Does Glycine max leaves or Garcinia Cambogia promote weight-loss or lower plasma cholesterol in overweight individuals: a randomized control trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Natural food supplements with high flavonoid content are often claimed to promote weight-loss and lower plasma cholesterol in animal studies, but human studies have been more equivocal. The aim of this study was firstly to determine the effectiveness of natural food supplements containing <it>Glycine max </it>leaves extract (EGML) or <it>Garcinia cambogia </it>extract (GCE) to promote weight-loss and lower plasma cholesterol. Secondly to examine whether these supplements have any beneficial effect on lipid, adipocytokine or antioxidant profiles.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Eighty-six overweight subjects (Male:Female = 46:40, age: 20~50 yr, BMI > 23 < 29) were randomly assigned to three groups and administered tablets containing EGML (2 g/day), GCE (2 g/day) or placebo (starch, 2 g/day) for 10 weeks. At baseline and after 10 weeks, body composition, plasma cholesterol and diet were assessed. Blood analysis was also conducted to examine plasma lipoproteins, triglycerides, adipocytokines and antioxidants.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>EGML and GCE supplementation failed to promote weight-loss or any clinically significant change in %body fat. The EGML group had lower total cholesterol after 10 weeks compared to the placebo group (p < 0.05). EGML and GCE had no effect on triglycerides, non-HDL-C, adipocytokines or antioxidants when compared to placebo supplementation. However, HDL-C was higher in the EGML group (p < 0.001) after 10 weeks compared to the placebo group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Ten weeks of EGML or GCE supplementation did not promote weight-loss or lower total cholesterol in overweight individuals consuming their habitual diet. Although, EGML did increase plasma HDL-C levels which is associated with a lower risk of atherosclerosis.</p

The Mothers and Children’s Environmental Health (MOCEH) study

The MOCEH study is a prospective hospital- and community-based cohort study designed to collect information related to environmental exposures (chemical, biological, nutritional, physical, and psychosocial) during pregnancy and childhood and to examine how exposure to environmental pollutants affects growth, development, and disease. The MOCEH network includes one coordinating center, four local centers responsible for recruiting pregnant women, and four evaluation centers (a nutrition center, bio-repository center, neurocognitive development center, and environment assessment center). At the local centers, trained nurses interview the participants to gather information regarding their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, complications related to the current gestation period, health behaviors and environmental factors. These centers also collect samples of blood, placenta, urine, and breast milk. Environmental hygienists measure each participant’s level of exposure to indoor and outdoor pollutants during the pre- and postnatal periods. The participants are followed up through delivery and until the child is 5 years of age. The MOCEH study plans to recruit 1,500 pregnant women between 2006 and 2010 and to perform follow-up studies on their children. We expect this study to provide evidence to support the hypothesis that the gestational environment has an effect on the development of diseases during adulthood. We also expect the study results to enable evaluation of latency and age-specific susceptibility to exposure to hazardous environmental pollutants, evaluation of growth retardation focused on environmental and genetic risk factors, selection of target environmental diseases in children, development of an environmental health index, and establishment of a national policy for improving the health of pregnant women and their children

Effects of edible bird's nest (EBN) on cultured rabbit corneal keratocytes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There has been no effective treatment or agent that is available for corneal injury in promoting corneal wound healing. Previous studies on edible bird's nest extract (EBN) had reported the presence of hormone-like substance; avian epidermal growth factor that could stimulate cell division and enhance regeneration. This study aimed to investigate the effects of EBN on corneal keratocytes proliferative capacity and phenotypical changes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Corneal keratocytes from six New Zealand White Rabbits were isolated and cultured until Passage 1. The proliferative effects of EBN on corneal keratocytes were determined by MTT assay in serum-containing medium (FDS) and serum-free medium (FD). Keratocytes phenotypical changes were morphologically assessed and gene expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), collagen type 1 and lumican were determined through RT-PCR.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The highest cell proliferation was observed when both media were supplemented with 0.05% and 0.1% EBN. Cell proliferation was also consistently higher in FDS compared to FD. Both phase contrast micrographs and gene expression analysis confirmed the corneal keratocytes retained their phenotypes with the addition of EBN.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggested that low concentration of EBN could synergistically induce cell proliferation, especially in serum-containing medium. This could be a novel breakthrough as both cell proliferation and functional maintenance are important during corneal wound healing. The in vitro test is considered as a crucial first step for nutri-pharmaceutical formation of EBN-based eye drops before in vivo application.</p

Insulin-like growth factors and related proteins in plasma and cerebrospinal fluids of HIV-positive individuals

BACKGROUND: Clinically significant dysregulation of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) family proteins occurs in HIV-infected individuals, but the details including whether the deficiencies in IGFs contribute to CNS dysfunction are unknown. METHODS: We measured the levels of IGF1, IGF2, IGFBP1, IGFBP2, and IGF2 receptor (IGF2R) in matching plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of 107 HIV+ individuals from CNS HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) and analyzed their associations with demographic and disease characteristics, as well as levels of several soluble inflammatory mediators (TNFα, IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IP-10, MCP-1, and progranulin). We also determined whether IGF1 or IGF2 deficiency is associated with HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) and whether the levels of soluble IGF2R (an IGF scavenging receptor, which we also have found to be a cofactor for HIV infection in vitro) correlate with HIV viral load (VL). RESULTS: There was a positive correlation between the levels of IGF-binding proteins (IGFBPs) and those of inflammatory mediators: between plasma IGFBP1 and IL-17 (β coefficient 0.28, P = 0.009), plasma IGFBP2 and IL-6 (β coefficient 0.209, P = 0.021), CSF IGFBP1 and TNFα (β coefficient 0.394, P < 0.001), and CSF IGFBP2 and TNF-α (β coefficient 0.14, P < 0.001). As IGFBPs limit IGF availability, these results suggest that inflammation is a significant factor that modulates IGF protein expression/availability in the setting of HIV infection. However, there was no significant association between HAND and the reduced levels of plasma IGF1, IGF2, or CSF IGF1, suggesting a limited power of our study. Interestingly, plasma IGF1 was significantly reduced in subjects on non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-based antiretroviral therapy (ART) compared to protease inhibitor-based therapy (174.1 ± 59.8 vs. 202.8 ± 47.3 ng/ml, P = 0.008), suggesting a scenario in which ART regimen-related toxicity can contribute to HAND. Plasma IGF2R levels were positively correlated with plasma VL (β coefficient 0.37, P = 0.021) and inversely correlated with current CD4+ T cell counts (β coefficient −0.04, P = 0.021), supporting our previous findings in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these results strongly implicate (1) an inverse relationship between inflammation and IGF growth factor availability and the contribution of IGF deficiencies to HAND and (2) the role of IGF2R in HIV infection and as a surrogate biomarker for HIV VL. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12974-015-0288-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users