfermedad de Alzheimer / Influence of cognitive reserve on quality of life of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

La calidad de vida (CV) se define como la percepción personal que un individuo tiene de su situación vital. Dentro de los factores que pueden influir en la CV, se encuentra la Reserva Cognitiva (RC), que podría entenderse como la capacidad del cerebro para hacer frente al daño cerebral generado por la patología, mediante procesos cognitivos preexistentes o compensatorios. El objetivo principal de este estudio, consiste en analizar, como influye la RC en la auto-percepción subjetiva de la CV en sujetos diagnosticados de Enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA) y comprobar si existen perfiles diferenciales en función de la sintomatología depresiva y el estado cognitivo de los mismos. La muestra utilizada estaba formada por 112 sujetos que se distribuyeron en dos grupos: uno de 74 sujetos diagnosticados de EA, y otro de 38 sujetos sanos. Se ha utilizado el cuestionario SF-36 para evaluar la CV. En relación a la variable RC, destacar que los sujetos con mayor RC, puntuaron más alto en cada una de las dimensiones del SF-36. La RC podría ser una fuente de influencia en la percepción de la CV de las personas con EA, en la medida en que sus diversos componentes conducirían a la consecución de una capacidad funcional más óptima y una aceptación del estado cognitivo (AU)

Quality of life (QL) is defined as the personal perception an individual has of his or her own life situation. Among the factors that can affect QL is Cognitive Reserve (CR) which can be understood as the brain’s capacity to resist the brain damage caused by pathology through preexisting or compensatory cognitive processes. The main objective of this study is to analyze how CR affects the subjective self-perception of QL in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and to determine the existence of different profiles in terms of depressive symptoms and cognitive state. The sample comprised 112 individuals divided into two groups: one group with 74 patients diagnosed with AD, and the other with 38 healthy participants. The SF-36 questionnaire was used to assess QL. As regards cognitive reserve, it was found that subjects with greater CR scored higher in each of the dimensions of the SF-36. CR could be a source of influence on perception of QL in persons with AD, to the extent that its different components would lead to a more optimal functional capability and a better acceptance of one's cognitive state (AU)