The aggressive face of melasma: unveiling the influence of upper lip pigmentation on social perception.

Introduction: Although melasma leads to emotional distress and quality-of-life reduction, indigenous cultures practice female facial tattooing. Facial cues influence personality trait inferences and attractiveness ratings. Skin lesions have been shown to alter gaze patterns, emotion perception, and social evaluations. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate melasma's impact on visual attention, perceived attractiveness, and social evaluations, considering distinct anatomical areas. Additionally, we sought to compare perceptions of traditional facial tattoos due to their purposeful placement. Material and methods: Gaze fixation patterns were examined via eye-tracking, and image-based personality questionnaires were completed for psychological trait assessment. Visual stimuli showcased anatomic melasma variants and tattoo patterns. Results: Traditional tattoos often follow midline patterns, sparing the upper lip. Both melasma and tattoos significantly affected visual attention (p < 0.001), with chin and upper lip melasma garnering increased attention. Upper lip melasma decreased gaze to the ocular area (p ≤ 0.002). while increasing perioral fixations (p < 0.001) compared to healthy faces. Upper lip tattoos conveyed increased perceived aggressiveness (p = 0.004). Ratings for attractiveness and personality traits were lower for centrofacial melasma than other variants, with no significant difference between centrofacial and isolated upper lip melasma. Conclusions: The global avoidance of upper lip pigmentation underscores its perceptual burden. Upper lip pigmentation directs gaze towards anger-signalling regions, increasing perceived aggression and reducing attractiveness. Centrofacial melasma's impact parallels an isolated upper lip pattern, underscoring the disproportionate role of upper lip pigmentation. These findings warrant considering upper lip melasma's significant influence when evaluating quality of life and establishing treatment goals.

Anatomical variants of acne differ in their impact on social perception.

BACKGROUND: Acne negatively affects quality of life, however quality-of-life scores poorly correlate with disease severity scores. Previous research demonstrated existence of facial areas in which skin lesions have greater impact on gaze patterns. Therefore, we hypothesized that anatomical variants of acne may be perceived differently. OBJECTIVES: The aim was to investigate effect of anatomical variants of acne on natural gaze patterns and resulting impact on social perception of acne patients. METHODS: We tracked eye movements of participants viewing neutral and emotional faces with acne. Images were rated for acne-related visual disturbance, and emotional faces were rated for valence intensity. Respondents of an online survey were asked to rate their perception of pictured individuals' personality traits. RESULTS: All faces with acne were perceived as less attractive and received poorer personality judgements with mid-facial acne presenting smallest deviation from healthy faces. T-zone and mixed acne exhibited the least significant difference in respondents gaze behaviour pattern from each other. In addition, there was no significant difference in respondents' grading of acne visual disturbance or ratings for attractiveness, success and trustworthiness. U-zone adult female acne was rated as the most visually disturbing and received the lowest scores for attractiveness. Happy faces with adult female acne were rated as less happy compared to other acne variants and clear-skin faces. CONCLUSIONS: Anatomic variants of acne have a distinct impact on gaze patterns and social perception. Adult female acne has the strongest negative effect on recognition of positive emotions in affected individuals, attractiveness ratings and forming social impressions. If perioral acne lesions are absent, frontal lesions determine impact of acne on social perception irrespective of the presence of mid-facial lesions. This perceptive hierarchy should be taken into consideration while deciding treatment goals in acne patients, prioritizing achieving remission in perioral and frontal area.

Perceptive Hierarchy of Facial Skin Lesions: An Eye-tracking Study.

