BACKGROUND Surgery is the only effective treatment for people with a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40 Kg/m² or even greater than 35 Kg/m² when some diseases like diabetes or hypertension appear. In order to minimize surgical risk and improve postoperative results, preoperative preparation it's very important. "Acute" preoperative weight loss just before surgery plays a crucial role in that...

Calorie restriction extends life-span in a wide variety of organisms. Although it has been suggested that calorie restriction may work by reducing the levels of reactive oxygen species produced during respiration, the mechanism by which this regimen slows aging is uncertain. Here, we mimicked calorie restriction in yeast by physiological or genetic means and showed a substantial extension in li...

Calorie restriction is known to extend lifespan among organisms by a debating mechanism underlying nitric oxide-driven mitochondrial biogenesis. We report here that nitric oxide generators including artemisinin, sodium nitroprusside, and L-arginine mimics calorie restriction and resembles hydrogen peroxide to initiate the nitric oxide signaling cascades and elicit the global antioxidative respo...

Calorie Restriction (CR) is a defined intervention tool currently being studied as an effort to achieve numerous health benefits and increase longevity. Currently, there is a large body of research that indicates a multitude of health benefits and positive associations; however, there is also a plethora of opposing research. Through investigation of epigenetics, the efficacy of calorie restrict...

BACKGROUND The obese Zücker diabetic fatty male rat (ZDF:Gmi™-fa) is an animal model of type II diabetes associated with obesity and related metabolic disturbances like dyslipidaemia and diabetic nephropathy. In addition, diabetic dyslipidaemia has been linked to vascular and glomerular damage too. Dietary fat restriction is a current strategy to tackle obesity and, telmisartan, as a renoprotec...

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions worldwide. Obesity results in reduced serum testosterone levels, which causes many disorders in men. Lifestyle modifications (increased physical activity and calorie restriction) can increase serum testosterone levels. However, it is unknown whether increased physical activity or calorie restriction during lifestyle modifications has a greater effects on...

The modified Atkins diet (MAD) consists of a nearly balanced diet without any age-dependent restriction of recommended daily calorie intake. Recently, there has been a marked increase in the use of the MAD in the treatment of epilepsy. Over the last 8 years, evidence suggesting that the MAD may exhibit similar anticonvulsant properties as the traditional ketogenic diet (KD) has been accumulatin...

Nutritional intake is a fundamental determinant of health. Many studies have correlated excess caloric intake, as well as a high ratio of n-6:n-3 fatty acids, with detrimental health outcomes, such as the metabolic syndrome. In contrast, low-calorie diets have beneficial health effects. Despite these associations, our understanding of the causal relationship between diet and health remains larg...

Calorie restriction increases life span in many organisms, including the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. From a large-scale analysis of 564 single-gene-deletion strains of yeast, we identified 10 gene deletions that increase replicative life span. Six of these correspond to genes encoding components of the nutrient-responsive TOR and Sch9 pathways. Calorie restriction of tor1D or sch9D ...

Background The octanoylated peptide ghrelin stimulates growth hormone (GH) secretion during severe calorie restriction in mice, which preserves fasting blood sugar after body fat has been depleted. Genetic deletion of ghrelin-O-acyltransferase (GOAT, which octanoylates ghrelin) renders mice ghrelin-deficient and abrogates the normal rise in GH after several days of calorie restriction, resultin...