Comparison of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils in continuous frying

Some work carried out by the Turbitak Marmara Research Centre and the Yildiz Technical University in Istanbul, in collaboration with the Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia, involved large scale laboratory frying trials of two monounsaturated oils (olive oil and palm olein) and two polyunsaturated oils (sunflower and soyabean) on potato chips (French fries). The oils were tested in parallel in separate 6-litre fryers on five consecutive days of eight hours and 14 batches of 150g potatoes each. At the end of each day the fryers were cleared of any sediment and topped up with fresh oil (about 250g). The performance of the oils was assessed by 11 physical and chemical tests viz. colour, smoke-point, foam height, free fatty acid content, fatty acid composition, iodine value, peroxide value, anisidine value, totox, polymer content and polar compounds. The monounsaturated oils scored higher in most tests and were clearly superior but in some tests such as colour and FFA the polyunsaturated oils scored higher. Single, simple tests as practised in many commercial establishments can be misleading and multiple tests need careful interpretation. The shelf-life of the chips was not assessed as this food is normally eaten within a short time of preparation. But the tests indicate that fried products intended for longer storage and wide distribution, will have a better shelf-life if fried in monounsaturated oils

Electroencephalographic abnormalities in sepsis patients in correlation to the calculated prognostic scores: A case series

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the electroencephalographic (EEG) findings and correlate EEG findings with inflammatory biomarkers and the sepsis prognostic scores SOFA, SAPS II and APACHE II in patients who present in the Emergency Department with sepsis without clinical central nervous system involvement. METHODS: The study included seventeen patients (\u3c 70 years old) with sepsis without central nervous system involvement presenting in the Emergency Department of the University Hospital of Patras, Greece. All patients underwent neurologic examination and EEG analysis on admission to the hospital and were treated according to the international guideline protocols for sepsis. RESULTS: Six of seventeen sepsis patients had mild or moderate EEG abnormalities. We did not find any significant correlation between EEG abnormalities and inflammatory biomarkers (CRP, WBC) or commonly used prognostic sepsis scores. CONCLUSIONS: EEG could serve as a useful tool to identify brain alterations at an early stage in sepsis, before clinical sings of encephalopathy can be detected. However, the presence of EEG abnormalities does not correlate with sepsis severity as measured by the commonly used prognostic sepsis scores SOFA, APACHE II or SAPS II. Because this was a small single center observational study, large multi-center studies are warranted to confirm these findings

Does Natalizumab Induce or Aggravate Psoriasis? A Case Study and Review of the Literature

Psoriasis is a relatively common immune-mediated chronic inflammatory skin disease. It is well known that interferon-beta, a drug used in the management of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, could exacerbate or induce de novo psoriasis. There is limited evidence in the literature based only on case reports that natalizumab could induce or aggravate psoriasis. In this case study, we present a 33-year-old patient who developed plaque psoriasis during natalizumab treatment

The association between IgG and IgM antibodies against cardiolipin, β2-glycoprotein I and Domain I of β2-glycoprotein I with disease profile in patients with multiple sclerosis

Antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL) occur in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) with a number of studies reporting elevated levels; their exact prevalence and pathogenic role remain unclear. Epidemiological studies associate MS with an increased risk of deep venous thromboembolism and stroke; overlapping clinical features with APS. Antibodies against the first domain – Domain I (DI) – of β2glycoprotein I (β2GPI), show the most clinical significance and evidence for pathogenicity in the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), but have not yet been investigated in MS. Serum from a well-defined cohort of 127 MS patients and 92 healthy controls were tested for IgM and IgG antibodies against cardiolipin (CL), β2GPI and DI. Higher frequency of IgM and IgG anti-CL were found in MS patients (18.1% and 21.3%), compared to controls (1.1% in both cases, p < 0.0001). We report that anti-DI antibodies were associated with MS patients, with 6.3% and 7.1% positive for IgM and IgG, respectively, compared to controls, 1.1% (p < 0.05). IgM anti-CL antibodies were elevated in secondary progressive MS and primary progressive MS compared to relapse-remitting MS, (p < 0.005). This study enrolled the largest number of patients with definite MS for studying the association with aPL. Although we confirmed IgM and IgG anti-CL antibodies occur in patients with MS, this is the first study that identified anti-DI antibodies in MS patients. This new finding may prove valuable and future studies are required to evaluate its role as a potential risk factor of thromboembolic phenomena in MS

Restless legs syndrome is contributing to fatigue and low quality of life levels in hemodialysis patients

AIM: To examine whether hemodialysis (HD) patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) are subjects of greater fatigue and impaired quality of life (QoL) compared to HD patients without RLS. METHODS: Eighty five stable HD patients participated in this study. According to their RLS status, the patients were divided into the RLS group (n = 23) and the non-RLS group (n = 62). QoL, fatigue, sleep quality, daily sleepiness and depression symptoms were assessed by using various questionnaires. Finally, biochemical parameters including iron, ferritin, hemoglobin, hematocrit and parathormone were assessed. RESULTS: The HD patients with RLS scored worse in all the questionnaires used in the study (P < 0.05). The patients with RLS were more likely to receive the HD therapy on the morning shift, whilst 43.5% of the RLS patients reported to experience the RLS symptoms also during HD. The severity of RLS was correlated with fatigue, depression score and sleep quality (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: HD patients with RLS are subject to lower QoL related parameters and greater fatigue compared to HD patients without RLS. RLS should be successfully managed in order to improve the QoL of the sufferers

Effects of controlled dehydration on sleep quality and quantity: A polysomnographic study in healthy young adults

Dehydration is associated with several alternations in body homeostasis involving both physiological and mental aspects. In addition some studies have reported a negative effect of dehydration on subjectively assessed sleep-related parameters. The aim of the current study was to examine for the first time the effect of controlled dehydration on sleep quality and quantity using the gold-standard method of polysomnography. Twelve healthy male volunteers participated in this study (23.4 ± 0.8 years). Participants performed an in-house full polysomnographic assessment in two different occasions taking place in random order: (i) in a dehydrated state; and (ii) in a euhydrated state. In the dehydration scenario, the participants were allowed to consume only 1.25 L of non-caffeinated fluids, while during the euhydrated state participants had to drink at least 3 L of non-caffeinated fluids during the last 24 hr before the polysomnographic study. Urine specific gravity was assessed by refractrometry on collection day in order to assess hydration status. Participants who did not fulfil the hydration criteria were rescheduled. All participants successfully completed the two polysomnographic studies without any complaints or adverse effects reported. No significant differences were found in any of the examined indices of sleep quality and quantity between the dehydration and euhydration scenarios (p > .05). This is the first study to show that controlled mild dehydration does not seem to affect sleep quality and quantity in young healthy adults. More research is necessary to further verify these conclusions and assess whether other parameters are involved in the manifestation of sleep disturbances

Restless legs syndrome in Multiple Sclerosis patients: a contributing factor for fatigue, impaired functional capacity, and diminished health-related quality of life

Objectives Restless legs syndrome (RLS) symptoms are common in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients. The aim of the current study was to examine for the first time whether RLS could affect the functional capacity and various contributing parameters related to quality of life and fatigue in MS patients. Methods According to their RLS status, 50 relapsing-remitting MS patients were divided into the RLS (n = 10) and non-RLS groups (n = 40). Specific questionnaires were used in order to assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), fatigue levels, sleep quality, daily sleepiness, and depression symptoms of the patients. Functional capacity was examined using a battery of functional tests. Total body and visceral fat levels were assessed via bioelectrical impedance analyzers. Results Sleep quality, depression, fatigue, and HRQoL levels were found to be significantly worse in the patients with RLS compared to their free-RLS counterparts (P < 0.05). In addition, patients with RLS were found to exhibit further impairments in their performance in various functional tests related mainly with strength levels of lower extremities (P < 0.05). Finally, the patients with RLS were found to have significantly higher both total and trunk fat levels compared to patients without RLS (P < 0.05). A strong correlation was observed between the severity of RLS symptoms, sleep quality, fatigue, and QoL levels. Discussion It seems that RLS contributes even further to impairments on sleep quality, fatigue, functional capacity, and therefore HRQoL levels in relapsing-remitting MS patients, whilst for the first time a link between high fat levels has been revealed