Equal importance is given to every skin lesion in treatment guidelines and severity grading systems for facial lesions. Face recognition studies suggest differentially perceived areas of the human face. The aims of this study were to quantify the visual attention given to facial skin lesions and to explore their hierarchy. Eye movements were tracked in 118 participants who viewed 135 faces with facial skin lesions. The main effect of the image was significant (F[9, 1053]=15.631, p < 0.001, η2=0.118), which implied a difference in the total visual attention between images depicting skin lesions in different aesthetic units. Lesions in the frontal area received the highest area- specific attention, while lesions in the right parotid area had the smallest effect. Using objective computational clustering, 2 very distinct zones of visual attention were identified: the ocular, nasal, perioral, and frontal areas attracted high visual scrutiny and the remaining areas attracted little attention. However, the presence of skin lesions in the high-attention region resulted in a decrease in total visual attention to the face. The main effect of the aesthetic unit was significant (F[15, 1755]=202.178, p < 0.001, η2=0.633). More than 63% of attention-drawing potential of facial skin lesions depends on their anatomical location, which should be considered in disease severity grading and treatment planning.

The Role of Oxytocin in Cardiovascular Protection.

The beneficial effects of oxytocin on infarct size and functional recovery of the ischemic reperfused heart are well documented. The mechanisms for this cardioprotection are not well defined. Evidence indicates that oxytocin treatment improves cardiac work, reduces apoptosis and inflammation, and increases scar vascularization. Oxytocin-mediated cytoprotection involves the production of cGMP stimulated by local release of atrial natriuretic peptide and synthesis of nitric oxide. Treatment with oxytocin reduces the expression of proinflammatory cytokines and reduces immune cell infiltration. Oxytocin also stimulates differentiation stem cells to cardiomyocyte lineages as well as generation of endothelial and smooth muscle cells, promoting angiogenesis. The beneficial actions of oxytocin may include the increase in glucose uptake by cardiomyocytes, reduction in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, decrease in oxidative stress, and mitochondrial protection of several cell types. In cardiac and cellular models of ischemia and reperfusion, acute administration of oxytocin at the onset of reperfusion enhances cardiomyocyte viability and function by activating Pi3K and Akt phosphorylation and downstream cellular signaling. Reperfusion injury salvage kinase and signal transducer and activator of transcription proteins cardioprotective pathways are involved. Oxytocin is cardioprotective by reducing the inflammatory response and improving cardiovascular and metabolic function. Because of its pleiotropic nature, this peptide demonstrates a clear potential for the treatment of cardiovascular pathologies. In this review, we discuss the possible cellular mechanisms of action of oxytocin involved in cardioprotection.

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in 6-7-Year-Old Children-A Result of 9-Year Analysis of Big City Population in Poland.

Excess body weight is a serious public health problem, which affects both adults and children. Unfortunately, the prevalence of excess body weight in children in Poland is not subject to any regular screening. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of overweight and obesity in 6-7-year-old children in the municipality of Gdansk in the years 2008-2016. The anthropometric parameters of 12,330 children (49.55% girls and 50.45% boys) with a mean age of 6.53 ± 0.38 years were analyzed. The prevalence of overweight was 7.49% (7.91% girls and 7.07% boys) and obesity 4.24% (4.47% girls and 3.99% of boys). There was no difference in the prevalence of neither overweight nor obesity between boys and girls (p = 0.076). However, the prevalence of overweight and obesity combined is higher in girls (12.38% vs. 11.06%, p = 0.023). There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of overweight and obesity neither in the group of girls nor in the group of boys in children aged 6-7 years in yearly cohorts examined between 2008 and 2016. The prevalence of excess body weight in this population is at a stable level.

Dissociation of natriuresis and diuresis by oxytocin molecular forms in rats.

