Metabolic responses to acute physical exercise in young rats recovered from fetal protein malnutrition with a fructose-rich diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Malnutrition <it>in utero </it>can "program" the fetal tissues, making them more vulnerable to metabolic disturbances. Also there is association between excessive consumption of fructose and the development of metabolic syndrome. However, there is little information regarding the acute effect of physical exercise on subjects recovered from malnutrition and/or fed with a fructose-rich diet. The objective of this study was to evaluate the metabolic aspects and the response to acute physical exercise in rats recovered from fetal protein malnutrition with a fructose-rich diet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Pregnant Wistar rats were fed with a balanced (B) diet or a low-protein (L) diet. After birth and until 60 days of age, the offspring were distributed into four groups according to the diet received: B: B diet during the whole experiment; balanced/fructose (BF): B diet until birth and fructose-rich (F) diet afterwards; low protein/balanced (LB): L diet until birth and B diet afterwards; low protein/fructose (LF): L diet until birth and F diet afterwards.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The excess fructose intake reduced the body weight gain, especially in the BF group. Furthermore, the serum total cholesterol and the LDL cholesterol were elevated in this group. In the LF group, the serum total cholesterol and the muscle glycogen increased. Acute physical exercise increased the serum concentrations of glucose, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol and liver lipids and reduced the concentrations of muscle glycogen in all groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>An excess fructose intake induced some signs of metabolic syndrome. However, protein malnutrition appeared to protect against the short term effects of fructose. In other hand, most responses to acute physical exercise were not influenced by early malnutrition and/or by the fructose overload.</p

Different exercise protocols improve metabolic syndrome markers, tissue triglycerides content and antioxidant status in rats

Background: An increase in the prevalence of obesity entails great expenditure for governments. Physical exercise is a powerful tool in the combat against obesity and obesity-associated diseases. This study sought to determine the effect of three different exercise protocols on metabolic syndrome and lipid peroxidation markers and the activity of antioxidant enzymes in adult Wistar rats (120 days old).Methods: Animals were randomly divided into four groups: the control (C) group was kept sedentary throughout the study; the aerobic group (A) swam1 h per day, 5 days per week, at 80% lactate threshold intensity; the strength group (S) performed strength training with four series of 10 jumps, 5 days per week; and the Concurrent group (AS) was trained using the aerobic protocol three days per week and the strength protocol two days per week.Results: Groups A and S exhibited a reduction in body weight compared to group C. All exercised animals showed a reduction in triglyceride concentrations in fatty tissues and the liver. Exercised animals also exhibited a reduction in lipid peroxidation markers (TBARS) and an increase in serum superoxide dismutase activity. Animals in group A had increased levels of liver catalase and superoxide dismutase activities.Conclusions: We concluded that all physical activity protocols improved the antioxidant systems of the animals and decreased the storage of triglycerides in the investigated tissues

Exercise counteracts fatty liver disease in rats fed on fructose-rich diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed to analyze the effects of exercise at the aerobic/anaerobic transition on the markers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), insulin sensitivity and the blood chemistry of rats kept on a fructose-rich diet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We separated 48 Wistar rats into two groups according to diet: a control group (balanced diet AIN-93 G) and a fructose-rich diet group (60% fructose). The animals were tested for maximal lactate-steady state (MLSS) in order to identify the aerobic/anaerobic metabolic transition during swimming exercises at 28 and 90 days of age. One third of the animals of each group were submitted to swimming training at an intensity equivalent to the individual MLSS for 1 hours/day, 5 days/week from 28 to 120 days (early protocol). Another third were submitted to the training from 90 to 120 days (late protocol), and the others remained sedentary. The main assays performed included an insulin tolerance test (ITT) and tests of serum alanine aminotransferase [ALT] and aspartate aminotransferase [AST] activities, serum triglyceride concentrations [TG] and liver total lipid concentrations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The fructose-fed rats showed decreased insulin sensitivity, and the late-exercise training protocol counteracted this alteration. There was no difference between the groups in levels of serum ALT, whereas AST and liver lipids increased in the fructose-fed sedentary group when compared with the other groups. Serum triglycerides concentrations were higher in the fructose-fed trained groups when compared with the corresponding control group.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The late-training protocol was effective in restoring insulin sensitivity to acceptable standards. Considering the markers here evaluated, both training protocols were successful in preventing the emergence of non-alcoholic fatty liver status disease.</p

