Higher levels of androgen signaling, reflected by higher testosterone levels and 20 or fewer AR-CAG repeats, may be associated with an increased risk of HBV-related HCC in men.

Overweight and obesity are a global concern. Meal replacements (MRs) are portion- and calorie-controlled meals, which make the food environment part of an individual’s weight loss regimen. White sweet potato (WSP; Ipomoea batatas L.), used in traditional medicine in Brazil, Japan, and Taiwan, is a healthy carbohydrate source. In this randomized controlled trial, we assessed the effects of a WSP formula on body weight management in 58 white-collar workers through MR to elucidate the effects of this WSP-MR on factors leading to overweight. The participants consumed either two packs a day for a total of 132 g of WSP (WSP-MR group) or a normal diet daily (non-WSP group) for eight weeks. After eight weeks, body weight, body fat, body mass index, wrist circumference, thigh circumference, calf circumference, mid-arm circumference, and triceps skinfolds decreased significantly in both the groups. Moreover, the WSP-MR group demonstrated a 5% decrease in body weight, body fat, body mass index, and mid-arm circumference and a 3.5% decrease in glycated hemoglobin levels (p < 0.05). The treatment was well tolerated, without side effects or adverse events. Thus, our WSP formula as an MR can facilitate individual weight loss and thus has commercial application in the food industry.

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By comparing the placebo and sibutramine groups with ANCOVA, our data showed a strong effect of sibutramine on weight loss in the combined UCP2 -866 AA + GA genotype groups (p < 0.001). Similarly, a strong effect of sibutramine on body fat percentage loss was found for individuals with the AA or GA genotypes (p < 0.001). In contrast, sibutramine had no significant effect on weight loss (p = 0.063) or body fat percentage loss (p = 0.194) for individuals with the wild-type GG genotype, compared with the placebo group of the same genotype. Moreover, a potential gene-gene interaction between UCP2 and GNB3 was identified by multiple linear regression models for the weight loss (p < 0.001) and for the percent fat loss (p = 0.031) in response to sibutramine. The results suggest that the UCP2 gene may contribute to weight loss and fat change in response to sibutramine therapy in obese Taiwanese patients.

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