Cytogenetic effects of irradiation on somatic and germ cells

Aquest treball resumeix el resultats obtinguts en dos dels projectes de recerca desenvolupats en el nostre laboratori dins del marc dels programes de protecció radiològica del Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear i la Unió Europea. Aquestes dues línies de recerca estan fonamentalment interconnectades, en el sentit que l'anàlisi dels efectes citogenètics de les radiacions en cèl?lules somàtiques estudia en el mateix individu les conseqüències de l'exposició ocupacional o accidental a la radiació, especialment des del punt de vista del desenvolupament d'alguns tipus de neoplàsia, mentre que els estudis en cèl?lules germinals avaluen el risc de l'exposició per a futures generacions, a través de la transmissió d'anomalies cromosòmiques per via d'espermatozoides afectats. En ambdós casos, aquests estudis, que s'han dut a terme principalment en els darrers sis anys, a més d'aportar dades bàsiques per avaluar les conseqüències de l'exposició a radiacions i de definir les mesures a prendre per tal de prevenir la transmissió d'anomalies cromosòmiques a la descendència en casos d'exposició terapèutica, han estat també fonamentals per desenvolupar noves i més efectives tècniques per a l'avaluació de les conseqüències citogenètiques de l'exposició a les radiacions.This paper summarizes the results obtained in two of the research projects carried out in our laboratory within the radiation protection programs of the Consejo de Seguridad Nuclear and the European Union. These two research lines are fundamentally interconnected, since the analysis of the cytogenetic effects of radiation on somatic cells studies the consequences of occupational or accidental exposure to radiation for the individual, especially from the point of view of developing some type of malignancy, while the studies carried out in germ cells evaluate the risk of exposure for future generations, through the transmission of chromosome abnormalities via affected spermatozoa. In both cases these studies, which were mainly carried out during the last six years, in addition to providing basic data for the assessment of the consequences of radiation exposure and defining the steps to be taken to prevent the transmission of chromosome anomalies to the offspring in cases of therapeutic exposure, have also been fundamental in developing more effective techniques for the evaluation of the cytogenetic consequences of exposure to radiation

Dietary patterns and the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, asthma, and neurodegenerative diseases

Diet and lifestyle play a significant role in the development chronic diseases; however the full complexity of this relationship is not yet understood. Dietary pattern investigation, which reflects the complexity of dietary intake, has emerged as an alternative and complementary approach for examining the association between diet and chronic diseases. Literature on this association has largely focused on individual nutrients, with conflicting outcomes, but individuals consume a combination of foods from many groups that form dietary patterns. Our objective was to systematically review the current findings on the effects of dietary patterns on chronic diseases. In this review, we describe and discuss the relationships between dietary patterns, such as the Mediterranean, the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension, Prudent, Seventh-day Adventists, and Western, with risk of obesity, type-2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular diseases, asthma, and neurodegenearive diseases. Evidence is increasing from both observational and clinical studies that plant-based dietary patterns, which are rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, are valuable in preventing various chronic diseases, whereas a diet high in red and processed meat, refined grains and added sugar seems to increase said risk. Dietary pattern analysis might be especially valuable to the development and evaluation of food-based dietary guidelines

A survey of cost-sensitive decision tree induction algorithms

The past decade has seen a significant interest on the problem of inducing decision trees that take account of costs of misclassification and costs of acquiring the features used for decision making. This survey identifies over 50 algorithms including approaches that are direct adaptations of accuracy based methods, use genetic algorithms, use anytime methods and utilize boosting and bagging. The survey brings together these different studies and novel approaches to cost-sensitive decision tree learning, provides a useful taxonomy, a historical timeline of how the field has developed and should provide a useful reference point for future research in this field

A 3-year Mediterranean-style dietary intervention may modulate the association between adiponectin gene variants and body weight change

