Recent evidence demonstrating an increased fracture risk among obese individuals suggests that adipose tissue may negatively impact bone health, challenging the traditional paradigm of fat mass playing a protective role towards bone health. White adipose tissue, far from being a mere energy depot, is a dynamic tissue actively implicated in metabolic reactions, and in fact secretes several hormones called adipokines and inflammatory factors that may in turn promote bone resorption. More specifically, Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT) may potentially prove detrimental. It is widely acknowledged that obesity is positively associated to many chronic disorders such as metabolic syndrome, dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes, conditions that could themselves affect bone health. Although aging is largely known to decrease bone strength, little is yet known on the mechanisms via which obesity and its comorbidities may contribute to such damage. Given the exponentially growing obesity rate in recent years and the increased life expectancy of western countries it appears of utmost importance to timely focus on this topic.

The ACR TI-RADS classification system has the highest area under the ROC curve for the identification of cytological high-risk nodules. ATA classification leaves 'unclassified' nodules at relatively high risk of malignancy.

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Background: No direct prospective studies comparing laser ablation (LA) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for debulking benign non-functioning thyroid nodules (BNTNs) exist. We aimed at comparing the efficacy and safety of both techniques in patients with solid or predominantly solid BNTN. Methods: This six-month, single-use, randomized, open-label, parallel trial compared the following primary endpoints between the RFA and LA groups six months after treatment: (i) nodule volume reduction expressed as a percentage of nodule volume at baseline; (ii) proportion of nodules with more than 50% reduction (successful rate). We enrolled subjects with a solitary BNTN or dominant nodule characterized by pressure symptoms/cosmetic problems or patients without symptoms who experienced a volume increase >20% in one year. Nodules underwent core needle biopsy for diagnosis. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive LA or RFA. Safety was assessed in all randomly assigned participants. Results: Sixty patients were randomly assigned to receive either RFA or LA (1:1) between January 2016 and November 2018. Both groups were similar in basal nodule volume, thyroid function, histology, symptoms/ cosmetic score, and procedure time. At six months, the nodule volume reduction was 64.3% (95% confidence interval, CI 57.5-71.2) in the RFA group and 53.2% ([CI 47.2-95.2]; p = 0.02) in the LA group. This effect was also confirmed in the linear regression model adjusted for age, baseline volume, and proportion of cellular component (LA vs. RFA percent change Delta =-12.8, p = 0.02). No significant difference was observed in success rate six months after treatment (RFA vs. LA: 86.7% vs. 66.7%, p = 0.13) or in thyrotropin level between the groups. Although improved, no significant difference was observed between RFA and LA for compressive symptoms (RFA: 2.13 vs. 3.9, p < 0 $ 001; LA: 2.4 vs. 3.87, p < 0.001) and cosmetic score (RFA: 1.65 vs. 2.2, p < 0.001; LA: 1.85 vs. 2.2, p < 0.001). The adverse event rates (local pain, dysphonia, thyrotoxicosis, fever, hematoma) were 37% (n = 11) and 43% (n = 13) for RFA and LA, respectively, with no requirement for hospitalization. Conclusion: Although the success rate was similar in the RFA and LA groups, RFA achieved a significantly larger nodule volume reduction at six months.

This study suggests that corneal confocal microscopy could represent a new and non-invasive tool to investigate cardiac autonomic neuropathy in people with Type 1 diabetes. Larger studies are required to define the role of corneal confocal microscopy in the assessment of cardiac autonomic neuropathy.