Mediterranean diet and cognitive decline

AbstractObjective:To investigate the possible role of diet in age-related cognitive decline (ARCD) and cognitive impairment of both degenerative (Alzheimer's disease, AD) and vascular (vascular dementia, VaD) origin.Design:Literature review.Results:In an elderly population of southern Italy with a typical Mediterranean diet, high energy intake of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) appeared to be associated with a high level of protection against ARCD. In addition, dietary fat and energy in the elderly seem to be risk factors, while fish consumption and cereals are found to reduce the prevalence of AD in European and North American countries. Finally, the relative risk of dementia (AD and VaD) was lower in the subjects of a French cohort who drank three or four glasses of red wine each day compared with total abstainers.Conclusion:Essential components of the Mediterranean diet – MUFA, cereals and wine – seem to be protective against cognitive decline. As such, dietary antioxidants and supplements, specific macronutrients of the Mediterranean diet, oestrogens and anti-inflammatory drugs may act synergistically with other protective factors, opening up new therapeutic interventions for cognitive decline

Effects of parity order and reproductive management on the efficiency of rabbit productive systems.

The aim of this work was to study the effect of parity order and reproductive management systems on rabbit production performance. A total of 73 rabbit does (I group) were submitted to a 35-day intensive rhythm [artificial insemination (AI) on day 4 post-partum (pp) and weaning at 25 days of lactation], and 108 rabbit does (SI group) were submitted to a 42-day semi-intensive rhythm (AI on day 11 pp and weaning at 35 days of lactation) during 9 months. Primiparous does had the lowest live body weight at parturition (P < 0.0001) and at 21 days of lactation (P < 0.0001). They also had lower milk production (P < 0.0001) than does with later parities. I group animals needed a higher number of AI than SI group to become pregnant (1.70 ± 0.03 vs. 1.39 ± 0.03; P < 0.0001: especially after the third). Prolificacy was not affected by the management system. Parturition interval (PI) was longer than expected in both groups [56.0 ± 1.4 and 50.9 ± 1.38 days in I and SI groups, respectively (P < 0.05)]. Mean productivity, estimated as number of weaned rabbits per female and year, was 12 kits higher in rabbit does of the SI group (P < 0.05). From the third parturition onward, an increase in live body weight of kits at different ages was observed. At 21 (P < 0.05) and 25 days of age (P < 0.01), kits from the I group rabbit does weighed more than those from the SI group; however, the latter showed a higher weight at 35 (P < 0.05) and 60 days of age (P < 0.05). Rabbit does with two or three parturitions had higher litter size at 21 and 25 days of age (P < 0.0001 and P < 0.001, respectively). Kit mortality between 21 and 25 days of age and between 35 and 60 days of age was not affected by treatments but was higher in the I group between 25 and 35 days (18.2 vs. 5.03% in the I and SI groups, respectively; P < 0.0001) and as age of does increased (P < 0.05). In light of these results, we could conclude that long term doe reproductive performance is negatively affected and litter viability decreased when using intensive compared to a semi-intensive reproductive management

Preliminary fMRI findings concerning the influence of 5-HTP on food selection

Objective: This functional magnetic resonance imaging study was designed to observe how physiological brain states can alter food preferences. A primary goal was to observe food-sensitive regions and moreover examine whether 5-HTP intake would activate areas which have been associated with appetite suppression, anorexia, satiety, and weight loss. Methods and Procedure: Fourteen healthy male and female participants took part in the study, of which half of them received the supplement 5-HTP and the rest vitamin C (control) on an empty stomach. During the scanning session, they passively observed food (high calories, proteins, carbohydrates) and nonfood movie stimuli. Results: Within the 5-HTP group, a comparison of food and nonfood stimuli showed significant responses that included the limbic system, the basal ganglia, and the prefrontal, temporal, and parietal cortices. For the vitamin C group, activity was mainly located in temporal and occipital regions. Compared to the vitamin C group, the 5-HTP group in response to food showed increased activation on the VMPFC, the DLPFC, limbic, and temporal regions. For the 5-HTP group, activity in response to food high in protein content compared to food high in calories and carbohydrates was located in the limbic system and the right caudomedial OFC, whereas for the vitamin C group, activity was mainly located at the inferior parietal lobes, the anterior cingulate gyri, and the left ventrolateral OFC. Greater responses to carbohydrates and high calorie stimuli in the vitamin C group were located at the right temporal gyrus, the occipital gyrus, the right VLPFC, whereas for the 5-HTP group, activity was observed at the left VMPFC, the parahippocampal gyrus bilaterally, the occipital lobe, and middle temporal gyri. Discussion: In line with the hypotheses, 5-HTP triggered cortical responses associated with healthy body weight as well as cerebral preferences for protein-rich stimuli. The brain’s activity is altered by macronutrients rich or deprived in the body. By reading the organisms physiological states and combining them with memory experiences, it constructs behavioral strategies steering an individual toward or in opposition to a particular food

Pretomanid with bedaquiline and linezolid for drug-resistant TB: a comparison of prospective cohorts

