By supplying most organs of the body with metabolic substrates, the liver plays a central role in maintaining energy balance. Hepatic metabolism of glucose, fatty acids, and lipoproteins is disrupted in the leptin-deficient obese (Lep ob /Lep ob ) mouse, leading to hyperglycemia, steatosis, and hypercholesterolemia. Microarray expression profiles were used to identify transcriptional perturbations that underlie the altered hepatic physiology of Lep ob /Lep ob mice. A wide variety of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism are altered in expression, which suggests that both fatty acid synthesis and oxidation programs are activated in obese mice. The expression of a small subset of genes is upregulated by leptin deficiency, not modulated by caloric restriction, and markedly suppressed by short-term leptin treatment. Among these leptin-regulated genes, apolipoprotein A-IV is a strong candidate for mediating the atherogenic-resistant phenotype of Lep ob /Lep ob mice.

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Anxiety is a common feeling, but also the central symptom of several psychiatric disorders: generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Anxiety disorders are common and important in general medical practice as they often manifest with physical symptoms such as palpitations, chest pain, and dizziness that can be misdiagnosed as medical conditions and lead to unnecessary investigation and treatment. Anxiety disorder, especially phobic anxiety, can also lead to inability to adhere to medical treatments, for example, because of needle phobia interfering with blood tests and/or injected drugs treatment. Both pharmacological and psychological treatments are effective. For chronic anxiety, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the drugs of choice, with benzodiazepines being reserved for short-term use. If available, cognitive behaviour therapy is similarly effective. Anxiety disorders usually respond to treatment but often recur.