Serum levels of interleukin-1 beta associate better with severity of simple steatosis than liver function tests in morbidly obese patients

Abstract

Background:In high-fat diet-fed mice, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) has been shown to play a key role in hepatic steatosis. However, it remains unknown whether IL-1 beta could be associated with different grades of steatosis in obese humans.Materials and Methods:Morbidly obese patients (n = 124) aged 18–65 years were divided into four groups: no steatosis (controls), mild steatosis, moderate steatosis, and severe steatosis using abdominal ultrasound. IL-1 beta serum levels and liver function tests were measured and significant differences were estimated by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey test.Results:IL-1 beta serum levels significantly increased in morbidly obese patients with mild (11.38 ± 2.40 pg/ml), moderate (16.72 ± 2.47 pg/ml), and severe steatosis (23.29 ± 5.2 pg/ml) as compared to controls (7.78 ± 2.26 pg/ml). Liver function tests did not significantly change among different grades of steatosis.Conclusion:IL-1 beta serum levels associate better with steatosis degree than liver function tests in morbidly obese population.

Metabolic Aspects of Migraine: Association With Obesity and Diabetes Mellitus

“…Furthermore, a direct and/or indirect link between migraine attacks and metabolic/endocrine disorders (i.e., obesity and diabetes mellitus, DM) has recently been described (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13); which could be related to patient's lifestyle habits. In addition, some mechanisms can be hypothesized to suggest a link between migraine and metabolic/endocrine disorders (Figure 1), including: (i) the risk factor to develop cardiovascular complications (14,15); (ii) the influence of socioeconomic, environmental, genetic and/or psychological factors (7,12,16,17); and (iii) the involvement of biochemical biomarkers, including neuropeptides (8,(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26), proinflammatory mediators (27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36), or adipokines (37-39) (Table 1), which play an important role in the pathophysiology of migraine (e.g., calcitonin gene-related peptide, CGRP).…”