In the rat, oxytocin (OT) produces dose-dependent diuretic and natriuretic responses. Post-translational enzymatic conversion of the OT biosynthetic precursor forms both mature and C-terminally extended peptides. The plasma concentrations of these C-terminally extended peptides (OT-G; OT-GK and OT-GKR) are elevated in newborns and pregnant rats. Intravenous injection of OT-GKR to rats inhibits diuresis, whereas injection of amidated OT stimulates diuresis. Since OT and OT-GKR show different effects on the urine flow, we investigated whether OT-GKR modulates renal action by inhibition of the arginine-vasopressin (AVP) receptor V2 (V2R), the receptor involved in renal water reabsorption. Experiments were carried out in the 8-week-old Wistar rats receiving intravenous (iv) injections of vehicle, OT, OT-GKR or OT+OT-GKR combination. OT (10 µmol/kg) increased urine outflow by 40% (P<0.01) and sodium excretion by 47% (P<0.01). Treatment with OT-GKR (10 µmol/kg) decreased diuresis by 50% (P<0.001), decreased sodium excretion by 50% (P<0.05) and lowered potassium by 42% (P<0.05). OT antagonist (OTA) reduced diuresis and natriuresis exerted by OT, whereas the anti-diuretic effect of OT-GKR was unaffected by OTA. The treatment with V2R antagonist (V2A) in the presence and absence of OT induced diuresis, sodium and potassium outflow. V2A in the presence of OT-GKR only partially increased diuresis and natriuresis. Autoradiography and molecular docking analysis showed potent binding of OT-GKR to V2R. Finally, the release of cAMP from CHO cells overexpressing V2 receptor was induced by low concentration of AVP (EC50:4.2e-011), at higher concentrations of OT (EC50:3.2e-010) and by the highest concentrations of OT-GKR (EC50:1.1e-006). OT-GKR potentiated cAMP release when combined with AVP, but blocked cAMP release when combined with OT. These results suggest that OT-GKR by competing for the OT renal receptor (OTR) and binding to V2R in the kidney, induces anti-diuretic, anti-natriuretic, and anti-kaliuretic effects.

Anti-inflammatory and angiogenic effects of exercise training in cardiac muscle of diabetic mice.

Background: Improved glycemic control and cardiovascular function are major benefits of regular exercise training (ET) in type 2 diabetes. Recent work has demonstrated that ET improves cardiac and vascular functions independent of obesity, inflammation, and glucose control in the diabetic db/db mouse. In this study, we determined whether ET can overcome the effects of elevated inflammatory cytokines and hyperglycemia on markers of cardiac angiogenesis and inflammation in the diabetic mouse. Methods: Male diabetic db/db mice were assigned to a sedentary and exercise-trained group. Sedentary lean control littermates were used as controls. ET was performed at moderate intensity on a treadmill 5 days a week for a period of 8 weeks. After ET, blood was collected for assay of glucose, hemoglobin (HB and HB1AC), C-reactive protein (CRP), and IL-6. Markers of inflammation and insulin resistance (IL-6, IL-1ß, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF-α]) and angiogenesis (endothelial nitric oxide synthase [eNOS], vascular endothelial growth factor-A [VEGF-A], and hypoxia-inducible factor-1α [HIF-1α]) were measured in hearts. Results: Diabetic db/db mice remained obese and hyperglycemic after ET. Percent total HB and HB1AC were significantly higher in ET db/db mice compared to sedentary db/db mice, indicating further deterioration of glucose control with ET. Plasma levels of CRP and IL-6 were higher in sedentary db/db mice compared to control mice and were unaffected by ET. However, in the presence of hyperglycemia and elevated plasma cytokines, protein expression of eNOS, mRNA expression of VEGF-A, and HIF-1α was increased in db/db hearts after ET. On the other hand, protein expression of TNF-α and mRNA expression IL-6 and IL-1ß was significantly decreased by ET in hearts of db/db mice. Conclusion: Our results indicate that ET improves cardiac markers of angiogenesis, insulin resistance, and endothelial dysfunction in the db/db mouse. This was observed independently of obesity, hyperglycemia, and the systemic inflammatory state.

