The Influence of Fasting and Energy Restricting Diets on IGF-1 Levels in Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Fasting and energy restricting diets have a potential means of delaying or preventing the onset of a range of age-related metabolic and neoplastic diseases. Consistently at the centre of this effect appears to be a significant reduction in circulating IGF-1 levels. The aim of the current systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the influence of fasting and energy restriction on IGF-1 levels in human subjects. Methods: A comprehensive systematic search was conducted from onset of the database to February 2019 in Embase, MEDLINE/PubMed, and SCOPUS to identify randomized clinical trials that investigating the impact of fasting or energy restriction circulating IGF-1 levels. Effect size was reported as weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95 confidence intervals (CI) using a random-effects models. Subgroup analysis was performed to identify the probable source of heterogeneity among trials. Results: Total pooling of fasting and energy restriction randomised controlled trials in WMD analysis revealed no significant effect on circulating IGF-1 levels (WMD: �16.41 ng/ml, 95 CI: �35.88, 3.07). Sub grouped analysis fasting regimens appeared to substantially reduce IGF-1 (WMD: -28.87 ng/ml, 95 CI: �43.69, �14.05, I 2 = 00), energy restricting regimens failed to do the same (WMD: -10.98 ng/ml, 95 CI: �33.08, 11.11, I 2 = 90). Within this final subgrouping, it was observed that only energy restriction regimens of 50 or greater of normal daily energy intake were capable of significantly reducing IGF-1 levels (WMD: -36.57 ng/ml, 95 CI: �59.19, �13.95, I 2 = 00). Finally, a meta regression were noted in which the percentage restriction of daily energy intake inversely correlated with plasma IGF-1 levels (p = 0.04). Conclusion: This study uncovered that fasting significantly reduced levels of IGF-1, while energy restriction diets were successful only when intake was reduced by 50 or more. © 2019 Elsevier B.V

Prophylactic Administration of Aminophylline to Prevent Renal Dysfunction in Asphyxiated Neonates

Background: Neonatal asphyxia is one of the most common neonatal problems. And kidney injuries are one of the most important complications of asphyxia in infants. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of administering aminophylline on improving the renal function of asphyxiated preterm infants.Methods: In this single-blind randomized clinical trial, forty term neonates with perinatal asphyxia were randomized to intervention (n=21) and control (n=19) groups, respectively, receiving a intravenously single dose of aminophylline (5 mg/kg) or an equal volume of placebo (5% dextrose in water) during the first 3 hours of life. Daily urine output, 24-hour fluid intake, weight and serum creatinine were recorded during the first 5 days of life.Result: The incidence of severe kidney dysfunction was not significantly different between the two groups. (2 infants in the group of intervention with aminophylline and 3 in the control placebo group; p=0.23). Plasma creatinine (Pcr) levels were increased in both groups on the second day and reached the maximum in the third day. Then it gradually decreased during the fourth and fifth days of life. There was no significant difference in Pcr & GFR between the groups in these five days (p>0.05). However, urinary output/input ratio was higher in the aminophylline group in the first three days of life.Conclusion: Prophylactic administration of aminophylline in asphyxiated neonates could not change the process of renal failure in the patients but could increase urinary output in the first days of life

Waist Circumference and Risk of Liver Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of over 2 Million Cohort Study Participants

Liver cancer is the sixth most common type of cancer worldwide, and waist circumference (WC) is associated with its risk beyond body mass index (BMI). This dose-response meta-analysis was performed to investigate the association between WC and the risk of incident liver cancer using prospective cohort studies. A comprehensive systematic search was conducted in MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science databases, Scopus, and Coch-rane from inception to May 2019. Studies with retrospective or prospective cohort design that reported hazard ratio (HR), risk ratio, or odds ratio, and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for liver cancer based on WC categories were included in this meta-analysis. Combined HRs with 95% CIs was estimated by DerSimonian and Laird random-effects models. Associations between WC and liver cancer were reported in 5 articles with 2,547,188 participants. All studies were published between 2013 and 2019. Pooled results showed a strong significant association with minimum heterogeneity between WC and risk of liver cancer (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.38-1.83, heterogeneity = 0.42: 2 = 0%). Moreover, a dose-response model indicated a significant positive association between WC and risk of liver cancer (exp(b) = 1.018, < 0.001). This systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis highlights WC as a significant risk factor related to the incidence of liver cancer

