In this review, we provide a brief synopsis of the connections between adipose tissue and metabolic health and highlight some recent developments in understanding and exploiting adipocyte biology. Adipose tissue plays critical roles in the regulation of systemic glucose and lipid metabolism and secretes bioactive molecules possessing endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine functions. Dysfunctional adipose tissue has a detrimental impact on metabolic health and is intimately involved in key aspects of metabolic diseases such as insulin resistance, lipid overload, inflammation, and organelle stress. Differences in the distribution of fat depots and adipose characteristics relate to divergent degrees of metabolic dysfunction found in metabolically healthy and unhealthy obese individuals. Thermogenic adipocytes increase energy expenditure via mitochondrial uncoupling or adenosine triphosphate-consuming futile substrate cycles, while functioning as a metabolic sink and participating in crosstalk with other metabolic organs. Manipulation of adipose tissue provides a wealth of opportunities to intervene and combat the progression of associated metabolic diseases. We discuss current treatment modalities for obesity including incretin hormone analogs and touch upon emerging strategies with therapeutic potential including exosome-based therapy, pharmacological activation of brown and beige adipocyte thermogenesis, and administration or inhibition of adipocyte-derived factors.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant changes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on patients with chronic pain. Methods: Patients with chronic pain from 23 university hospitals in South Korea participated in this study. The anonymous survey questionnaire consisted of 25 questions regarding the following: demographic data, diagnosis, hospital visit frequency, exercise duration, time outside, sleep duration, weight change, nervousness and anxiety, depression, interest or pleasure, fatigue, daily life difficulties, and self-harm thoughts. Depression severity was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between increased pain and patient factors. Results: A total of 914 patients completed the survey, 35.9% of whom had decreased their number of visits to the hospital, mostly due to COVID-19. The pain level of 200 patients has worsened since the COVID-19 outbreak, which was more prominent in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Noticeable post-COVID-19 changes such as exercise duration, time spent outside, sleep patterns, mood, and weight affected patients with chronic pain. Depression severity was more significant in patients with CRPS. The total PHQ-9 average score of patients with CRPS was 15.5, corresponding to major depressive orders. The patients’ decreased exercise duration, decreased sleep duration, and increased depression were significantly associated with increased pain. Conclusions COVID-19 has caused several changes in patients with chronic pain.During the pandemic, decreased exercise and sleep duration and increased depression were associated with patients’ increasing pain.

Esophageal achalasia is a primary motility disorder characterized by insufficient lower esophageal sphincter relaxation and loss of esophageal peristalsis. Achalasia is a chronic disease that causes progressive irreversible loss of esophageal motor function. The recent development of high-resolution manometry has facilitated the diagnosis of achalasia, and determining the achalasia subtypes based on high-resolution manometry can be important when deciding on treatment methods. Peroral endoscopic myotomy is less invasive than surgery with comparable efficacy. The present guidelines (the “2019 Seoul Consensus on Esophageal Achalasia Guidelines”) were developed based on evidence-based medicine; the Asian Neurogastroenterology and Motility Association and Korean Society of Neurogastroenterology and Motility served as the operating and development committees, respectively. The development of the guidelines began in June 2018, and a draft consensus based on the Delphi process was achieved in April 2019. The guidelines consist of 18 recommendations: 2 pertaining to the definition and epidemiology of achalasia, 6 pertaining to diagnoses, and 10 pertaining to treatments. The endoscopic treatment section is based on the latest evidence from meta-analyses. Clinicians (including gastroenterologists, upper gastrointestinal tract surgeons, general physicians, nurses, and other hospital workers) and patients could use these guidelines to make an informed decision on the management of achalasia.

No abstract available.
Child ; Chromosome Banding ; *Chromosome Deletion ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 4/*genetics ; Comparative Genomic Hybridization ; Developmental Disabilities/diagnosis/*genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Sequence Deletion

No abstract available.
Aged ; Bone Marrow/pathology ; Genome, Human ; Humans ; Isochromosomes/*genetics ; Karyotyping ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/complications/*diagnosis/genetics ; *Loss of Heterozygosity ; Male ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Thrombocytosis/*etiology

Stress cardiomyopathy is characterized by transient systolic dysfunction of the apical and/or mid segment of the left ventricle. The main pathophysiology of stress cardiomyopathy is the excessive release of catecholamine. Opioid withdrawal can initiate a surge of catecholamine and an attack of stress cardiomyopathy. In this case, we report a case of stress cardiomyopathy due to iatrogenic withdrawal from transdermal fentanyl.
Aged* ; Fentanyl* ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy*

No abstract available.
Acute Disease ; *Gene Rearrangement ; Genome, Human ; Humans ; Leukemia/*diagnosis/genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods ; Translocation, Genetic

An 87-yr-old woman was diagnosed with AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC). The initial complete blood count showed Hb level of 5.9 g/dL, platelet counts of 27x10(9)/L, and white blood cell counts of 85.33x10(9)/L with 55% blasts. Peripheral blood samples were used in all the tests, as bone marrow examination could not be performed because of the patient's extremely advanced age and poor general health condition. Flow cytometric analysis, chromosome analysis, FISH, and reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) results indicated AML-MRC resulting from t(3;21) with the RUNX1-MECOM fusion gene. To our knowledge, this is the second most elderly de novo AML patient associated with t(3;21) to be reported.
Aged, 80 and over ; Blood Cells/pathology ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 21 ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 3 ; Female ; Humans ; Karyotyping ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/complications/*diagnosis/genetics ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes/complications/*diagnosis/genetics ; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion/*genetics ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; *Translocation, Genetic

A paradoxical embolism is defined as a systemic arterial embolism requiring the passage of a venous thrombus into the arterial circulatory system through a right-to-left shunt, and is commonly related to patent foramen ovale (PFO). However, coexisting pulmonary embolisms, deep vein thromboses (DVT), and multipe systemic arterial embolisms, associated with PFO, are rare. Here, we report a patient who had a cryptogenic ischemic stroke, associated with PFO, which is complicated with a massive pulmonary thromboembolism, DVT, and renal infarctions, and subsequently, the patient was treated using a thrombolytic therapy.
Embolism ; Embolism, Paradoxical ; Foramen Ovale, Patent ; Humans ; Infarction ; Kidney Diseases ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Renal Artery ; Stroke ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; Thrombosis ; Venous Thrombosis