Relationship between lower-extremity defects and body mass among polish children: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Lower extremity defects in healthy children raises interest of researchers as confirmed by numerous published original and review articles. The relationship between lower extremity postural defects and body mass are unclear as published data are inconclusive. The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to analyse the prevalence of lower extremity defects in a large group of 8- to 12-year-old children; and further to assess the probability of defects associated with values of body mass variables. METHODS: The study included prospective anthropometric measurements data of 6992 children (3476 boys and 3516 girls) from Gdansk (Northern Poland). Standard screening test used in Poland for assessment of lower limb defects were used (intermalleolar or intercondylar distance for knee alignment, linear vertical compass for valgus heel, computer podoscope or classical footprint and measuring the Sztriter-Godunow index for flatfeet). Body mass was assessed with local centile charts and IOTF cutoffs. Prevalence of postural defects was compared with an aid of Pearson's chi-squared test and Fisher's exact test. Probability of lower extremities postural defect was estimated on the basis of logistic regression analysis, and expressed as an odds ratio (OR) and its 95.0% CI. RESULTS: The study demonstrated that cumulative prevalence of lower extremity defects (31.5%) was lower than reported in most published studies, most common defects were valgus heel (21.8%) and valgus knee (14.5%). Boys were significantly more frequently diagnosed with lower limb defects overall (p < 0.001), as well as with varus knee, valgus heel, flatfoot of any degree. Limb defects were found in 90,2% of obese children, 25,7% of normal weight and 15,1% of underweight children. CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of some lower extremities defects seems to be sex specific. Prevalence varied across body weight categories and was rising with the increase of BMI. Increased body mass is correlated with a higher risk of developing lower extremity postural defects in children.

Is there a rapid increase in prevalence of obesity in Polish children? An 18-year prospective observational study in Gdansk, Poland.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of overweight and obesity is not regularly screened among Polish children. Very few longitudinal data exist on the prevalence and increase of overweight and obesity in this population. The aim of the study was to analyze the prevalence of overweight and obesity among selected age categories of children from Gdansk, on the basis of 1992-2012 data. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The anthropometric data (body weight and height, body mass index) of 70,329 children aged between 6 and 13 years were analyzed. Data were collected during annually performed child health measurements in schools by medical staff of Gdansk Center for Health Promotion during 1992-2012. RESULTS: No constant trend to increase or decrease in the prevalence of overweight or obesity was documented in any of the studied age groups (p > 0.05). An age-related increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity was observed throughout all consecutive age categories in boys and in prepubertal girls (p < 0.05). Overweight and obesity were significantly more frequent in girls than in boys from all age categories (p < 0.05), except 12- and 13-year-old children (p = 0.173; p = 0.973), in whom no gender-specific differences were documented. CONCLUSIONS: Our study did not confirm the previously reported growing tendency in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among children. However, our findings point to an age-related increase in the prevalence of excess body weight in the pediatric population.

Swimming pools and fungi: An epidemiology survey in Polish indoor swimming facilities.

Environmental conditions for swimming facilities may support fungal growth and also may represent a biological risk for users. However, since previously published studies both cleaning procedures and sanitary regulations are likely to have been improved. The aim of the study was to examine whether attendance to public swimming pools was still a risk factor for fungal infection of the skin in Poland. We investigated the occurrence of mycotic species, in a sample from Polish swimming pools. Detection and identification of isolated species were achieved by cultural and morphological methods. Study revealed high incidence of yeast and yeast-like fungi. Candida spp. and Rhodotorula rubra were commonly detected, followed by Aspergillus spp. and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Surprisingly, the prevalence of clinically important species isolated from swimming pool environments did not reflect prevalence of those species in Polish population. The present results are in agreement with previous research and support that swimming pools remain an important reservoir of clinically important fungi, yet the exposure associated with swimming pools may not be a major source of dermatophytic infection in Poland.

The effects of exercise training and caloric restriction on the cardiac oxytocin natriuretic peptide system in the diabetic mouse.

