Background Data regarding the association of antibody levels elicited after immunization with the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine with epidemiological and clinical parameters are limited. Methods We prospectively measured the total (TAbs-RBD) and the neutralizing antibodies (NAbs-RBD) against the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in a cohort of 268 Healthcare workers before immunization, 20 days after the 1 st dose and 30 days after the 2 nd dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine. A statistical analysis for possible association of antibodies’ levels with epidemiological and clinical parameters was performed. Results The mean age (±SD) of the participants was 45.45 years (± 11.93) (range: 24-70 years) and 211 (79.9%) were females. Statistically significant differences were detected regarding both TAbs-RBD and NAbs-RBD between the first and second doses of the vaccine (P<0.001). The median (IQR) percentage (%) of NAbs-RBD after the 1 st dose was 51.07% (31.60%) and after the 2 nd dose 95.31% (3.70%) (P<0.001).The correlation between the TAbs-RBD and NAbs-RBD was after the 1 st dose, Spearman’s, rho: 0.861 ( P <0.001) and after the 2 nd dose rho: 0.989 ( P <0.001). Twenty days after the 1 st dose, 56/264 (21.2%) of the participants did not have detectable NAbs-RBD, while one month after the 2 nd dose all of them had detectable NAbs-RBD. After the 2 nd vaccine dose, a statistically significant negative association of TAbs-RBD was detected for age (P<0.001), smoking ( P =0.011), and immunosuppressive medications (P<0.001), while a positive association was detected for BMI (P=0.004) and systemic adverse events after immunization (P=0.001). Conclusion A significant correlation of TAbs-RBD and NAbs-RBD was detected after both vaccine doses. Older age, smoking, and immunosuppressive medications negatively affected the final antibody level after SARS-CoV-2 immunization. Our findings emphasize the significance of the 2 nd vaccine dose especially in the older age groups.

Background:Oxidative stress is associated with obesity while the evidence for the role of GH in pro-and antioxidation is inconclusive. This study investigates the relationships between growth hormone (GH), pro-and antioxidation in relation to obesity and puberty before and after an acute bout of exercise. Methods: In this case-control study, 76 healthy normalweight and obese, prepubertal and pubertal boys underwent a blood sampling before and immediately after an aerobic exercise bout until exhaustion at 70% maximal oxygen consumption. Markers of prooxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and protein carbonyls (PCs)) and antioxidation (glutathione (GSH), oxidized glutathione disulfide (GSSG), GSH/GSSG ratio, glutathione peroxidase (GPX), catalase, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC)) and hormones (GH, insulinlike growth factor (IGF)-1, IGF-BP-3, luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone) were measured. results: Baseline and postexercise TBARS and PCs were greater, while baseline GSH, GSH/GSSG ratio, GPX, and TAC were lower in obese than that in normal-weight participants. In all participants, waist was the best negative and positive predictor for postexercise GPX and TBARS, respectively. Baseline TAC was greater in pubertal than that in pre-pubertal participants. In all participants, baseline GH was the best negative predictor for postexercise PCs. Significant positive linear correlation exists between the exercise-associated GH, and GSSG increases in pubertal normal-weight boys. conclusions: Higher prooxidation and lower antioxidation were observed in obese boys, while antioxidation improves with puberty and postexercise, paralleling GH accentuated secretion.o xidative stress defines a state of imbalance between proand antioxidation within the cell (1). Prooxidation refers to mitochondrial and nonmitochondrial mechanisms, which generate reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), whereas antioxidation refers to the adaptive activation of enzymatic and/ or nonenzymatic mechanisms, which scavenge prooxidants and their products within cells and in extracellular body fluids (1). Because the direct measurement of RONS is difficult to perform, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and protein carbonyls (PCs) have been employed as markers of prooxidation (1). Glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione disulfide (GSSG), the enzymes glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and catalase and the so-called total antioxidant capacity (TAC) have been employed as markers of antioxidation (2-4). Oxidative stress in humans has been associated with obesity and resulting comorbidities (1,5,6). Childhood obesity has been associated with oxidative stress even before comorbidities occur (6,7).Puberty is a maturation period in human development, when sexual characteristics and reproductive competence are developed (8). It is characterized by changes in the dynamically regulated hypothalamic-growth hormone (GH)-insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axes (9). ...

Dysbiosis of intestinal ecology could be implicated in prediabetes. The aim of this pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was to collect preliminary data on the effects of probiotic supplementation (Vivomixx©) on markers of glucose metabolism, intestinal microbiome composition, and intestinal health indices, of prediabetic adolescents. The intervention group was administered probiotic sachets twice daily for 4 months, while both intervention and control groups received weekly consultation sessions for a healthier lifestyle. Thirty-two participants were recruited (1.3 participants per month) and were randomized (16 in control and 16 in intervention group). Fifteen of them signed the inform consent and never entered the study (6 in control and 9 in intervention group). Thus, seventeen participants completed the study (10 in control and 7 in intervention group), with no serious adverse events. After the 4-month intervention, no difference was observed in the markers of glycemic control between the two groups, although a minor effect was observed for fasting glucose at 1-month, probably due to the initial higher adherence to the probiotic supplements. Modifications of the protocol procedures are warranted because of the high attrition rates and suboptimal compliance that were noted. Future studies and further RCTs with larger samples need to be conducted to fully elucidate the potential effects of probiotics in the glycemic control of prediabetic adolescents.

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<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Obesity in childhood and adolescence is associated with complications that resemble those seen in hypercortisolism. Hair cortisol concentration (HCC) in children is a reliable marker of long-term endogenous cortisol concentrations. We determined HCC in overweight and obese children and adolescents, and examined the relation between HCC and other cardiometabolic parameters. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Three hundred children and adolescents aged 4–18 years (mean age ± standard error of the mean [SEM]: 10.49 ± 0.15 years; 140 [46.7%] obese, 94 [31.3%] overweight, 66 [22%] of normal BMI; 76 males, 224 females) were studied prospectively. Blood samples for determination of hematological, biochemical, and endocrinologic parameters were obtained. Systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was determined. Scalp hair samples were collected from the posterior vertex, and HCC was measured using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Obese subjects had significantly higher SBP, DBP, waist and hip circumferences, waist-to-hip ratio, waist-to-height ratio, ALT, γ-GT, triglycerides, apolipoprotein-B, insulin, and HbA_1C concentrations than overweight and normal-BMI subjects. HCC did not differ significantly among the three groups of subjects (mean ± SEM: 8.74 ± 0.43 vs. 8.88 ± 0.52 vs. 9.33 ± 0.72, all <i>p</i> &#x3e; 0.05). No significant association was noted between HCC and cardiometabolic or body composition parameters. HCC was significantly higher in prepubertal girls than prepubertal boys (9.45 ± 0.38 vs. 7.35 ± 0.39, <i>p</i> = 0.007). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> In our study, overweight and obesity was not associated with elevated HCC. Furthermore, no association was found between HCC with cardiometabolic parameters and fat mass. Further studies are required to delineate the association between overweight/obesity and HCC.