BACKGROUND: There are no data comparing the 6-9 month oral three-drug Nix regimen (bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid [BPaL]) to conventional regimens containing bedaquiline (B, BDQ) and linezolid (L, LZD).METHODS: Six-month post end-of-treatment outcomes were compared between Nix-TB (n = 109) and 102 prospectively recruited extensively drug-resistant TB patients who received an ˜18-month BDQ-based regimen (median of 8 drugs). A subset of patients received BDQ and LZD (n = 86), and a subgroup of these (n = 75) served as individually matched controls in a pairwise comparison to determine differences in regimen efficacy.RESULTS: Favourable outcomes (%) were significantly better with BPaL than with the B-L-based combination regimen (98/109, 89.9% vs. 56/86, 65.1%; adjusted relative risk ratio [aRRR] 1.35; P < 0.001) and in the matched pairwise analysis (67/75, 89.3% vs. 48/75, 64.0%; aRRR 1.39; P = 0.001), despite significantly higher baseline bacterial load and prior second-line drug exposure in the BPaL cohort. Time to culture conversion (P < 0.001), time to unfavourable outcome (P < 0.01) and time to death (P < 0.03) were significantly better or lower with BPaL than the B-L-based combinations.CONCLUSION: The BPaL regimen (and hence substitution of multiple other drugs by pretomanid and/or higher starting-dose LZD) may improve outcomes in drug-resistant TB patients with poor prognostic features. However, prospective controlled studies are required to definitively answer this question

Increased Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Obese Adolescents; A Magnetoencephalographic Pilot Study

BACKGROUND: Obesity is not only associated with metabolic abnormalities, but also with cognitive dysfunction and changes in the central nervous system. The present pilot study was carried out to investigate functional connectivity in obese and non-obese adolescents using magnetoencephalography (MEG). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Magnetoencephalographic recordings were performed in 11 obese (mean BMI 38.8+/-4.6 kg/m(2)) and 8 lean (mean BMI 21.0+/-1.5 kg/m(2)) female adolescents (age 12-19 years) during an eyes-closed resting-state condition. From these recordings, the synchronization likelihood (SL), a common method that estimates both linear and non-linear interdependencies between MEG signals, was calculated within and between brain regions, and within standard frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha1, alpha2, beta and gamma). The obese adolescents had increased synchronization in delta (0.5-4 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) frequency bands compared to lean controls (P(delta total) = 0.001; P(beta total) = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study identified increased resting-state functional connectivity in severe obese adolescents. Considering the importance of functional coupling between brain areas for cognitive functioning, the present findings strengthen the hypothesis that obesity may have a major impact on human brain function. The cause of the observed excessive synchronization is unknown, but might be related to disturbed motivational pathways, the recently demonstrated increase in white matter volume in obese subjects or altered metabolic processes like hyperinsulinemia. The question arises whether the changes in brain structure and communication are a dynamic process due to weight gain and whether these effects are reversible or not

Changing perceptions of hunger on a high nutrient density diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>People overeat because their hunger directs them to consume more calories than they require. The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes in experience and perception of hunger before and after participants shifted from their previous usual diet to a high nutrient density diet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a descriptive study conducted with 768 participants primarily living in the United States who had changed their dietary habits from a low micronutrient to a high micronutrient diet. Participants completed a survey rating various dimensions of hunger (physical symptoms, emotional symptoms, and location) when on their previous usual diet versus the high micronutrient density diet. Statistical analysis was conducted using non-parametric tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Highly significant differences were found between the two diets in relation to all physical and emotional symptoms as well as the location of hunger. Hunger was not an unpleasant experience while on the high nutrient density diet, was well tolerated and occurred with less frequency even when meals were skipped. Nearly 80% of respondents reported that their experience of hunger had changed since starting the high nutrient density diet, with 51% reporting a dramatic or complete change in their experience of hunger.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high micronutrient density diet mitigates the unpleasant aspects of the experience of hunger even though it is lower in calories. Hunger is one of the major impediments to successful weight loss. Our findings suggest that it is not simply the caloric content, but more importantly, the micronutrient density of a diet that influences the experience of hunger. It appears that a high nutrient density diet, after an initial phase of adjustment during which a person experiences "toxic hunger" due to withdrawal from pro-inflammatory foods, can result in a sustainable eating pattern that leads to weight loss and improved health. A high nutrient density diet provides benefits for long-term health as well as weight loss. Because our findings have important implications in the global effort to control rates of obesity and related chronic diseases, further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.</p

Genetic variants influencing biomarkers of nutrition are not associated with cognitive capability in middle-aged and older adults

Several investigations have observed positive associations between good nutritional status, as indicated by micronutrients, and cognitive measures; however, these associations may not be causal. Genetic polymorphisms that affect nutritional biomarkers may be useful for providing evidence for associations between micronutrients and cognitive measures. As part of the Healthy Ageing across the Life Course (HALCyon) program, men and women aged between 44 and 90 y from 6 UK cohorts were genotyped for polymorphisms associated with circulating concentrations of iron [rs4820268 transmembrane protease, serine 6 (TMPRSS6) and rs1800562 hemochromatosis (HFE)], vitamin B-12 [(rs492602 fucosyltransferase 2 (FUT2)], vitamin D ([rs2282679 group-specific component (GC)] and β-carotene ([rs6564851 beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase 1 (BCMO1)]. Meta-analysis was used to pool within-study effects of the associations between these polymorphisms and the following measures of cognitive capability: word recall, phonemic fluency, semantic fluency, and search speed. Among the several statistical tests conducted, we found little evidence for associations. We found the minor allele of rs1800562 was associated with poorer word recall scores [pooled β on Z-score for carriers vs. noncarriers: -0.05 (95% CI: -0.09, -0.004); P = 0.03, n = 14,105] and poorer word recall scores for the vitamin D-raising allele of rs2282679 [pooled β per T allele: -0.03 (95% CI: -0.05, -0.003); P = 0.03, n = 16,527]. However, there was no evidence for other associations. Our findings provide little evidence to support associations between these genotypes and cognitive capability in older adults. Further investigations are required to elucidate whether the previous positive associations from observational studies between circulating measures of these micronutrients and cognitive performance are due to confounding and reverse causality