BACKGROUND: Regular exercise training (ET) and caloric restriction (CR) are the frontline strategies in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus with the aim at reducing cardiometabolic risk. ET and CR improve body weight and glycemic control, and experimental studies indicate that these paradigms afford cardioprotection. In this study, the effects of combined ET and CR on the cardioprotective oxytocin (OT)-natriuretic peptide (NP) system were determined in the db/db mouse, a model of type 2 diabetes associated with insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and obesity. METHODS: Five-week-old male db/db mice were assigned to the following groups: sedentary, ET, and ET + CR. Nonobese heterozygote littermates served as controls. ET was performed on a treadmill at moderate intensity, and CR was induced by reducing food intake by 30% of that consumed by sedentary db/db mice for a period of 8 weeks. RESULTS: After 8 weeks, only ET + CR, but not ET, slightly improved body weight compared to sedentary db/db mice. Regardless of the treatment, db/db mice remained hyperglycemic. Hearts from db/db mice demonstrated reduced expression of genes linked to the cardiac OT-NP system. In fact, compared to control mice, mRNA expression of GATA binding protein 4 (GATA4), OT receptor, OT, brain NP, NP receptor type C, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) was decreased in hearts from sedentary db/db mice. Both ET alone and ET + CR increased the mRNA expression of GATA4 compared to sedentary db/db mice. Only ET combined with CR produced increased eNOS mRNA and protein expression. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that enhancement of eNOS by combined ET and CR may improve coronary endothelial vasodilator dysfunction in type 2 diabetes but did not prevent the downregulation of cardiac expression in the OT-NP system, possibly resulting from the sustained hyperglycemia and obesity in diabetic mice.

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) does not reduce subcutaneous adipose tissue by local adipocyte injury but rather by modulation of systemic lipid metabolism.

Low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT) has been applied recently to body contouring. However the mechanism of LLLT-induced reduction of subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness has not been elucidated and proposed hypotheses are highly controversial. Non-obese volunteers were subject to 650nm LLLT therapy. Each patient received 6 treatments 2-3 days apart to one side of the abdomen. The contralateral side was left untreated and served as control. Subjects' abdominal adipose tissue thickness was measured by ultrasound imaging at baseline and 2 weeks post-treatment. Our study is to the best of our knowledge, the largest split-abdomen study employing subcutaneous abdominal fat imaging. We could not show a statistically significant reduction of abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue by LLLT therapy. Paradoxically when the measurements of the loss of fat thickness on treated side was corrected for change in thickness on non treated side, we have observed that in 8 out of 17 patients LLLT increased adipose tissue thickness. In two patients severe side effect occurred as a result of treatment: one patient developed ulceration within appendectomy scar, the other over the posterior superior iliac spine. The paradoxical net increase in subcutaneous fat thickness observed in some of our patients is a rationale against liquefactive and transitory pore models of LLLT-induced adipose tissue reduction. LLLT devices with laser diode panels applied directly on the skin are not as safe as devices with treatment panels separated from the patient's skin.

Oxytocin and cardioprotection in diabetes and obesity.

Oxytocin (OT) emerges as a drug for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. The entire OT system is synthesized in the rat and human heart. The direct myocardial infusion with OT into an ischemic or failing heart has the potential to elicit a variety of cardioprotective effects. OT treatment attenuates cardiomyocyte (CMs) death induced by ischemia-reperfusion by activating pro-survival pathways within injured CMs in vivo and in isolated cells. OT treatment reduces cardiac apoptosis, fibrosis, and hypertrophy. The OT/OT receptor (OTR) system is downregulated in the db/db mouse model of type 2 diabetes which develops genetic diabetic cardiomyopathy (DC) similar to human disease. We have shown that chronic OT treatment prevents the development of DC in the db/db mouse. In addition, OT stimulates glucose uptake in both cardiac stem cells and CMs, and increases cell resistance to diabetic conditions. OT may help replace lost CMs by stimulating the in situ differentiation of cardiac stem cells into functional mature CMs. Lastly, adult stem cells amenable for transplantation such as MSCs could be preconditioned with OT ex vivo and implanted into the injured heart to aid in tissue regeneration through direct differentiation, secretion of protective and cardiomyogenic factors and/or their fusion with injured CMs.

