ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Debates flow in the medical and psychological field about burnout symptoms: from considering it as a distinct illness, a separate entity or correlated with physiological changes and/or job-related reaction. Seen as a form of depression, the researches are investigating the correlations between various changes in the normal human body functioning, environmental and job lever / implications. The following pages refer to the recent studies of neuroendocrine indicators involved in burnout. It is known that the endocrine system is highly interrelated with the immune and neural systems, the neuro-immuno-endocrine axis is subject to clear biphasic changes in the acute and chronic phases of a critical illness, most likely reflecting a beneficial adaptation.

Introduction. Ties between the endocrine system and mental health are undeniably a consistent point of interest in modern day medicine. Furthermore, mental disturbances due to hormonal changes following childbirth have been mentioned in medical literature since Hippocrates. Considering the dramatic endocrine, paracrine and autocrine changes that occur during gestation, labour and postnatal phase, hormonal theories are not to be ignored in the treatment of postpartum disorders. Results. Reproductive hormones are known to modulate behavioural, emotional and cognitive response, therefore rapid changes in estradiol and progesterone plasma concentrations during pregnancy and labour create a vulnerable terrain leading towards postpartum disorders. New research shows that women suffering from postpartum disorders have abnormal neural responses, suggesting a neuroendocrine explanation for postpartum syndromes. Conclusion. To facilitate further research in this area, we present new information on several hormonal interactions and the psychiatric response involved in pregnancy and labour, offering an interdisciplinary outlook on pregnancy and postpartum disorders. There is enough evidence to suggest that estradiol, progesterone, oxytocin, cortisol and thyroid hormones are some of many hormones involved in postpartum syndromes and tackling their perinatal imbalance with pharmacological substituents or antagonists could be useful as an adjuvant form of treatment in future patients.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected 62 million people and caused more than 1.4 million deaths globally till the end of November 2020. Our study aimed to explore the association between obesity and the negative outcomes of COVID-19 worldwide. The prevalence of obesity and overweight per country was extracted from the World Health Organization information system and, for measuring the COVID-19 negative outcomes, we calculated the cumulated notification rate and the mortality for the interval since starting of pandemic till the 29th of November 2020. We explored the linear relationship between COVID-19 and obesity by a bivariate Spearman rank correlation, interpreted using the rule of thumb for 95% level of confidence. We found globally a positive, moderate, and statistically significant correlation between prevalence of obesity and overweight and the negative outcomes of COVID-19. Some of the results found at global level were confirmed in the disaggregated analysis per WHO regions. Due to the linear association of obesity with the COVID-19 negative outcomes, effective actions are needed for keeping the health systems resilience during the COVID-19. Preventing the obese and overweight people to be infected, prioritizing access to vaccination and to adequate care and treatment could be effective.

Aim. To explore the effects and underlying mechanisms of pioglitazone (pio) on insulin sensitivity in insulin-resistant KKAy mice. Methods. Sixteen eight-week-old male KKAy mice were randomly assigned to two groups based on body weight: an insulin resistance model group and a pioglitazone treatment group (hereafter referred to as the pio-group). Eight male C57BL/6J mice were used as an insulin resistance control group. Mice in all three groups were fed an AIN-93G diet, and pio was added to the diet in the pio-group. After twelve weeks of treatment, blood glucose, serum insulin, glucose tolerance, and insulin tolerance were measured. ELISA was used to determine adiponectin and leptin in serum. A real time PCR assay was used to detect the mRNA of adiponectin and leptin in epididymal adipose tissue. A Western blot assay was used to analyze protein expression and/ or phosphorylation levels of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ), insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1), and protein kinase B (PKB/AKT) in the liver and epididymal adipose tissue.Results. The results showed that Pio treatment may effectively reduce levels of blood glucose and serum insulin, improve insulin tolerance and glucose tolerance, increase serum adiponectin, decrease serum leptin, and enhance mRNA expression of adiponectin in epididymal adipose tissue. Furthermore, with pio treatment, protein expression of PPARγ and phosphorylation levels of IRS1 and AKT were increased in the liver and epididymal adipose tissue. Conclusion. These results suggested that Pio intervention may ameliorate insulin resistance and improve insulin sensitivity in KKAy mice, which may be due to an increase of PPARγ and further activation of the insulin signaling transduction pathway (IRS1 and AKT) in the liver and epididymal adipose tissue of KKAy mice.