The Influence of Fasting and Energy Restricting Diets on Blood Pressure in Humans: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis

Introduction: To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive meta-analysis has been carried out to investigate the effect of different approaches of fasting and calorie restriction on blood pressure. Aim: Thus, the present systematic review and meta-analysis was designed to examine the effect of fasting and energy restricting diets on blood pressure in adult subjects. Methods: We searched PubMed/Medline, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar up to June 2019. The clinical trials that examined the effects of fasting and energy restricting diets on Blood Pressure was identified using MESH and non-MESH terms. Results: 23 studies, including a total of 1397 participants, reported SBP and DBP as an outcome measure. Overall results from the random-effects model indicated that fasting and energy restricting administration elicited significant changes in SBP (weight mean difference (WMD): � 1.88 mmHg, 95 CI � 2.50, � 1.25) and DBP (WMD � 1.32 mmHg, 95 CI � 1.81, � 0.84, p = 0.000). Subgroup analyses displayed that intervention duration � 12 weeks more effectively reduced SBP (WMD: -3.26 mmHg) and DBP (WMD � 1.32 mmHg). In addition, these analyses showed that fasting regimens (WMD � 3.26 mmHg) more effectively reduced SBP than energy restricting diets (WMD � 1.09 mmHg). Conclusion: The principal finding of this study was that fasting and energy restricting diets elicited, overall, significant reductions in SBP and DBP. Subsequent subgroup analyses revealed that intervention duration � 12 weeks and fasting regimens more effectively reduced SBP and DBP. © 2020, Italian Society of Hypertension

Adherence to a Paleolithic Diet in Combination With Lifestyle Factors Reduces the Risk for the Presence of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Case-Control Study

BackgroundEvidence suggests the role of changing traditional lifestyle patterns, such as Paleolithic, to the modern lifestyle in the incidence and epidemic of chronic diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the associations between the Paleolithic diet (PD) and the Paleolithic-like lifestyle and the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among an adult population.Materials and MethodsThis case-control study was carried out among 206 patients with NAFLD and 306 healthy subjects aged &gt;18 years. PD score was evaluated using a validated 168-item quantitative food frequency questionnaire. In addition, to calculate the Paleolithic-like lifestyle score, the components of physical activity, body mass index (BMI), and smoking status of the participants were combined with the score of the PD.ResultsThe mean PD and Paleolithic-like lifestyle scores were 38.11 ± 5.63 and 48.92 ± 6.45, respectively. After adjustment for potential confounders, higher scores of adherence to the PD diet conferred a protection for the presence of NAFLD [odds ratio (OR): 0.53; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.28–0.98; P for trend = 0.021]. Furthermore, PD and healthy lifestyle habits were negatively associated with NAFLD (OR = 0.42, 95% CI 0.23–0.78; P for trend = 0.007).ConclusionOur data suggest that the PD alone and in combination with lifestyle factors was associated with decreased risk of NAFLD in a significant manner in the overall population. However, prospective studies are needed to further investigate this association

Association between dietary acid load with alternative Mediterranean diet and dietary approaches to stop hypertension among Tehranian women

Background & Objective: There are few studies that have been examined the association between dietary acid load and healthy diet patterns. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between dietary acid load with alternative Mediterranean diet score (aMED) and dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH). Matrrials & Methodes: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 270 women with age range 20-50 years in Tehran, Iran. Usual dietary intakes were assessed by a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire, which contains 168 food items. Potential renal acid load (PRAL) and Net Endogenous Acid Production (NEAP) and Dietary acid load (DAL) was calculated for each person. The scores of aMED and DASH were estimated for participants. Results: The mean ± SD of age was 32.64 ±8.44 years. AMED scores were significant difference among the PRAL, NEAP and DAL tertiles (P<0.001, P=0.01 and P=0.003 for PRAL, NEAP and DAL respectively). Also, the women who were in the middle tertiles of dietary acid load indices, have lower DASH scores compared with the lower tertiles (P=0.007, P=0.03 and P=0.005 for PRAL, NEAP and DAL respectively). These results stayed significant even after adjusting for multiple covariates. Conclusion: The present study showed that dietary acid load indices have a negative association with aMED and DASH scores