Oxytocin decreases diurnal and nocturnal arterial blood pressure in the conscious unrestrained spontaneously hypertensive rat.

In this study, we assessed the effects of oxytocin (OT) on mean arterial blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), and locomotor activity (LA) in male spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) and Sprague-Dawley (SDR) controls using telemetry. OT was given by intravenous injections of 0.1, 0.2 or 0.4mg/kg to assess short term acute effects or by daily subcutaneous injections of 0.5 or 1.0mg/kg for 5 days. Compared to the saline infusion, (i) intravenous OT, regardless of concentration, increased MAP in SHR and SDR, (ii) HR increased, but was periodically lower in both strains with 0.2 or 0.4mg/kg, and (iii) no effects of OT on LA were observed. Subcutaneous injections demonstrated that (i) 1.0mg/kg for 5days lowered diurnal MAP and HR in SDR and SHR, persisting for 6 days, (ii) 1.0mg/kg decreased nocturnal HR in SDR, (iii) 0.5 and 1.0mg/kg decreased MAP with minor effects on HR in the SHR, and lastly (iv) OT decreased LA mainly during the diurnal cycle in both strains. Our main results show that OT induces significant beneficial effects on cardiovascular function over several diurnal and nocturnal cycles in the SHR, with the most prominent effect being a robust decrease in MAP.

Molecular mechanisms underlying oxytocin-induced cardiomyocyte protection from simulated ischemia-reperfusion.

Oxytocin (OT) stimulates cardioprotection. Here we investigated heart-derived H9c2 cells in simulated ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) experiments in order to examine the mechanism of OT protection. I-R was induced in an anoxic chamber for 2 hours and followed by 2 h of reperfusion. In comparison to normoxia, I-R resulted in decrease of formazan production by H9c2 cells to 63.5 ± 1.7% (MTT assay) and in enhanced apoptosis from 1.7 ± 0.3% to 2.8 ± 0.4% (Tunel test). Using these assays it was observed that treatment with OT (1-500 nM) exerted significant protection during I-R, especially when OT was added at the time of ischemia or reperfusion. Using the CM-H2DCFDA probe we found that OT triggers a short-lived burst in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in cells but reduces ROS production evoked by I-R. In cells treated with OT, Western-blot revealed the phosphorylation of Akt (Thr 308, p-Akt), eNOS and ERK 1/2. Microscopy showed translocation of p-Akt and eNOS into the nuclear and perinuclear area and NO production in cells treated with OT. The OT-induced protection against I-R was abrogated by an OT antagonist, the Pi3K inhibitor Wortmannin, the cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG) inhibitor, KT5823, as well as soluble guanylate cyclase (GC) inhibitor, ODQ, and particulate GC antagonist, A71915. In conditions of I-R, the cells with siRNA-mediated reduction in OT receptor (OTR) expression responded to OT treatment by enhanced apoptosis. In conclusion, the OTR protected H9c2 cells against I-R, especially if activated at the onset of ischemia or reperfusion. The OTR-transduced signals include pro-survival kinases, such as Akt and PKG.

Studies of hepatocyte growth factor in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in chronic interstitial lung diseases.

