Lowell T. Duncan 
Advances in Health and Disease. Volume 17 

Obesity worldwide represents a public health problem, compromising life expectancy in children and adolescents, and has been associated with mortality and a higher risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Advances in Health and Disease. Volume 17 investigates the association of adiponectin concentration with metabolic and inflammatory profiles of adolescents with obesity and diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is considered the hepatic manifestation of obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes mellitus, where the main toxic mediators in this condition are free fatty acids, triglycerides and cholesterol accumulation. In the context of liver transplantation, recipient hemodynamic stability is necessary for its reliable measurement. As such, the authors discuss how the plasma disappearance rate of indocyanine green has shown usefulness in different pathologies. The authors go on to discuss spondylosis, a defect in the pars interarticularis of the neural arch, which is a common cause of back pain. The management principles of symptomatic spondylolisthesis have remained consistent over the decades; however, there is a constant evolution in the understanding of the biomechanics of spondylolisthesis, reduction techniques, and fusion modalities. The symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of degenerative spondylolisthesis and isthmic spondylolisthesis in the lumbar spine are discussed. Following this, the authors review the current understanding of delirium pathophysiology, examining the current evidence-based guidelines regarding the screening, prevention and treatment of delirium as relevant to the bedside clinician. This compilation also explores awake craniotomy, a neurosurgical approach performed with the patient awake during the procedure. This approach is increasingly widespread for the surgical treatment of supratentorial cortical lesions and, in particular, for the excision of lesions near or within the motor or language areas. The penultimate chapter examines age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of irreversible visual function decrease among elderly individuals in developed countries. Most of the patients are affected by the atrophic, non-exudative form that is characterized by the occurrence of progressive atrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors. The final study focuses on Clostridium difficile infections associated with high incidence, mortality, and healthcare costs. C. difficile infections are mainly linked to the use of wide-spectrum antibiotics that disrupt the intestinal microbiota equilibrium.