55 research outputs found
Maternal Plasma 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentrations and the Risk for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
Background: Evidence is accumulating for a role of vitamin D in maintaining normal glucose homeostasis. However, studies that prospectively examined circulating concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-[OH] D) in relation to diabetes risk are limited. Our objective is to determine the association between maternal plasma 25-[OH] D concentrations in early pregnancy and the risk for gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Methods: A nested case-control study was conducted among a prospective cohort of 953 pregnant women. Among them, 57 incident GDM cases were ascertained and 114 women who were not diagnosed with GDM were selected as controls. Controls were frequency matched to cases for the estimated season of conception of the index pregnancy. Results: Among women who developed GDM, maternal plasma 25-[OH] D concentrations at an average of 16 weeks of gestation were significantly lower than controls (24.2 vs. 30.1 ng/ml, P<0.001). This difference remained significant (3.62 ng/ml lower on average in GDM cases than controls (P value = 0.018)) after the adjustment for maternal age, race, family history of diabetes, and pre-pregnancy BMI. Approximately 33% of GDM cases, compared with 14% of controls (P<0.001), had maternal plasma 25-[OH] D concentrations consistent with a pre-specified diagnosis of vitamin D deficiency (<20 ng/ml). After adjustment for the aforementioned covariates including BMI, vitamin D deficiency was associated with a 2.66-fold (OR (95% CI): 2.66 (1.01–7.02)) increased GDM risk. Moreover, each 5 ng/ml decrease in 25-[OH] D concentrations was related to a 1.29-fold increase in GDM risk (OR (95% CI): 1.29 (1.05–1.60)). Additional adjustment for season and physical activity did not change findings substantially. Conclusions: Findings from the present study suggest that maternal vitamin D deficiency in early pregnancy is significantly associated with an elevated risk for GDM
Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases
The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of
aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs)
can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves
excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological
concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can
lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl
radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic
inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the
involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a
large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and
inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation
of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many
similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e.
iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The
studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic
and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and
lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and
longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is
thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As
systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have
multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent
patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of
multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the
decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference
Molecular and functional properties of P2X receptors—recent progress and persisting challenges
Development and Preliminary Validation of a Virtual Reality Approach for Measurement of Torsional Strabismus
Double Maddox rod (DMR), the gold-standard method for in-office measurement of cyclodeviation, requires an examiner and specialized equipment. The objective of this study was to develop a virtual reality (VR) technique for measurement of cyclodeviation and validate this against the DM
Agonists of μ- and δ-opioid receptors in the regulation of IL-2, IL-4, and IFN-γ production by peripheral blood cells in vitro
The Foreign Exchange Rate Exposure of Nations
Exchange rate exposure, International trade, Current account balance, Capital flows, G15, F31,
A field pilot-scale study on heavy metal-contaminated soil washing by using an environmentally friendly agent—poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA)
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