Purpose Adiponectin gene variations have been associated with obesity. There are few interventional studies analyzing this association. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of a nutritional intervention with Mediterranean-style diet and three (-4034A/C, +45T/G and +276 G/T) adiponectin gene variants on 3-year body weight changes in high cardiovascular risk patients Subjects and methods A total of 737 participants, aged 55-80 at high cardiovascular risk were assigned to a low-fat diet or to a Mediterranean-style diet (MD) groups, one with high intake of virgin olive oil (VOO) and the other with high intake of nuts. Anthropometric parameters were taken at baseline and after 3-year follow-up, and the genotyping of the -4034A/C, +45T/G and +276 G/T polymorphisms was done. Results GG genotype of the +45T/G polymorphism was associated with 3-year higher body weight gain (B=1.399; B=0.043). TT genotype of the +276G/T polymorphism was linked to the highest 3-year body weight gain in men. Both Mediterranean diets appeared to reverse this effect (p for interaction=0.053). Conclusion Adiponectin gene variation appeared to be associated with 3-year body weight changes in a high cardiovascular risk population. This association may be modulated by a nutritional intervention with a Mediterranean-style diet

Reduced circulating sTWEAK levels are associated with metabolic syndrome in elderly individuals at high cardiovascular risk

BACKGROUND: The circulating soluble TNF-like weak inducer of apoptosis (sTWEAK) is a cytokine that modulates inflammatory and atherogenic reactions related to cardiometabolic risk. We investigated the association between sTWEAK levels and metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its components in older subjects at high cardiovascular risk. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis of 452 non-diabetic individuals (men and women aged 55-80 years) at high cardiovascular risk. MetS was defined by AHA/NHLBI and IDF criteria. Logistic regression analyses were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for MetS and its components by tertiles of serum sTWEAK concentrations measured by ELISA. RESULTS: sTWEAK concentrations were lower in subjects with MetS than in those without. In gender- and age-adjusted analyses, subjects in the lowest sTWEAK tertile had higher ORs for overall MetS [1.71 (95% CI, 1.07-2.72)] and its components abdominal obesity [2.01 (1.15-3.52)], hyperglycemia [1.94 (1.20-3.11)], and hypertriglyceridemia [1.73 (1.05-2.82)] than those in the upper tertile. These associations persisted after controlling for family history of diabetes and premature coronary heart disease, lifestyle, kidney function and other MetS components. sTWEAK concentrations decreased as the number of MetS components increased. Individuals in the lowest vs the upper sTWEAK tertile had an increased risk of disclosing greater number of MetS features. Adjusted ORs for individuals with 2 vs ≤1, 3 vs ≤1, and ≥4 vs ≤ 1 MetS components were 2.60 (1.09-6.22), 2.83 (1.16-6.87) and 6.39 (2.42-16.85), respectively. CONCLUSION: In older subjects at high cardiovascular risk, reduced sTWEAK levels are associated with MetS: abdominal obesity, hypertriglyceridemia and hyperglycemia are the main contributors to this association

Obesity Indexes and Total Mortality among Elderly Subjects at High Cardiovascular Risk: The PREDIMED Study

BackgroundDifferent indexes of regional adiposity have been proposed for identifying persons at higher risk of death. Studies specifically assessing these indexes in large cohorts are scarce. It would also be interesting to know whether a dietary intervention may counterbalance the adverse effects of adiposity on mortality.MethodsWe assessed the association of four different anthropometric indexes (waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI) and height) with all-cause mortality in 7447 participants at high cardiovascular risk from the PREDIMED trial. Forty three percent of them were men (55 to 80 years) and 57% were women (60 to 80 years). All of them were initially free of cardiovascular disease. The recruitment took place in 11 recruiting centers between 2003 and 2009.ResultsAfter adjusting for age, sex, smoking, diabetes, hypertension, intervention group, family history of coronary heart disease, and leisure-time physical activity, WC and WHtR were found to be directly associated with a higher mortality after 4.8 years median follow-up. The multivariable-adjusted HRs for mortality of WHtR (cut-off points: 0.60, 0.65, 0.70) were 1.02 (0.78–1.34), 1.30 (0.97–1.75) and 1.55 (1.06–2.26). When we used WC (cut-off points: 100, 105 and 110 cm), the multivariable adjusted Hazard Ratios (HRs) for mortality were 1.18 (0.88–1.59), 1.02 (0.74–1.41) and 1.57 (1.19–2.08). In all analyses, BMI exhibited weaker associations with mortality than WC or WHtR. The direct association between WHtR and overall mortality was consistent within each of the three intervention arms of the trial.ConclusionsOur study adds further support to a stronger association of abdominal obesity than BMI with total mortality among elderly subjects at high risk of cardiovascular disease. We did not find evidence to support that the PREDIMED intervention was able to counterbalance the harmful effects of increased adiposity on total mortality.Trial RegistrationControlled-Trials.com ISRCTN3573963

