A randomized study on the influence of oral contraceptives containing ethinylestradiol combined with drospirenone or desogestrel on lipid and lipoprotein metabolism over a period of 13 cycles

In this open-label, randomized study we compared the influence of a new oral contraceptive containing 30 jig ethinylestradiol and 3 mg drospirenone (EE + DRSP = Yasmin(TM)), with a reference preparation containing 30 jig ethinylestradiol and 150 jig desogestrel (EE + DSG = Marvelon(TM)) on the lipid profile. The primary target variables were total high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, HDL2 cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. These and additional lipid and lipoprotein fractions were measured at baseline and in the 3rd, 6th and 13th treatment cycles in a total of 50 volunteers, and also assessed after density gradient ultracentrifugation. A slight increase in mean total HDL cholesterol vs. baseline was found for the DRSP group (+ 12.8%) and the DSG group (+ 11.8%) after 13 treatment cycles. HDL2 cholesterol did not change remarkably in both groups. The mean LDL cholesterol values increased by 10.6% vs. baseline in the DSG group and remained nearly stable in the DRSP group (+ 1.8%). All measured values remained within the reference ranges. No statistically significant differences were found between the two treatment groups for those primary endpoints. A slight rise in mean total cholesterol was found for all cycles after the initiation of treatment. The mean increase after I year of treatment was approximately 8% in both treatment groups. Mean triglyceride levels increased for both treatment groups without leaving the reference range. The increase for total triglycerides was +73.6 % in the DRSP group and +61.3% in DSG group. For total phospholipids, an increase of + 13.6% (DRSP) and + 18.5% (DSG) over 13 cycles was measured. The apolipoproteins Apo A-I, Apo A-II and Apo B increased slightly more during DRSP treatment than during DSG treatment. The reduction of Apo E was similar in both groups. Lipoprotein (a) remained stable in the DRSP group, whereas it increased by + 10.8% in the DSG group. In conclusion, the combined low-dose oral contraceptive Yasmin, with 30 mug ethinylestradiol and 3 mg of the novel progestogen drospirenone,,as well as the reference preparation, had little impact on the lipid profile. While both preparations displayed a favorable lipid profile with increased total HDL cholesterol, the antiandrogenic or missing androgenic activity of Yasmin may be regarded as responsible for the stable LDL cholesterol levels. As a result, the ratio of total HDL:LDL was increased, a pattern that is usually considered clinically beneficial with respect to cardiovascular disease risk. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Galectin-3, a Laminin Binding Protein, Fails to Modulate Adhesion of Human Melanoma Cells to Laminin

Galectin-3 is a laminin binding protein which expression is altered in a variety of human carcinomas including colon, breast and endometrium. In these tumors, we consistently observed a down regulation of galectin-3 expression related to increased aggressiveness. Galectin-3 belongs to a family of galactose-binding lectins and binds laminin through its numerous poly-N-acetyllactosamine chains. To date, the exact role of galectin-3 in the complex interactions between cancer cells and laminin has not been clearly defined. Adhesion of melanoma cells to laminin is a critical event during tumor invasion and metastasis. In this study, we explore the possibility that galectin-3 could modulate attachment of two human melanoma cell lines to laminin. A2058 and A375 melanoma cell expressed galectin-3 on their surface as demonstrated by immunofluorescence, and attached to laminin in an in vitro assay. We demonstrate that neither recombinant galectin-3 nor an affinity purified antigalectin-3 antiserum altered adhesion of A2058 or A375 melanoma cells to laminin. Our data strongly suggest that galectin-3 is not a key element in adhesion of the melanoma cells to laminin. These results are not surprising in light of the observation that galectin-3 expression is down regulated in cancer and that increased adhesion to laminin is a constant feature of invasive cancer cells

Augmentation Strategies for Patients with Major Depressive Disorder with an Inadequate Response to Antidepressant Monotherapy

Introduction: Major depressive disorder is a chronic and debilitating disease characterized by a wide range of emotional and physical symptoms that coexist during a depressive episode and may reoccur at some point during the progression of the disease for the majority of patients. The purpose of the study was to investigate psychiatrists’ experience regarding the response to antidepressive treatment and their options regarding augmentation strategies in depression with incomplete response to antidepressant monotherapy

