Inclusion of fish or fish oil in weight-loss diets for young adults: effects on blood lipids.

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links fieldOBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of fish (lean or oily) and fish oil consumption on blood lipid concentration during weight loss. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled 8-week trial of energy-restricted diet varying in fish and fish oil content. Subjects, 324 men and women, aged 20-40 years, body mass index 27.5-32.5 kg m(-2), from Iceland, Spain and Ireland, were randomized to one of four groups: (1) control (sunflower oil capsules, no seafood), (2) cod diet (3 x 150 g week(-1)), (3) salmon diet (3 x 150 g week(-1)), (4) fish oil (DHA/EPA capsules, no seafood). The macronutrient composition of the diets was similar between the groups and the capsule groups were single-blinded. MEASUREMENTS: Total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triacylglycerol (TG) and anthropometrics were measured at baseline and end point. RESULTS: The difference in logTG lowering between the control group and the cod diet, salmon diet and fish oil from baseline to end point was -0.036 (95% CI -0.079 to 0.006), -0.060 (-0.101 to -0.018) and -0.037 (-0.079 to 0.006), respectively. Reduction in TC was about 0.2 mmol l(-1) greater in the fish groups (cod and salmon) than in the control group, but only of borderline significance when adjusting for weight loss. HDL tended to decrease less in the diet groups consuming a significant amount of n-3 fatty acids (salmon and fish oil). CONCLUSION: Weight-loss diet including oily fish resulted in greater TG reduction than did a diet without fish or fish oil. Controlled trials using whole fish as a test meal are encouraged to be able to elucidate the role of different constituents of fish for human health

Piletas: água para o gado e para a fauna no Pantanal da Nhecolândia.

Considerando que a maioria das fontes de água livre (baías e salinas) tende a desaparecer durante secas mais severas e que a fauna silvestre é abundante na região, o objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar se espécies da fauna silvestre utilizam bebedouros construídos para o gado na Nhecolândia, o que caracterizaria uma contribuição indireta da bovinocultura para a conservação da fauna silvestre nesta região do Pantanal.Comunicado Técnico Formato Eletrônico

Analytical validation of an automated assay for the measurement of adenosine deaminase (ADA) and its isoenzymes in saliva and a pilot evaluation of their changes in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection

Objectives The aim of the present study was to validate a commercially available automated assay for the measurement of total adenosine deaminase (tADA) and its isoenzymes (ADA1 and ADA2) in saliva in a fast and accurate way, and evaluate the possible changes of these analytes in individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods The validation, in addition to the evaluation of precision and accuracy, included the analysis of the effects of the main procedures that are currently being used for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation in saliva and a pilot study to evaluate the possible changes in salivary tADA and isoenzymes in individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2. Results The automated assay proved to be accurate and precise, with intra- and inter-assay coefficients of variation below 8.2%, linearity under dilution linear regression with R2 close to 1, and recovery percentage between 80 and 120% in all cases. This assay was affected when the sample is treated with heat or SDS for virus inactivation but tolerated Triton X-100 and NP-40. Individuals with SARS-CoV-2 infection (n=71) and who recovered from infection (n=11) had higher mean values of activity of tADA and its isoenzymes than healthy individuals (n=35). Conclusions tADA and its isoenzymes ADA1 and ADA2 can be measured accurately and precisely in saliva samples in a rapid, economical, and reproducible way and can be analyzed after chemical inactivation with Triton X-100 and NP-40. Besides, the changes observed in tADA and isoenzymes in individuals with COVID-19 open the possibility of their potential use as non-invasive biomarkers in this disease

Brain-Sparing Sympathofacilitators Mitigate Obesity without Adverse Cardiovascular Effects.

