The present study demonstrated an association of sarcopenia with inflammatory markers CRP, ESR and adiponectin. Long-term prospective studies are warranted to confirm the relationship between markers oxidative stress and age related muscle decline.

Background Obesity is an energy balance problem caused by overeating. Obesity treatment includes diet, exercise, behaviour treatment, pharmacotherapy and surgery; in addition, acupuncture is also an option. Objective To investigate the effect of acupuncture on weight loss and whether a brief acupuncture treatment of 5 weeks can change circulating levels of leptin, ghrelin, insulin and cholecystokinin (CCK) in obese women. Methods 40 women with a body mass index (BMI)>30 kg/m 2 were equally randomised to either an acupuncture group or a sham (nonpenetrating) acupuncture group and received treatment at LI4, HT7, ST36, ST44 and SP6 bilaterally. Both groups had two sessions of 20 min/week for a total of 10 sessions. Serum insulin, leptin, plasma ghrelin and CCK levels were measured by ELISA. Results Acupuncture treatment decreased insulin and leptin levels and induced weight loss, together with a decrease in BMI compared with sham acupuncture. Furthermore, between-group analyses demonstrated increases in plasma ghrelin and CCK levels in subjects who received acupuncture treatment. Conclusion These fi ndings suggest that acupuncture may help to regulate weight owing to its benefi cial effects on hormones such as insulin, leptin, ghrelin and CCK in obese subjects even after a few weeks of treatment. INTRODUCTIONObesity is a common health problem faced mostly in developed countries such as USA, Canada, Australia, and European countries but rates are increasing for developing countries as well. 1 The risk of diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, cardiovascular disease and sleep apnoea are greater for overweight (body mass index (BMI)>25 kg/m 2 ) and obese (BMI>30 kg/m 2 ) individuals.2 There are various treatment options in practice such as diet therapy, regulation of physical activities, behaviour treatment, pharmacotherapy, surgical procedures and acupuncture.Acupuncture is one of the treatment options in traditional Chinese medicine for a wide array of conditions and gaining attention in modern medicine. Acupuncture is thought to have been practised for several thousand years in China.3 Nowadays, even modern clinics use it for the treatment of various conditions such as obesity. NIH consensus conference statement (1998) on acupuncture stated that acupuncture shows promising results for several conditions. 4Classic acupuncture points targeted in the treatment of obesity are Neiguan (P6),5 Besides these body points, there are also two points, generally targeted for appetite control, on the ear. In addition, to these generally recognised acupoints, an acupuncturist may use different points depending on his/her own experience. 4 The evidence for the effect of acupuncture on weight loss is mixed: readers can fi nd both supporting 6 7 and refuting [8][9][10] data.Ghrelin is produced by P/D1 cells in the stomach, 11 12 increases with hunger and decreases with satiety.13 Leptin, one of the products of adipose tissue, passes through the blood-brain barrier and reduces appetite.14 Ghrelin and leptin can be called coun...

We demonstrated that regardless of the localization and the degree of the myometrial invasion of the placenta in the uterus, the circulatory biomarkers of angiogenesis and vascularization were comparable.

Our results showed that 10mg/kg sildenafil decreased the adverse effects of ischemia on the healing of ischemic left colon anastomosis. Additional investigations are needed to confirm the effects of phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors in ischemic colon anastomosis models.

Our aim was to investigate body composition changes, epicardial adipose tissue thickness (EATT), serum omentin-1 levels, and the relationship among them along with some atherosclerosis markers in overt hypothyroidism. Twenty-eight newly diagnosed overt hypothyroid patients were evaluated before and after 6 months of thyroid hormone replacement therapy (THRT) and compared to the healthy subjects in this prospective longitudinal study. Body compositions were measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and EATT was measured by echocardiography. Carotid intima-media thickness (c-IMT), flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), thyroid hormone levels, lipid parameters, high sensitive c-reactive protein, homocysteine, and omentin-1 levels were measured in all subjects. Body weight and lean body mass were higher in patients with hypothyroidism compared to euthyroid state after THRT (p = 0.012, 0.034, respectively). EATT was higher in patients with hypothyroidism than the control group (p < 0.001) and decreased with THRT (p = 0.012) but still remained higher than the control group (p < 0.001). Free T4 levels were found to be an independent factor to predict EATT (p < 0.001). In hypothyroid state, omentin-1 levels were lower than controls (p = 0.037) but increased in 6 months with THRT (p = 0.001). The c-IMT was higher, and FMD was lower in hypothyroidism compared to euthyroid state and control group (p < 0.05). Increasing lean body mass, but not adipose tissue mass, was found to be responsible for weight gain in hypothyroidism. The increased amount of EATT and decreased omentin-1 levels can contribute to the development of atherosclerosis in addition to other factors in hypothyroidism.