Papers Dietary fat intake and prevention of cardiovascular disease: systematic review

Abstract Objective To assess the effect of reduction or modification of dietary fat intake on total and cardiovascular mortality and cardiovascular morbidity. Design Systematic review. Data sources Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, CAB abstracts, SIGLE, CVRCT registry, and biographies were searched; trials known to experts were included. Included studies Randomised controlled trials stating intention to reduce or modify fat or cholesterol intake in healthy adult participants over at least six months. Inclusion decisions, validity, and data extraction were duplicated. Meta-analysis (random effects methodology), meta-regression, and funnel plots were performed. Results 27 studies (30 902 person years of observation) were included. Alteration of dietary fat intake had small effects on total mortality (rate ratio 0.98; 95% confidence interval 0.86 to 1.12). Cardiovascular mortality was reduced by 9% (0.91; 0.77 to 1.07) and cardiovascular events by 16% (0.84; 0.72 to 0.99), which was attenuated (0.86; 0.72 to 1.03) in a sensitivity analysis that excluded a trial using oily fish. Trials with at least two years' follow up provided stronger evidence of protection from cardiovascular events (0.76; 0.65 to 0.90). Conclusions There is a small but potentially important reduction in cardiovascular risk with reduction or modification of dietary fat intake, seen particularly in trials of longer duration

Host Defense against Viral Infection Involves Interferon Mediated Down-Regulation of Sterol Biosynthesis

Upon infection, our immune cells produce a small protein called interferon, which in turn signals a protective response through a series of biochemical reactions that involves lowering the cells' ability to make cholesterol by targeting a gene essential for controlling the pathway for cholesterol metabolism

Selenium supplementation acting through the induction of thioredoxin reductase and glutathione peroxidase protects the human endothelial cell line EAhy926 from damage by lipid hydroperoxides

AbstractThe human endothelial cell line EAhy926 was used to determine the importance of selenium in preventing oxidative damage induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (tert-BuOOH) or oxidised low density lipoprotein (LDLox). In cells grown in a low selenium medium, tert-BuOOH and LDLox killed cells in a dose-dependent manner. At 555 mg/l LDLox or 300 μM tert-BuOOH, >80% of cells were killed after 20 h. No significant cell kill was achieved by these agents if cells were pre-incubated for 48 h with 40 nM sodium selenite, a concentration that maximally induced the activities of cytoplasmic glutathione peroxidase (cyGPX; 5.1-fold), phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPX;1.9-fold) and thioredoxin reductase (TR; 3.1-fold). Selenium-deficient cells pre-treated with 1 μM gold thioglucose (GTG) (a concentration that inhibited 25% of TR activity but had no inhibitory effect on cyGPX or PHGPX activity) were significantly (P<0.05) more susceptible to tert-BuOOH toxicity (LC50 110 μM) than selenium-deficient cells (LC50 175 μM). This was also the case for LDLox. In contrast, cells pre-treated with 40 nM selenite prior to exposure to GTG were significantly more resistant to damage from tert-BuOOH and LDLox than Se-deficient cells. Treatment with GTG or selenite had no significant effect on intracellular total glutathione concentrations. These results suggest that selenium supplementation, acting through induction of TR and GPX, has the potential to protect the human endothelium from oxidative damage

UK Food Standards Agency workshop report: the effects of the dietary n-6 : n-3 fatty acid ratio on cardiovascular health

This report summarises a workshop convened by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) on 11 September 2006 to review the results of three FSA-funded studies and other recent research on effects of the dietary n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio on cardiovascular health. The objective of this workshop was to reach a clear conclusion on whether or not it was worth funding any further research in this area. On the basis of this review of the experimental evidence and on theoretical grounds, it was concluded that the n-6:n-3 fatty acid ratio is not a useful concept and that it distracts attention away from increasing absolute intakes of long-chain n-3 fatty acids which have been shown to have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health. Other markers of fatty acid intake, that more closely relate to physiological function, may be more useful