Gianluca Iacobellis

..In this study, we sought to provide threshold values of echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness associated with metabolic and anthropometric risk factors...

..Nevertheless, there is no knowledge on whether other visceral depots of adipose tissue, including the epicardial fat, have any metabolically active role, including production of adiponectin...

..Chronic tophaceous gout has become less common since the introduction of the pharmacological treatment. Moreover, cardiac valve gouty tophi have been very rarely reported...

..Aim of the study We sought to evaluate thyroid function and its possible relationship with body mass index (BMI), leptin, adiponectin and insulin sensitivity in euthyroid obese women...

..The existence of healthy obese subjects has been suggested but not clearly reported. We sought to address the prevalence of uncomplicated obesity and adverse risk factors in a large Italian obese population...

..Epicardial fat reflects intraabdominal visceral fat, and the echocardiographic assessment of this tissue is an easy and reliable marker of visceral adiposity...

..In this paper, we briefly review the rapidly emerging evidence pointing to a specific role of epicardial adipose tissue both as a cardiac risk marker and as a potentially active player in the development of cardiac pathology...

..To evaluate serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity in a well-characterized group of uncomplicated obese subjects and its correlation with insulin resistance, plasma adiponectin, and leptin concentrations...

..Nevertheless, the close anatomical and functional relationship of epicardial adipose tissue to the adjacent myocardium should readily allow local, paracrine interactions between these tissues...

..However, whether obesity per se or obesity-related co-morbidities affect aminotransferase activity is still unclear. In this study we sought to evaluate serum aminotransferase activity in morbid and uncomplicated obese subjects..

..However, the potential link between cardiac adiposity, emerging index of visceral adiposity, and fatty liver is still unexplored...

..We found for the first time that an increase in epicardial fat is significantly related to an increase in left ventricular mass...

..VAT is recognized as an important indicator of high cardiovascular and metabolic risk. Several methods are applied to estimate VAT, with different results...

..We sought to evaluate cardiac structure and function in uncomplicated severely obese subjects...

..387; P = 0.03) were the strongest independent variables correlated with epicardial adipose tissue. Echocardiographic epicardial adipose tissue could be applied as an easy and reliable imaging indicator of VAT and cardiovascular risk...

..We sought to test the hypothesis that circulating VEGF levels could influence the cardiac performance in type 2 diabetic hypertensive patients...

..To evaluate whether or not "uncomplicated" obesity (without associated comorbidities) is really associated with cardiac abnormalities...

..We studied uncomplicated obesity as a model to evaluate the influence of insulin sensitivity per se on left ventricular mass (LVM) and geometry...

..81, p <0.01). In conclusion, this study suggests, for the first time, that epicardial adipose tissue, an index of cardiac adiposity, may be significantly related to subclinical atherosclerosis in HIV-infected patients...

..05). CONCLUSIONS: Our data seem to suggest that hyperinsulinemia during a euglycemic clamp is able to suppress plasma ghrelin concentrations in uncomplicated obesity. This effect appears to be positively related to insulin sensitivity...

..01 and p < 0.05, respectively). This study showed that LVM is significantly higher in uncomplicated obese subjects carrying the G/G genotype at position 276 of the human adiponectin gene...

..Detection of epicardial fat thickness, new index of visceral adiposity in non HIV-infected patients, might be important as diagnostic tool in HIV-infected patients on HAART...

..Significant difference in plasma ghrelin levels between LRYGBP and LASGB was found, suggesting that both procedures could induce weight loss by different mechanisms in which ghrelin could be involved...

..42, p <0.01) in overall subjects. In conclusion, increased RV epicardial fat accumulation is associated with enlarged RV cavity size...

..Measurement of echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness may provide an additional tool in understanding the metabolic risk associated with variation in fat distribution...

..In this article, epicardial adipose tissue's structure, function, method of assessment and reliability as a diagnostic tool and potential therapeutic target is reviewed...

..Primary aldosteronism (PA) has been recently associated with an unfavorable cardiometabolic profile. However, whether pro- and antiinflammatory adipokines levels can vary in PA is unknown...

..Echocardiographic epicardial fat measurement may be an additional tool for diabetes-related cardiac risk stratification...

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..This study explores whether this racial pattern of VAT distribution extends to the intrathoracic VAT...

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..However, more evidence is necessary to evaluate whether echocardiographic epicardial fat thickness may become a routine way of assessing cardiovascular risk in a clinical setting...

..However the extent to which obese subjects manifest small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles without other characteristics of the metabolic syndrome (MS) remains unknown...

..An association between obesity and cancer has been shown in large epidemiological studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and types of malignancies in an Italian cohort of obese patients referred to a bariatric center...

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..The double role of epicardial and perivascular adipose tissue in the development of cardiovascular pathology and/or in protecting the heart and arteries warrants further studies...

..Because epicardial and myocardial tissues share the same coronary arterial supply it is reasonable to hypothesize that improved local vascularisation may resume epicardial fat to its physiological role...

..Particular emphasis is placed on the paracrine/endocrine properties of epicardial fat and its role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis...

..Successful obesity treatment should be defined as long-term weight loss maintenance. In this chapter, we briefly review the current evidences regarding the treatment of obesity...

..05); no significant change in Malleolus VPT between the two groups occurred. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests, for the first time, that long-term aerobic exercise training can prevent the onset or modify the natural history of DPN...

..49, p<0.01, p<0.05, respectively). Our study showed that intracoronary adiponectin levels reflect systemic adiponectin levels. Epicardial adipose tissue could partially contribute to adiponectin levels in the coronary circulation...

..Several formulae developed from measurements in the fasting state and during the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) have been proposed to assess insulin sensitivity...

..In this study we showed for the first time that increase in epicardial fat thickness is significantly correlated with atria enlargement and impairment in diastolic filling in morbidly obese subjects...

..CONCLUSIONS: Acute hyperinsulinemia seems to no significantly affect ventricular repolarization in uncomplicated obesity. Insulin resistance and the absence of diabetes and hypertension could explain, at least in part, this finding...

..We report an unusual case of myocarditis involving the bundle of His and left bundle branch and cardiac myocytes apoptosis in otherwise healthy occasional cocaine abuser...

..Novel diagnostic tools and life style modifications together with targeted therapeutic actions are urgently needed for the management of liver dysfunction in course of metabolic syndrome...