The effect of dietary hempseed on atherogenesis and contractile function in aortae from hypercholesterolemic rabbits

Hempseed contains a unique combination of both omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids. In other studies, supplementation of the diet with selected polyunsaturated fatty acids has induced significant, beneficial cardiovascular effects. The purpose of the present study is to determine if hempseed ingestion over an 8-week period may provide protection to rabbits against the deleterious effects associated with dietary cholesterol supplementation. Methods: Male albino New Zealand White rabbits were randomly divided into one of six groups: the control diet (RG), the control diet then supplemented with (wt/wt) 5% coconut oil (CO), or 10% hempseed (HP), or 0.5% cholesterol (OL), or with both 10% hempseed and 0.5% cholesterol (OLHP) or with 10% hempseed that was partially delipidated (SC). Each day the rabbits were fed 125 grams of the appropriate diet over an 8-week period. Fatty acid analysis of tissue and diets was determined using gas chromatography. Vascular function testing of aortic rings was done in order to assess the response of the tissue to both contraction and relaxation stimuli. Aortic atherosclerotic plaque was quantified. Results: Cholesterol supplementation to the diet induced significant aortic plaque development. Dietary hempseed did not generate protection. The aorta obtained from rabbits fed the cholesterol-supplemented chow also exhibited defects in their contractile responses to KCl and norepinephrine and in relaxation to sodium nitroprusside (SNP). The addition of hempseed to this diet did not generate any improvement in contractile responses but had a modest protective effect on the cholesterol-induced defects in SNP-induced relaxation. Conclusions: Our data demonstrate that dietary hempseed provides mildly beneficial effects against contractile dysfunction associated with atherosclerotic vessels in the cholesterol-fed rabbit

Immunocompromised patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome : Secondary analysis of the LUNG SAFE database

The aim of this study was to describe data on epidemiology, ventilatory management, and outcome of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in immunocompromised patients. Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis on the cohort of immunocompromised patients enrolled in the Large Observational Study to Understand the Global Impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Failure (LUNG SAFE) study. The LUNG SAFE study was an international, prospective study including hypoxemic patients in 459 ICUs from 50 countries across 5 continents. Results: Of 2813 patients with ARDS, 584 (20.8%) were immunocompromised, 38.9% of whom had an unspecified cause. Pneumonia, nonpulmonary sepsis, and noncardiogenic shock were their most common risk factors for ARDS. Hospital mortality was higher in immunocompromised than in immunocompetent patients (52.4% vs 36.2%; p < 0.0001), despite similar severity of ARDS. Decisions regarding limiting life-sustaining measures were significantly more frequent in immunocompromised patients (27.1% vs 18.6%; p < 0.0001). Use of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) as first-line treatment was higher in immunocompromised patients (20.9% vs 15.9%; p = 0.0048), and immunodeficiency remained independently associated with the use of NIV after adjustment for confounders. Forty-eight percent of the patients treated with NIV were intubated, and their mortality was not different from that of the patients invasively ventilated ab initio. Conclusions: Immunosuppression is frequent in patients with ARDS, and infections are the main risk factors for ARDS in these immunocompromised patients. Their management differs from that of immunocompetent patients, particularly the greater use of NIV as first-line ventilation strategy. Compared with immunocompetent subjects, they have higher mortality regardless of ARDS severity as well as a higher frequency of limitation of life-sustaining measures. Nonetheless, nearly half of these patients survive to hospital discharge. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02010073. Registered on 12 December 2013