TY - JOUR AB - Purpose of reviewThe review is focused on the unexpected role of myogenic regulatory factor 4 (MRF4) in controlling muscle mass by repressing myocyte enhancer binding factor 2 (MEF2) activity in adult skeletal muscle, and on the emerging role of MEF2 in skeletal muscle growth.Recent findingsThe MRF4s of the MyoD family (MyoD, MYF5, MRF4, myogenin) and the MEF2 factors are known to play a major role in embryonic myogenesis. However, their function in adult muscle tissue is not known. A recent study shows that MRF4 loss in adult skeletal muscle causes muscle hypertrophy and prevents denervation atrophy. This effect is mediated by MEF2 factors that promote muscle growth, with MRF4 acting as a repressor of MEF2 activity. The role of MEF2 in skeletal muscle growth is supported by the finding that muscle regeneration is impaired by muscle-specific triple knockout of Mef2a, c, and d genes.SummaryThe finding that the MRF4-MEF2 axis controls muscle growth opens a new perspective for preventing muscle wasting. A unique feature of this pathway is that MRF4 is exclusively expressed in skeletal muscle, thus reducing the risk that interventions aimed at down-regulating MRF4 or interfering with the interaction between MRF4 and MEF2 may have off-target effects in other tissues. AU - Schiaffino, S.* AU - Dyar, K.A. AU - Calabria, E.* C1 - 52856 C2 - 44473 CY - Philadelphia SP - 164-167 TI - Skeletal muscle mass is controlled by the MRF4-MEF2 axis. JO - Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care VL - 21 IS - 3 PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins PY - 2018 SN - 1363-1950 ER - TY - JOUR AB - PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Breastfeeding has been suggested as a candidate for primary prevention of allergies. However, recent comprehensive and thoughtfully written systematic reviews reported mixed results and that overall there is only little evidence for breastfeeding being protective against allergic disorders. As these reviews last searched for relevant studies on 2 October 2014, the aim of our review is to shed light on the association between breastfeeding and allergic disorders (asthma, eczema, allergic rhinitis) recently published. RECENT FINDINGS: These recent studies are varied and differ in size, settings, design, depth of data collecting, and quality of the study. Thus far, the results on the association between nonexclusive and exclusive breastfeeding with regards to asthma are mixed especially in young ages. Additionally, if eczema and allergic rhinitis are the outcomes of interest, this recent review does not provide a clearer picture. SUMMARY: The current guidelines by WHO and European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) on breastfeeding till 6 months and exclusively breastfeeding for 4-6 months, respectively, for the prevention of allergies are not supported by the recent study results. Nevertheless, breastfeeding should be strongly recommended for other beneficial health effects than allergy prevention. AU - Heinrich, J. C1 - 50853 C2 - 42684 CY - Philadelphia SP - 217-221 TI - Modulation of allergy risk by breast feeding. JO - Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care VL - 20 IS - 3 PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins PY - 2017 SN - 1363-1950 ER - TY - JOUR AB - PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Exercise is recommended as therapeutic intervention for people at risk to develop type 2 diabetes to prevent or treat the disease. Recent studies on the influence of obesity and type 2 diabetes on the outcome of exercise programs are discussed. RECENT FINDINGS: Poor glycemic control before an intervention can be a risk factor of reduced therapeutic benefit from exercise. But the acute metabolic response to exercise and the transcriptional profile of the working muscle is similar in healthy controls and type 2 diabetic patients, including but not limited to intact activation of skeletal muscle AMP-activated kinase signaling, glucose uptake and expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1α. The increase in plasma acylcarnitines during exercise is not influenced by type 2 diabetes or obesity. The hepatic response to exercise is dependent on the glucagon/insulin ratio and the exercise-induced increase in hepatokines such as fibroblast growth factor 21 and follistatin is impaired in type 2 diabetes and obesity, but consequences for the benefit from exercise are unknown yet. SUMMARY: Severe metabolic dysregulation can reduce the benefit from exercise, but the intact response of key metabolic regulators in exercising skeletal muscle of diabetic patients demonstrates the effectiveness of exercise programs to treat the disease. AU - Plomgaard, P.* AU - Weigert, C. C1 - 50854 C2 - 42820 CY - Philadelphia SP - 294-299 TI - Do diabetes and obesity affect the metabolic response to exercise? JO - Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care VL - 20 IS - 4 PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins PY - 2017 SN - 1363-1950 ER - TY - JOUR AB - PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Glucose metabolism is a central process in mammalian energy homeostasis. Its deregulation is a key factor in development of metabolic disease like diabetes and cancer. In recent decades, our understanding of gene regulation at the signaling, chromatin and posttranscriptional levels has seen dramatic developments. RECENT FINDINGS: A number of epigenetic mechanisms that do not affect the genetic code can be assessed with new technologies. However, increasing complexity becomes a major challenge for translation into clinical application. SUMMARY: The current review provides an update of transcriptional control of glucose metabolism, focusing on epigenetic regulators, DNA-methylation, histone modifications and noncoding RNAs. Recent studies heavily support the importance of those mechanisms for future therapeutics and preventive efforts for metabolic diseases. AU - Sharma, S. AU - Kriebel, J. AU - Grallert, H. C1 - 50987 C2 - 43006 CY - Philadelphia SP - 266-271 TI - Epigenetic regulation of glucose metabolism. JO - Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care VL - 20 IS - 4 PB - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins PY - 2017 SN - 1363-1950 ER - TY - JOUR AB - PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The rising prevalence of obesity amongst children and adolescents is a growing public health burden. This study reviews recent studies, first, examining the economic consequences of childhood obesity, and, second, evaluating the cost-effectiveness of programs to prevent and to manage childhood obesity. RECENT FINDINGS: Evidence of the impact of childhood obesity on healthcare costs for children is ambiguous. Although one study did not find increasing costs with increasing body mass index (BMI), in some other studies this effect was visible--partly only in subgroups. The evaluation studies show that in order to reach acceptable cost-effectiveness values, interventions cannot focus solely on physical activity, but must include nutrition as an intervention target. Moreover, there is some evidence supporting the expectation that childhood obesity prevention may be successful in combining health gains with net cost savings. SUMMARY: There is a need to estimate the costs of childhood obesity as an essential part of identifying cost-effective treatment and prevention measures. Given the diversity and shortcomings of the methodological approaches chosen in the existing evaluation studies, there is an urgent need both for more standardized economic evaluations of those measures and more methodological research. AU - John, J. AU - Wenig, C.M. AU - Wolfenstetter, S.B. C1 - 961 C2 - 27239 SP - 305-313 TI - Recent economic findings on childhood obesity: Cost-of-illness and cost-effectiveness of interventions. JO - Curr. Opin. Clin. Nutr. Metab. Care VL - 13 IS - 3 PB - Lippincott Williams&Wilkins PY - 2010 SN - 1363-1950 ER -