The Antioxidant Potential of the Mediterranean Diet in Patients at High Cardiovascular Risk: An In-Depth Review of the PREDIMED

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading global cause of death. Diet is known to be important in the prevention of CVD. The PREDIMED trial tested a relatively low-fat diet versus a high-fat Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) for the primary prevention of CVD. The resulting reduction of the CV composite outcome resulted in a paradigm shift in CV nutrition. Though many dietary factors likely contributed to this effect, this review focuses on the influence of the MedDiet on endogenous antioxidant systems and the effect of dietary polyphenols. Subgroup analysis of the PREDIMED trial revealed increased endogenous antioxidant and decreased pro-oxidant activity in the MedDiet groups. Moreover, higher polyphenol intake was associated with lower incidence of the primary outcome, overall mortality, blood pressure, inflammatory biomarkers, onset of new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and obesity. This suggests that polyphenols likely contributed to the lower incidence of the primary event in the MedDiet groups. In this article, we summarize the potential benefits of polyphenols found in the MedDiet, specifically the PREDIMED cohort. We also discuss the need for further research to confirm and expand the findings of the PREDIMED in a non-Mediterranean population and to determine the exact mechanisms of action of polyphenols

Effect of the Mediterranean diet on blood pressure in the PREDIMED trial: results from a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundHypertension can be prevented by adopting healthy dietary patterns. Our aim was to assess the 4-year effect on blood pressure (BP) control of a randomized feeding trial promoting the traditional Mediterranean dietary pattern.MethodsThe PREDIMED primary prevention trial is a randomized, single-blinded, controlled trial conducted in Spanish primary healthcare centers. We recruited 7,447 men (aged 55 to 80 years) and women (aged 60 to 80 years) who had high risk for cardiovascular disease. Participants were assigned to a control group or to one of two Mediterranean diets. The control group received education on following a low-fat diet, while the groups on Mediterranean diets received nutritional education and also free foods; either extra virgin olive oil, or nuts. Trained personnel measured participants’ BP at baseline and once yearly during a 4-year follow-up. We used generalized estimating equations to assess the differences between groups during the follow-up.ResultsThe percentage of participants with controlled BP increased in all three intervention groups (P-value for within-group changes: P<0.001). Participants allocated to either of the two Mediterranean diet groups had significantly lower diastolic BP than the participants in the control group (−1.53 mmHg (95% confidence interval (CI) −2.01 to −1.04) for the Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil, and −0.65 mmHg (95% CI -1.15 to −0.15) mmHg for the Mediterranean diet supplemented with nuts). No between-group differences in changes of systolic BP were seen.ConclusionsBoth the traditional Mediterranean diet and a low-fat diet exerted beneficial effects on BP and could be part of advice to patients for controlling BP. However, we found lower values of diastolic BP in the two groups promoting the Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil or with nuts than in the control group.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN3573963

Nutrition, diet and immunosenescence

Ageing is characterized by immunosenescence and the progressive decline in immunity in association with an increased frequency of infections and chronic disease. This complex process affects both the innate and adaptive immune systems with a progressive decline in most immune cell populations and defects in activation resulting in loss of function. Although host genetics and environmental factors, such as stress, exercise and diet can impact on the onset or course of immunosenescence, the mechanisms involved are largely unknown. This review focusses on identifying the most significant aspects of immunosenescence and on the evidence that nutritional intervention might delay this process, and consequently improve the quality of life of the elderly