Chronic treatment with glucocorticoids increases the mass of adipose tissue and promotes metabolic syndrome. However little is known about the molecular effects of dexamethasone on adipose biology. Here, we demonstrated that dexamethasone induces progenitor cells to undergo adipogenesis. In the adipogenic pathway, at least two cell types are found: cells with the susceptibility to undergo staurosporine-induced adipose conversion and cells that require both staurosporine and dexamethasone to undergo adipogenesis. Dexamethasone increased and accelerated the expression of main adipogenic genes such as pparg2, cebpa and srebf1c. Also, dexamethasone altered the phosphorylation pattern of C/EBPβ, which is an important transcription factor during adipogenesis. Dexamethasone also had effect on mature adipocytes mature adipocytes causing the downregulation of some lipogenic genes, promoted a lipolysis state, and decreased the uptake of glucose. These paradoxical effects appear to explain the complexity of the action of glucocorticoids, which involves the hyperplasia of adipose cells and insulin resistance.

Introduction: Parenting stress and parental adjustment could implicate key differences in the relational dynamics that parents establish with their children, particularly when families come from vulnerable social contexts. Method: Participants were 142 fathers and mothers from a risk neighborhood of Chile. The variables examined were parenting stress (parental distress, parent–child dysfunctional interaction and difficult child) and parental adjustment (depression, anxiety, and stress). Parents also completed a sociodemographic characterization survey. The statistical analyses were a correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analyses. Results: Overall, not all components of parenting stress were related to parental adjustment. Only parental distress was found as a significant predictor of poor parental adjustment (greater depression, anxiety, and stress), but not parent–child dysfunctional interaction and having a difficult child. Conclusions: The present study findings highlight the influence of stress on parenting as a relevant dimension of research for the improvement of the intervention deployed by the state regarding the protection of vulnerable Chilean children, providing multiple clinical and psychosocial applications for research and intervention purposes.

Los estudios sobre intervenciones basadas en realidad virtual y su efecto en el desarrollo motor y control postural en niños con Síndrome de Down (SD) son escasos.

Introducción: Este estudio tuvo por objetivo analizar la relación entre rendimiento académico y los hábitos alimentarios de una población escolar adolescente de Chile.Material y Métodos: El estudio fue de tipo descriptivo y de corte transversal. La muestra fue de 2116 estudiantes (60,8% mujeres y 39,2% hombres). Se determinaron los hábitos por medio de un recordatorio de 24 horas y se consideraron los promedios escolares generales, de matemática y lenguaje, además de pruebas estandarizadas. Para el análisis de datos se utilizaron estadísticos descriptivos e inferenciales.Resultados: Los resultados indicaron que un 59,1% de los estudiantes desayuna; un71,4% realiza tres o cuatro comidas al día; Y, que quienes realizan dichas acciones tienen medias de rendimiento superiores a quienes no.Conclusiones: Quienes presentan correctos hábitos alimentarios evidencian un mejor rendimiento escolar, realzando la importancia de promover hábitos de vida saludable entre la comunidad escolar.