Group items tagged

March 7, 2005 Boston, MA - The anti-inflammatory effect of fish oils appears to be due to a powerful anti-inflammatory compound called resolvin (resolution-phase interaction product) E1, which is produced from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), Dr Makoto Arita (Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA) and colleagues report in the March 7, 2005 issue of the Journal of Experimental Medicine [1]. Arita writes, "At nanomolar levels, resolvin E1 dramatically reduced dermal inflammation, peritonitis, dendritic cell migration, and interleukin (IL)-12 production.

The vitamin D-antimicrobial peptide pathway and its role in protection against infection. Gombart AF. Future Microbiol. 2009 Nov;4:1151-65. PMID: 19895218 Vitamin D deficiency has been correlated with increased rates of infection. Since the early 19th century, both environmental (i.e., sunlight) and dietary sources (cod liver) of vitamin D have been identified as treatments for TB. The recent discovery that vitamin D induces antimicrobial peptide gene expression explains, in part, the 'antibiotic' effect of vitamin D and has greatly renewed interest in the ability of vitamin D to improve immune function. Subsequent work indicates that this regulation is biologically important for the response of the innate immune system to wounds and infection and that deficiency may lead to suboptimal responses toward bacterial and viral infections. The regulation of the cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide gene is a human/primate-specific adaptation and is not conserved in other mammals. The capacity of the vitamin D receptor to act as a high-affinity receptor for vitamin D and a low-affinity receptor for secondary bile acids and potentially other novel nutritional compounds suggests that the evolutionary selection to place the cathelicidin gene under control of the vitamin D receptor allows for its regulation under both endocrine and xenobiotic response systems. Future studies in both humans and humanized mouse models will elucidate the importance of this regulation and lead to the development of potential therapeutic applications

July 16, 2008 - Both a low-carbohydrate diet or a Mediterranean-style diet may be "effective alternatives" to a low-fat diet, with more favorable effects on lipids and/or glycemic control, new research suggests [1]. The two-year study, which managed to keep almost 85% of the 322 study participants on one of the three diets for the entire period, offers the hope that weight-loss diets can be tailored to personal preferences, without sacrificing efficacy, researchers say. "Several recent one-year dietary studies have led the American Diabetes Association to state in January 2008 that low-carb diets should be considered for a maximum of one year," lead author on the study, Dr Iris Shai (Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel), told heartwire . "The current two-year study suggests that one low-fat diet doesn't fit all, meaning that the old paradigm should be reconsidered." Shai and colleagues publish the results of the Dietary Intervention Randomized Controlled Trial (DIRECT) in the July 17, 2008 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine

The first large-scale, prospective, randomized trial of combined treatment with a statin and an omega-3 fatty acid originally derived from fish, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), has shown that the addition of EPA to statin therapy provides additional benefit in preventing major coronary events, apparently through lipid-independent mechanisms.[1] The Japan eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) Lipid Intervention Study (JELIS) tested the effects of long-term use of EPA 1800 mg/day in addition to a statin in Japanese patients with hypercholesterolemia. The results add support to previous evidence of the beneficial effect of omega-3 fatty acids in patients with known coronary heart disease, and show that that effect can extend the benefit of statins, the JELIS investigators believe

July 29, 2008 - The low rate of atherosclerosis and heart disease in Japanese people may be related to their very high levels of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids rather than genetic factors, a new study suggests [1]. The study, known as Electron-Beam Tomography, Risk Factor Assessment Among Japanese and US Men in the Post-World War II Birth Cohort (ERA JUMP) included 868 randomly selected men aged 40 to 49. Of these, 281 were Japanese men living in Japan; 306 were white men living in the US, and 281 were third- or fourth-generation Japanese American men from Hawaii. All study participants had a physical examination, completed a lifestyle questionnaire, and had blood tests to measure cholesterol levels and levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Atherosclerosis was assessed by measuring carotid intima-medial thickness (IMT) and coronary artery calcification (CAC). Results showed that the Japanese men had the lowest levels of atherosclerosis, whereas whites and Japanese Americans had similar higher levels. The Japanese men also had twofold higher levels of marine-derived omega-3 fatty acids than white and Japanese Americans. The study, published in the August 5, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (available online July 28), was conducted by a group led by Dr Akira Sekikawa (University of Pittsburgh, PA, and Shiga University of Medical Science, Japan). They found that compared with white or Japanese American men living in the US, Japanese men living in Japan had twice the blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids - a finding that was independently linked to low levels of atherosclerosis.

September 3, 2008 - Adiponectin is inversely linked with the risk for type 2 diabetes in women, but resistin is not, according to the results of a prospective, nested case-control study reported in the September 2 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. The study authors suggest that adiponectin may be a marker for type 2 diabetes.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) May 29 - Supplementation with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) improves endothelial dysfunction in patients with type 2 diabetes on statin therapy, according to results of a study reported in the May issue of Diabetes Care. The vascular benefits of statins might be attenuated by inhibition of CoQ10 synthesis, Dr. Gerald T. Chew and colleagues from University of Western Australia, Perth, note in their report.

March 27, 2009 - Red meat consumption is positively associated with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD); high intake of chicken, on the other hand, is inversely associated with late AMD, according to findings from a prospective Australian study.

March 27, 2009 - A significant decrease in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels has led to an increase in vitamin D insufficiency in the US population, especially in racial and ethnic groups, according to results of a population-based study reported in the March 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. "Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with increases in cardiovascular disease, cancer, and infection," write Adit A. Ginde, MD, from the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, and colleagues. "Vitamin D supplementation appears to mitigate the incidence and adverse outcomes of these diseases and may reduce all-cause mortality." [...] "These findings have important implications for health disparities and public health," the study authors conclude. "Our data provide additional evidence that current recommendations for vitamin D supplementation (200-600 IU/d) are inadequate to achieve optimal serum 25(OH)D levels in most of the US population." They add that large, randomized controlled trials of higher doses of vitamin D supplementation are needed to evaluate their effect on general health and mortality.

"May 19, 2008 (Orlando, Florida) - A new study shows that a proactive vitamin D treatment plan should be considered when caring for all osteoporosis patients, and that such treatment might help decrease the likelihood of developing vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D deficiency is widespread among patients being treated for osteoporosis, and such deficiency should be treated aggressively, according to the findings presented here at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists 17th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress."