School of Allied Health Sciences

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Browsing School of Allied Health Sciences by Research Institute "Non-affiliated research"

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    Maternal B12 deficiency during pregnancy dysregulates fatty acid metabolism and induces inflammation in human adipose tissue
    (Springer, 2025-04-23) McTernan, Philip G.; Samavat, Jinous; Boachie, Joseph; Christian, Mark; Saravanan, Ponnusamy; Adaikalakoteswari, Antonysunil
    Background Adipose tissue (AT) responds to excess calorie intake; however, the deficit in micronutrients accompanied by the modern lifestyle is often overlooked. Micronutrient deficiency in pregnancy, particularly vitamin B12 (B12), is commonly associated with higher adiposity, dyslipidemia, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies have demonstrated that dyslipidemia can trigger pro-inflammatory status. However, the release of the pro-inflammatory factors in a tissue-specific micronutrient deficient environment is unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the role of B12 deficiency on lipid metabolism and inflammatory mediators in both in vitro and ex vivo models including human pre-adipocytes, primary adipocytes, mature human white AT (WAT), and its association with metabolic risk. Methods Paired abdominal subcutaneous and omental WAT (ScWAT and OmWAT) were chosen based on serum B12 (< 150 pM) from 115 Caucasian pregnant women. Human primary Sc adipocytes from women with different BMI (lean, overweight, obese, morbidly obese) and pre-adipocyte cell line (Chub-S7) were differentiated in various concentrations of B12. Serum B12, folate, lipids, cytokines, biochemical parameters, gene expression, intracellular triglyceride (TG), and mitochondrial function were assessed. Results In pregnant women with low B12 levels, BMI and serum TG were significantly higher, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) was lower (p < 0.05). B12 deficiency in both depots of AT correlated with higher expression of genes in fatty acid (FA) synthesis, elongation, desaturation, TG synthesis, and reduced fatty acid oxidation (FAO) (p < 0.05). In vitro adipocytes with low B12 demonstrated that TG synthesis utilizing radiolabeled FA was higher and mitochondrial function was impaired. We also found that the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in AT was increased, and circulatory cytokines inversely associated with serum B12 (p < 0.05). Conclusions Our novel data highlights that B12 deficiency dysregulates lipids and induces inflammation in AT and circulation, which could contribute to adipocyte dysfunction exacerbating cardiometabolic risk during pregnancy.
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    "This has honestly changed my life" - Evaluating the Efficacy of Community Sentence Treatment Requirements
    (Routledge, 2024-06-07) Evans, Rachel; Hough, Jennifer
    The use of treatment requirements as part of a community sentence (community orders and suspended sentence orders) is low and has been decreasing. Barriers in relation to the use of such orders, centred on uncertainty regarding who should receive community sentence treatment requirements in addition to both low awareness and confidence among criminal justice and health professionals were identified. Sefton Magistrates’ Court was identified as one of the testbed sites in England in 2017 for the use of a protocol which developed pathways into treatment (Alcohol Treatment Requirements, Drug Rehabilitation Requirements and Mental Health Treatment Requirements) for offenders and improved partnership working. This chapter focusses on Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTR) in particular and explores the experience of staff, stakeholders and service users. It examines the lived experience of service users who engaged with an MHTR as part of their community sentence and also discusses outcomes of the CSTR protocol as an approach in community sentencing.