A Krill Oil Supplemented Diet Suppresses Hepatic Steatosis in High-Fat Fed Rats

Krill oil (KO) is a dietary source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, mainly represented by eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid bound to phospholipids. The supplementation of a high-fat diet with 2.5% KO efficiently prevented triglyceride and cholesterol accumulation in liver of treated rats. This effect was accompanied by a parallel reduction of the plasma levels of triglycerides and glucose and by the prevention of a plasma insulin increase. The investigation of the molecular mechanisms of KO action in high-fat fed animals revealed a strong decrease in the activities of the mitochondrial citrate carrier and of the cytosolic acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthetase, which are both involved in hepatic de novo lipogenesis. In these animals a significant increase in the activity of carnitine palmitoyl-transferase I and in the levels of carnitine was also observed, suggesting a concomitant stimulation of hepatic fatty acid oxidation. The KO supplemented animals also retained an efficient mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, most probably as a consequence of a KO-induced arrest of the uncoupling effects of a high-fat diet. Lastly, the KO supplementation prevented an increase in body weight, as well as oxidative damage of lipids and proteins, which is often found in high-fat fed animals

Nature meets nurture: molecular genetics of gastric cancer

The immensity of genes and molecules implicated in gastric carcinogenesis is overwhelming and the relevant importance of some of these molecules is too often unclear. This review serves to bring us up-to-date with the latest findings as well as to look at the larger picture in terms of how to tackle the problem of solving this multi-piece puzzle. In this review, the environmental nurturing of intestinal cancer is discussed, beginning with epidemiology (known causative factors for inducing molecular change), an update of H. pylori research, including the role of inflammation and stem cells in premalignant lesions. The role of E-cadherin in the nature (genotype) of diffuse gastric cancer is highlighted, and finally the ever growing discipline of SNP analysis (including IL1B) is discussed

The prevalence of non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) using emergency department (ED) data: a Northern Ireland based study:Non-cardiac chest pain in the ED

Abstract Background The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of chest pain presentations and the subsequent non-cardiac chest pain diagnoses in an emergency department (ED) over a 3 year period. Methods Administrative data on ED attendances to an urban general hospital in Northern Ireland between March 2013 and March 2016 were used. Data were coded and analysed to estimate frequencies of ‘chest pain’ presentation and the subsequent diagnoses for each year. Results Both chest pain presentations and chest pain presentations with a subsequent diagnosis of unknown cause increased each year. In total, 58.7% of all chest presentations across 3 years resulted in a non-cardiac diagnosis of either ‘anxiety’, ‘panic’ or ‘chest pain of unknown cause’. Discussion There is a significant amount of patients in the ED leaving with a non-cardiac diagnosis, following an initial presentation with chest pain. Conclusion Given the link between non-cardiac chest pain and frequent use of services, the degree of repeat attendance should be investigated

Epidemiology of cardiac syndrome X and microvascular angina

Chest pain and normal coronary angiography is seen in up 30 % of patients undergoing the investigation. Despite its notable prevalence, the epidemiology of the condition remains poorly documented. Since the turn of the twentieth century, researchers have been baffled by “unmistakable” angina in the absence of coronary artery disease. Curiosity as to the cardiac aetiology of this chest pain became the focus of several key studies investigating the clinical and haemodynamic features of patients with normal coronary angiography. From these early findings, the cardinal features of three specific disorders associated with normal coronary angiography were established – Cardiac Syndrome X, Microvascular Angina and more recently, the Coronary Slow Flow Phenomenon. Although ambiguity in the literature exists, it is likely that an ‘ischemic’ mechanism for the chest pain in these patients is explained by coronary microvascular dysfunction. It also now understood that despite the absence of significant coronary artery disease, the outcomes of patients are not entirely favourable, with studies suggesting a frequent persistence of chest pain, and increased risk of cardiac events, particularly among women. This chapter will review the available epidemiological data on patients with chest pain and normal coronary angiography, and the clinical features and possible aetiological explanations for the specific coronary microvascular disorders.Rosanna Tavella and Guy D. Eslic