INTRODUCTION:  Previous studies have suggested that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) inhibits lung fibrosis as an antagonist of transforming growth factor ß (TGF­ß). OBJECTIVES:  We assessed HGF expression levels in the lower airways of patients with selected interstitial lung diseases. PATIENTS AND METHODS:  HGF levels were examined by an enzyme­linked immunosorbent assay in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid supernatants from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis (PS, n = 52), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF, n = 23), nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP, n = 14), extrinsic allergic alveolitis (EAA, n = 6), bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP, n = 8), chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (EP, n = 6), and in control subjects (n = 13). Intracellular HGF expression in BAL cells was evaluated by flow cytometry. RESULTS:  HGF concentrations were elevated in BAL fluid from nonsmokers with IPF (261 ±204 pg/ml, P <0.02), smokers with IPF (220 ±13 pg/ml, P <0.001), and smokers with PS (172 ±33 pg/ml, P <0.02), as compared with controls (148 ±17 pg/ml for nonsmokers; 137 ±9 pg/ml for smokers). HGF levels were positively correlated with TGF­ß concentrations in BAL fluid (r = 0.3; P = 0.02) and negatively-with vital capacity (r = -0.2; P = 0.02). BAL neutrophils, and, for the first time, BAL lymphocytes, were identified as intracellular HGF­positive cells. CONCLUSIONS:  Our results do not support evidence for strong antifibrotic HGF activity. The highest HGF concentrations were observed in BAL fluid from patients with IPF, and they were also positively correlated with TGF­ß levels. Thus, although the local protective mechanisms such as the HGF expression are upregulated in chronic interstitial lung diseases, they are not enough to prevent lung fibrosis.

Oxytocin treatment prevents the cardiomyopathy observed in obese diabetic male db/db mice.

Oxytocin (OT) is involved in the regulation of energy metabolism and in the activation of cardioprotective mechanisms. We evaluated whether chronic treatment with OT could prevent the metabolic and cardiac abnormalities associated with diabetes and obesity using the db/db mice model. Four-week-old male db/db mice and their lean nondiabetic littermates (db/+) serving as controls were treated with OT (125 ng/kg · h) or saline vehicle for a period of 12 weeks. Compared with db/+ mice, the saline-treated db/db mice developed obesity, hyperglycemia, and hyperinsulinemia. These mice also exhibited a deficient cardiac OT/natriuretic system and developed systolic and diastolic dysfunction resulting from cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, fibrosis, and apoptosis. These abnormalities were associated with increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, inflammation, and suppressed 5'-adenosine monophosphate kinase signaling pathway. The db/db mice displayed reduced serum levels of adiponectin and adipsin and elevated resistin. OT treatment increased circulating OT levels, significantly reduced serum resistin, body fat accumulation (19%; P<.001), fasting blood glucose levels by (23%; P<.001), and improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. OT also normalized cardiac OT receptors, atrial natriuretic peptide, and brain natriuretic peptide, expressions and prevented systolic and diastolic dysfunction as well as cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, fibrosis, and apoptosis. Furthermore, OT reduced cardiac oxidative stress and inflammation and normalized the 5'-adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. The complete normalization of cardiac structure and function by OT treatment in db/db mice contrasted with only partial improvement of hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia. These results indicate that chronic treatment with OT partially improves glucose and fat metabolism and reverses abnormal cardiac structural remodeling, preventing cardiac dysfunction in db/db mice.

Cardiorespiratory fitness in children: a simple screening test for population studies.

Cardiorespiratory fitness is one measure of body functions, and its assessment should play an important role in the activities associated with the promotion of physical activity as an important component of a healthy lifestyle. This study aimed to develop a reference system of the mean post-exercise heart rate (HRmean post-ex) after a 3-min step test for use in screening the cardiorespiratory fitness of 6- to 12-year-old children. The study included 14,501 children ages 6-12 years from primary schools in Gdansk. The participants were subjected to the 3-min Kasch Pulse Recovery Test (KPR Test). The reference range for the classification of cardiorespiratory fitness was developed on the basis of the age-specific percentile distribution of HRmean post-ex in 6- to 9- and 10- to 12-year-old children. This study showed that the 3-min KPR Test is easy to perform and well tolerated by school-age children. As such, it can constitute a useful tool for health promoters and educators. The presented age- and gender-specific reference range of HRmean post-ex enables the assessment and monitoring of submaximal exercise-induced changes in the cardiovascular system and, consequently, the physical fitness of a given individual.