Anti-obesity drugs in the amphetamine (AMPH) class act in the brain to reduce appetite and increase locomotion. They are also characterized by adverse cardiovascular effects with origin that, despite absence of any in vivo evidence, is attributed to a direct sympathomimetic action in the heart. Here, we show that the cardiac side effects of AMPH originate from the brain and can be circumvented by PEGylation (PEGyAMPH) to exclude its central action. PEGyAMPH does not enter the brain and facilitates SNS activity via theβ2-adrenoceptor, protecting mice against obesity by increasing lipolysis and thermogenesis, coupled to higher heat dissipation, which acts as an energy sink to increase energy expenditure without altering food intake or locomotor activity. Thus, we provide proof-of-principle for a novel class of exclusively peripheral anti-obesity sympathofacilitators that are devoid of any cardiovascular and brain-related side effects

Diferencias clínicas y hematimétricas en pacientes con trombocitemia esencial y mutación para el gen de la calreticulina

Abstract [PB-090] Introducción: La identificación de la mutación somática en el gen CALR ha supuesto un avance diagnóstico en las neoplasias mieloproliferativas crónicas. Una cuarta parte de los pacientes (ptes) con trombocitemia esencial (TE) presenta dicha mutación, diferenciando dos variantes: la CALR tipo 1 (deleciones) y tipo 2 (inserciones). La TE mutada por CALR podría tratarse no solo de una entidad distinta a nivel molecular, sino también a nivel clínico-analítico. Métodos: Estudio descriptivo y prospectivo unicéntrico. Se incluyen 95 pacientes con TE diagnosticados en el Hospital Miguel Servet. Se analizan variables demográficas, características clínicas y hematimétricas en función de la biología molecular del paciente, establecimiento las diferencias observadas entre los pacientes con mutación JAK-2 y CALR (tipo 1 y tipo 2). Resultados: 35 eran hombres y 60 mujeres. Del total de pacientes, 55 presentaban la mutación JAK-2 (57, 89%), 22 la mutación CALR (23, 15%) (tipo 1: 12 ptes (46, 15%) y tipo 2: 10 ptes (38, 46%)), 5 la mutación MPL (5, 2%) y 9 eran triples negativos (9, 4%). Los ptes con TE mutada con CALR eran más jóvenes que los JAK-2, mediana de edad 65 años (29-84) y 72 años (40-96) respectivamente. Al diagnóstico, las cifras de hemoglobina y leucocitos en ptes JAK-2 eran superiores (mediana 14, 6 g/dL y 9, 30. 10³/µL) frente a CALR tipo 1 (mediana 14, 1 g/dL y 7, 78.10³/µL) y tipo 2 (14, 4 g/dL y 7, 80.10³/µL) y presentaban un recuento menor de plaquetas (mediana 744.10³/µL) frente a CALR tipo 1 (mediana 836. 10³/µL) y tipo 2 (mediana 916.10³/µL). Todos los pacientes CALR presentaban niveles normales de eritropoyetina mientras que un 18% JAK-2 presentaban niveles descendidos. 17 ptes (12, 72%) JAK-2, 3 ptes (25%) CALR tipo 1 y 1 pte (10%) CALR tipo 2 presentaban esplenomegalia. Presentaron episodio trombótico previo al diagnóstico: 5 ptes JAK- 2 (9%), de éstos 5 ptes eran hipertensos y 2 dislipémicos, 1 pte CALR tipo 1 (8, 3%), era hipertenso, dislipémico y fumador y ninguno CALR tipo 2, 1 pte era hipertenso. Tras el diagnóstico 1 pte JAK2 presentó nuevo episodio trombótico posteriormente. Al diagnóstico, 41 pacientes JAK-2 se les realizó biopsia ósea (74, 5%) con reticulina grado 1: 11 ptes (26, 82%), grado 2: 3 ptes (7, 3%) y grado 3: 0 ptes; a 11 ptes CALR tipo 1 (91, 6%) con reticulina grado 1: 3 ptes (27, 27%) y grado 2-3: 0 ptes; a 7 pacientes CALR tipo 2 (70%) con reticulina tipo 1: 3 ptes (44, 85%) y grado 2-3: 0 ptes. Conclusiones: La TE con mutación CALR parece comportarse de manera diferente en térmicos de características biológicas, hematológicas y clínicas frente a la mutación JAK2. Afecta a individuos relativamente jóvenes y se caracteriza por un recuento de plaquetas mayor pero con un riesgo trombótico inferior, especialmente los pacientes CALR tipo 2. Aunque en nuestra serie no encontramos grandes diferencias entre los subtipos de CALR, probablemente por el escaso número de ptes, creemos que ampliando la muestra existan diferencias entre ambos subgrupos que podrían implicar diferentes algoritmos terapéuticos