Central obesity is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation contribute to increases in adipose tissue mass, yet the mechanisms that underlie these processes remain unclear. Patients with glucocorticoid excess develop a reversible form of central obesity, but circulating cortisol levels in idiopathic obesity are invariably normal. We have ...

We examined expression and activity of steroid aldoketoreductase (AKR) 1C enzymes in adipose tissue in women. AKR1C1 (20alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase; 20alpha-HSD), AKR1C2 (3alpha-HSD-3), and AKR1C3 (17beta-HSD-5) are involved mainly in conversion of progesterone to 20alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and inactivation of dihydrotestosterone to 5alpha-androstane-3alpha,17beta-diol. Abdominal subcut...

The differential diagnosis of cystic adnexal masses includes various pathologies, some placed extragonadally. Herein, we present two different cases of omental ovarian dermoid tumours that were diagnosed using ultrasonography and removed with surgery. The greater part of the omental teratomas appear to have developed from self-amputation of cysts in the ovary, followed by their re-implantation ...

OBJECTIVE To profile the differential gene expression of the KEGG Adipocytokine Signaling pathway in omental compared to subcutaneous tissue in normal pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN Subjects included 14 nonobese, normal glucose tolerant, healthy pregnant women. Matched omental and subcutaneous tissue were obtained at elective cesarean delivery. Gene expression was evaluated using microarray and vali...

A 58-year-old female presented to the emergency department with intermittent right upper quadrant pain and nausea. On examination, the patient was tender and Murphy's sign was elicited. A presumptive diagnosis of acute cholecystitis was made but an ultrasound of the abdomen revealed a thin-walled gallbladder without calculi. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen and pelvis demonstrated...

Obesity is characterized by systemic low-grade inflammation in which adipose tissue, especially the omental depot, is thought to play a key role. We have previously shown that inflammation impairs 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell line differentiation. To explore whether this interaction also takes place in vivo, the expression of several genes related to inflammation and adipocyte differentiation was a...

We report a diagnosis of diabetes type 2 suggested by diffuse omental infiltration seen on computed tomography which resolved following treatment. There have been reports of increased macrophage infiltration in the omental fat of diabetic patients which we believe is identifiable by CT. To our knowledge, the diagnosis of diabetes with CT has not yet been reported. Diabetes type 2 is commonly a ...