High throughput toxicity screening and intracellular detection of nanomaterials

With the growing numbers of nanomaterials (NMs), there is a great demand for rapid and reliable ways of testing NM safety—preferably using in vitro approaches, to avoid the ethical dilemmas associated with animal research. Data are needed for developing intelligent testing strategies for risk assessment of NMs, based on grouping and read-across approaches. The adoption of high throughput screening (HTS) and high content analysis (HCA) for NM toxicity testing allows the testing of numerous materials at different concentrations and on different types of cells, reduces the effect of inter-experimental variation, and makes substantial savings in time and cost. HTS/HCA approaches facilitate the classification of key biological indicators of NM-cell interactions. Validation of in vitro HTS tests is required, taking account of relevance to in vivo results. HTS/HCA approaches are needed to assess dose- and time-dependent toxicity, allowing prediction of in vivo adverse effects. Several HTS/HCA methods are being validated and applied for NM testing in the FP7 project NANoREG, including Label-free cellular screening of NM uptake, HCA, High throughput flow cytometry, Impedance-based monitoring, Multiplex analysis of secreted products, and genotoxicity methods—namely High throughput comet assay, High throughput in vitro micronucleus assay, and γH2AX assay. There are several technical challenges with HTS/HCA for NM testing, as toxicity screening needs to be coupled with characterization of NMs in exposure medium prior to the test; possible interference of NMs with HTS/HCA techniques is another concern. Advantages and challenges of HTS/HCA approaches in NM safety are discussed.publishedVersio

Outcomes of allogeneic stem cell transplantation among patients with acute myeloid leukemia presenting active disease: Experience of a single European Comprehensive Cancer Center

Introduction: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) represents a potentially curative approach for patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We report the outcome of relapsed/refractory AML patients treated with ASCT.Method: A retrospective cohort from 1994 to 2013 that included 61 patients with diagnosis of relapsed/refractory AML. Outcomes of interest were transplant-related mortality (TRM), incidence of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), relapse incidence, progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). Statistical significance was set at p<0.05.Results: The median age was 61 years (range 1 to 65). The cumulative incidence of 90 days, 1 year, and 3 years TRM were 60%, 26.7%, and 13.3%, respectively (p< 0.001). The incidence of relapse was 21.7% at 1 year, 13% at 3 years, and 8.7% at 5 years. Median OS was estimated to be 8 months (95CI 3.266-12.734) and median PFS, 3 months (95CI 1.835-4.165).Conclusion: In our cohort, TRM in first years after ASCT remains considerable, but ASCT in this setting seems to be a good choice for AML patients with active disease. However, novel approaches are needed to reduce TRM and relapse in this set of patients

Violence and post-traumatic stress disorder in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: the protocol for an epidemiological and genetic survey

Background: violence is a public health major concern, and it is associated with post-traumatic stress disorder and other psychiatric outcomes. Brazil is one of the most violent countries in the world, and has an extreme social inequality. Research on the association between violence and mental health may support public health policy and thus reduce the burden of disease attributable to violence. the main objectives of this project were: to study the association between violence and mental disorders in the Brazilian population; to estimate the prevalence rates of exposure to violence, post-traumatic stress disorder, common metal disorder, and alcohol hazardous use and dependence: and to identify contextual and individual factors, including genetic factors, associated with the outcomes.Methods/design: one phase cross-sectional survey carried out in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A multistage probability to size sampling scheme was performed in order to select the participants (3000 and 1500 respectively). the cities were stratified according to homicide rates, and in São Paulo the three most violent strata were oversampled. the measurements included exposure to traumatic events, psychiatric diagnoses (CIDI 2.1), contextual (homicide rates and social indicators), and individual factors, such as demographics, social capital, resilience, help seeking behaviours. the interviews were carried between June/2007 February/2008, by a team of lay interviewers. the statistical analyses will be weight-adjusted in order to take account of the design effects. Standardization will be used in order to compare the results between the two centres. Whole genome association analysis will be performed on the 1 million SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) arrays, and additional association analysis will be performed on additional phenotypes. the Ethical Committee of the Federal University of São Paulo approved the study, and participants who matched diagnostic criteria have been offered a referral to outpatient clinics at the Federal University of São Paulo and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro