Metabolic Effects of n-3 PUFA as Phospholipids Are Superior to Triglycerides in Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet: Possible Role of Endocannabinoids

Background n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, namely docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and can ameliorate many of obesity-associated disorders. We hypothesised that the latter effect will be more pronounced when DHA/EPA is supplemented as phospholipids rather than as triglycerides. Methodology/Principal Findings In a ‘prevention study’, C57BL/6J mice were fed for 9 weeks on either a corn oil-based high-fat obesogenic diet (cHF; lipids ~35% wt/wt), or cHF-based diets in which corn oil was partially replaced by DHA/EPA, admixed either as phospholipids or triglycerides from marine fish. The reversal of obesity was studied in mice subjected to the preceding cHF-feeding for 4 months. DHA/EPA administered as phospholipids prevented glucose intolerance and tended to reduce obesity better than triglycerides. Lipemia and hepatosteatosis were suppressed more in response to dietary phospholipids, in correlation with better bioavailability of DHA and EPA, and a higher DHA accumulation in the liver, white adipose tissue (WAT), and muscle phospholipids. In dietary obese mice, both DHA/EPA concentrates prevented a further weight gain, reduced plasma lipid levels to a similar extent, and tended to improve glucose tolerance. Importantly, only the phospholipid form reduced plasma insulin and adipocyte hypertrophy, while being more effective in reducing hepatic steatosis and low-grade inflammation of WAT. These beneficial effects were correlated with changes of endocannabinoid metabolome in WAT, where phospholipids reduced 2-arachidonoylglycerol, and were more effective in increasing anti-inflammatory lipids such as N-docosahexaenoylethanolamine. Conclusions/Significance Compared with triglycerides, dietary DHA/EPA administered as phospholipids are superior in preserving a healthy metabolic profile under obesogenic conditions, possibly reflecting better bioavalability and improved modulation of the endocannabinoid system activity in WA

Studium vlaknitych mikroorganismu zpusobujicich bytneni aktivovaneho kalu a tvorbu biologickych pen

Available from STL Prague, CZ / NTK - National Technical LibrarySIGLECZCzech Republi

No antidepressant-like acute effects of bright light on emotional information processing in healthy volunteers

Rationale: Bright light treatment (BLT) is an efficacious antidepressant intervention, but its mechanism of action is not well understood. Antidepressant drugs acutely affect how emotional information is processed, pushing the brain to prioritise positive relative to negative input. Whether BLT could have a similar effect is not known to date. Objective: To test whether BLT acutely influences emotional information processing similar to antidepressant drugs, using an established healthy volunteer assay. Methods: Following a double-blind, parallel-group design, 49 healthy volunteers (18–65 years, 26 females) were randomly allocated to 60-min BLT (≥ 10,000 lux) or sham-placebo treatment early in the morning in autumn/winter. Immediately after treatment, emotional information processing was assessed using the Oxford Emotional Test Battery, a validated set of behavioural tasks tapping into emotional information processing in different cognitive domains. Participants also completed questionnaires before and after treatment to assess changes in subjective state. Results: The BLT group did not show significantly more positively biased emotional information processing compared to the placebo group (p > 0.05 for all measures). After adjustment for pre-treatment scores, there were also no significant post-treatment differences between groups in subjective state (p > 0.05 for all measures). Conclusions: BLT did not show immediate effects on emotional information processing in an established healthy volunteer assay. Thus, BLT might exert its clinical effects through a different (cognitive) mechanism than other antidepressant interventions. Future studies should corroborate this finding including clinical populations and more intensive treatment regimes, and control for potential chronobiological effects.</p

Autoantibodies can be prognostic markers of an erosive disease in early rheumatoid arthritis

Objective: To evaluate a contribution of selected laboratory parameters for a prediction of progressive and erosive development in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: In a prospective study baseline levels of antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP), IgM, IgA, and IgG rheumatoid factors (RFs) were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in 104 patients with RA with disease duration <2 years. Antikeratin antibodies (AKA) and antiperinuclear factor (APF) were detected by indirect immunofluorescence. Patients were divided into two groups based either on the presence or absence of erosions or according to progression of Larsen score at the end of the 24 months' follow up. Results: Sixty seven (64%) patients developed radiographic erosions, 49 (47%) had progression in Larsen score, and 36 (35%) progressed by more than 10 Larsen units. Significant differences in erosions and progression between the two groups were detected for anti-CCP, AKA, APF, IgM RF, IgA RF, and IgG RF. Baseline Larsen score correlated significantly with anti-CCP, IgM RF, and IgA RF levels, and all measured antibodies correlated with the progression >10 units. The combination of anti-CCP and IgM RF increased the ability to predict erosive and progressive disease. Conclusion: The data confirmed that measurement of anti-CCP, AKA, APF, and individual isotypes of RFs was useful for prediction of structural damage early in the disease course. Combined analysis of anti-CCP and IgM RF provides the most accurate prediction

Genetic risk of suicidal behavior in bipolar spectrum disorder: analysis of 737 pedigrees

Suicide is a significant cause of mortality in patients with major affective disorders (MAD), and suicidal behavior and MAD co-aggregate in families. However, the transmission of suicidal behavior is partially independent from that of MAD. We analyzed the lifetime prevalence of completed and attempted suicides in a large sample of families with bipolar disorder (BD), its relation to family history of MAD and BD, and the contribution of clinical and treatment factors to the risk of suicidal behavior. METHODS: We studied 737 families of probands with MAD with 4919 first-degree relatives (818 affected, 3948 unaffected, and 153 subjects with no information available). Lifetime psychiatric diagnoses and suicidal behavior in first-degree relatives were assessed using semi-structured interviews, family history methods, and reviews of clinical records. Cox proportional hazard and logistic regression models were used to investigate the role of clinical covariates in the risk of suicidal behavior, and in the prevalence of MAD and BD. RESULTS: The estimated lifetime prevalence of suicidal behavior (attempted and completed suicides) in 737 probands was 38.4 ± 3.0%. Lithium treatment decreased suicide risk in probands (p = 0.007). In first-degree relatives, a family history of suicidal behavior contributed significantly to the joint risk of MAD and suicidal behavior (p = 0.0006). CONCLUSIONS: The liability to suicidal behavior is influenced by genetic factors (particularly family history of suicidal behavior and MAD). Even in the presence of high genetic risk for suicidal behavior, lithium treatment decreases suicide rates significantly

Czech Republic: Nation Formation, Czech Republic and Europe.

State of the Art and Historical Report (D1 and D2) prepared for the EURONAT project.Available from STL Prague, CZ / NTK - National Technical LibrarySIGLECZCzech Republi

Control of electroless nickel plating baths

Translated from Czech. (Koroze Ochr. Mater. 1986 (5) p. 102-104)Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:9022.06(BISI-Trans--26902)T / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Czech Republic: Nation Formation, Czech Republic and Europe.

State of the Art and Historical Report (D1 and D2) prepared for the EURONAT projectAvailable from STL Prague, CZ / NTK - National Technical LibrarySIGLECZCzech Republi