Galectin-1 Modulates Human Melanoma Cell Adhesion to Laminin

Galectins constitute a gene family of beta-galactoside-specific lectins that show high homology in their carbohydrate-binding site. They have been postulated to be involved in many biological events, but their specific functions are not yet well defined. Galectin-1 is a laminin binding protein that recognizes poly-N-acetyllactosamine chains on this major basement membrane glycoprotein. In this study, we analyzed the possibility that galectin-1 could modulate interactions between human melanoma cells and laminin. We demonstrated that A375 and A2058 cell lines express galectin-1 both intracellularly and on the cell surface. In an in vitro assay, recombinant galectin-1 increased melanoma cell attachment to laminin in a dose-dependent manner. This effect was abolished by lactose. Anti-galectin-1 inhibited adhesion of melanoma cells to laminin in a dose-dependent fashion. However, neither galectin-1 nor anti-galectin-1 antibody affected melanoma cell spreading on laminin in vitro. These data indicate that galectin-1 might participate in melanoma cell adhesion to laminin and therefore could be a modulator of invasion and metastasis

A randomized study over 13 cycles to assess the influence of oral contraceptives containing ethinylestradiol combined with drospirenone or desogestrel on carbohydrate metabolism.

In this open-label, randomized study we compared the influence of a new oral contraceptive containing 30 microg ethinylestradiol and 3 mg drospirenone (Yasmin) with a reference preparation containing 30 microg ethinylestradiol and 150 microg desogestrel (Marvelon) on variables of carbohydrate metabolism by means of oral glucose tolerance tests at baseline and in the 6th and 13th treatment cycle. The mean levels of fasting glucose and insulin were similar at baseline and after 13 treatment cycles, whereas C-peptide and free fatty acid levels decreased slightly in both groups. All blood glucose and insulin values measured in the oral glucose tolerance tests were within normal ranges, despite a slight increase in the mean areas under the curves of 0-3 h [AUCs (0-3 h)] of both variables from baseline to treatment cycle 13. Differences between both treatments were not statistically significant. The mean AUCs (0-3 h) for C-peptide were not markedly changed in any treatment group. Free fatty acid levels decreased by 42% in the drospirenone group and increased by 48.9% in the desogestrel group, in terms of means of individual changes. Both preparations were well tolerated and equally efficacious regarding contraception and cycle control. The mean body weight was slightly decreased in most cycles during treatment with the drospirenone combination, as compared to baseline, while it was slightly increased versus baseline in all cycles during treatment with the desogestrel combination. The combination with drospirenone had less impact on blood pressure than the combination with desogestrel. In conclusion, Yasmin, a combined low-dose oral contraceptive with 30 microg ethinylestradiol and 3 mg of the novel progestogen drospirenone, as well as the reference Marvelon, containing 30 microg ethinylestradiol and 150 microg desogestrel had little impact on carbohydrate metabolism when used for 1 year. The observed changes were small and not suggestive of a clinically relevant deterioration of carbohydrate metabolism

Information, Perceptions and Motivations for Healthy Eating on a Group of European Countries

This is an original research work that is a part of the EATMOT project, which aims to study the eating motivations of different nature in a set of countries all over the world. In this work will be presented some results of the project, regarding three major areas: perceptions about healthy eating, sources of information about healthy diet and healthy motivations for food choice. This is a longitudinal observational study carried out on a non- probabilistic sample with 4870 participants residing in 6 European countries: Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia. Analysis of the data was performed using descriptive statistics and t-test for independent samples or ANOVA with Post-Hoc Tukey HSD, depending on the case. The results obtained allowed concluding that most of the participants have some knowledge about what a healthy diet entails, but still one third did not manifest an opinion for the questions related to healthy eating. Regarding the sources of information about healthy eating, internet was the source more frequently used by a significant part of the participants, while hospitals and health centres were quite irrelevant. This raises some concerns because the internet mighht not always be a reliable source of information. Finally, it was found that the health factors were more influential for the food choices in older people, females, widowed, retired and people working or studying in the area of nutrition.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio