Autonomic Nervous System Function in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis: Association With Lipid Levels and Insulin Resistance.

Autonomic nervous system (ANS) disorders are common in multiple sclerosis (MS). Previous studies showed differences in insulin resistance (IR) and lipoprotein levels in MS subjects compared to controls. Lipolysis caused by increased sympathetic activity could be one of the possible linking mechanisms leading to dyslipidemia in MS. Our study aimed to evaluate ANS activity in the context of glucose and lipid metabolism in people with MS. We prospectively measured short-term heart rate variability (HRV), fasting lipoprotein concentrations, and calculated IR indices based on plasma glucose and insulin levels during oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT) in 32 patients with MS and 29 healthy controls matched for age, sex and body mass index in our study. There was no significant difference in HRV parameters and lipoprotein levels between MS and controls. A significant positive correlation was found between low/high-frequency power ratio (LF/HF) and triglycerides (r=0.413, p=0.021) in MS subjects but not in controls. A significantly lower whole-body insulin sensitivity index (ISIMat) was found in patients with MS compared to the control group (7.3±3.7 vs. 9.8±5.6, p=0.041). No significant correlations were found between LF/HF and IR parameters. In MS subjects, the positive correlation of LF/HF with triglycerides could reflect the effects of sympathetic activity on lipolysis. Positive correlations of sympathetic activity with increased lipoprotein levels could rather reflect processes associated with immune system activation/inflammation, than processes involved in glucose homeostasis maintenance.

Testosterone, personality traits and aggressive driving among young male drivers.

INTRODUCTION: Psychological testing to examine potentially aggressive behaviour is a gold standard, but it is not sufficient. Testosterone might increase an aggressive behaviour. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether testosterone along with psychological assessment of fitness to drive could help to identify aggressive drivers. METHODS: Male participants (n=150) aged from 20 to 25, who possessed a driving license and drive at least 100 km per week, were evaluated in this study using an Inventory of traffic-relevant personality characteristics, the Sensation Seeking Scale and the Buss-Durkee Aggression Inventory. Saliva was collected for testosterone and cortisol measurements. The five binomial logistic models with dependent variables Caused an accident, Driving license taken away, Court trial, Intoxicated driving and Sporty self-report were tested in this study. RESULTS: The 'Intoxicated driving' model, was found to be statistically highly significant, explaining 48.8 % of the dependent variable's variance (χ2(16)=36.145, p<0.01). In this model with sensation seeking, actual testosterone and their interaction was highly significant and explained 20.4 % of intoxicated driving variability (χ2(3)=14.283, p<0.01). This was higher than sensation seeking scores only. CONCLUSION: To conclude, salivary testosterone might prove a biological marker that improves the identification of those with a high probability of aggressive driving or its subtypes (Tab. 3, Ref. 53).