The Effect of a Weight Reducing Diet (Containing Fish, Walnut or Their Combination) on Inflammatory Factors and Lipid Indices in Overweight and Obese Women: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background and Objectives: There are several reports regarding the beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids on inflammatory factors and lipid profile. However, different sources of this kind of fatty acids have not been much studied. The objective of this study was to compare the effects of consumption of walnut (plant source of omega-3 fatty acid) salmon fish (marine source of omega-3 fatty acid) and their combination on inflammatory factors and serum levels of lipids in overweight and obese women. &nbsp; Methods: In this clinical trial study, 99 overweight and obese women underwent three weight reducing interventions, including diets with fish (300g per week), walnut (18walnuts per week) or combination of fish and walnut (150g fish and 9walnuts per week) for 12weeks. Inflammatory factors and serum lipids were measured at baseline and the end of the study. ANCOVA test was used to analyze the data. &nbsp; Results: The decrees in LDL (p=0.03), hs-CRP (p<0.01), TNF-&alpha; (p=0.01), and IL-6 (p<0.01) and increase in HDL (p<0.01) in the combination of fish and walnut group was significantly higher compared to fish group and walnut group. A decrease was also observed in triglyceride (TG) in the fish group compared to other groups (p=0.07), although this difference was not significant. Changes in weight and waist circumference in the combination of fish and walnut group was relatively significant compared to other groups. &nbsp; Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the effect of combined use of plant and marine sources of omega-3 fatty acids on the reduction of inflammatory factors and improvement of the lipid profile, is more beneficial than the separate consumption of fish or walnut. &nbsp

Effect of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on serum of high sensitivity c-reactive protein level in patients with cardiovascular diseases: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Possible effects of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplement on the serum level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remains unclear. Objective: Therefore, this meta-analysis was conducted to investigate its effects on the serum hs-CRP level in patients with CVDs. A comprehensive search was conducted on the EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PubMed Central databases for pertinent papers in English up to November 2016. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that studied the effects of supplementation with CoQ10 on the serum of hs-CRP level in cardiovascular patients were included. We used random-effects models (the DerSimonian–Laird method) to estimate the pooled effect of selected studies and the I2 test to assess the between-study heterogeneity. The subgroup analyses were carried out according to the baseline serum hs-CRP, quality assessment score, supplementation dosage, and duration of intervention. Of 205 studies, five trials were eligible for inclusion in this study with 159 participants in the ntervention and 143 participants in the placebo group. Results of the pooled analysis revealed that the CoQ10 supplementation had no significant effect on the serum level of hs-CRP compared with the placebo group (MD: 0.120; 95% = −0.944, 1.185; P = 0.825). Moreover, the subgroup analyses showed the baseline serum hs-CRP, quality assessment score, and duration of intervention can be sources of heterogeneity. The results of this study demonstrated that the beneficial effect of CoQ10 supplementation for patients with CVDs is observed in those who received this supplement for more than 12 weeks and with the baseline serum hs-CRP >3 mg/L

Synthesis of a new Pt(II) complex containing valganciclovir drug and calf-thymus DNA interaction study using multispectroscopic methods

<p>A new complex, [Pt(valcyte)(DMSO)Cl]Cl, in which valcyte (trade name) served as valganciclovir hydrochloride drug ([2-[(2-amino-6-oxo-3H-purin-9-yl)methoxy]-3-hydroxypropyl](2S)-2-amino-3-methylbutanoate), was synthesized and characterized by different physicochemical methods. Binding interaction of this complex with calf<b>-</b>thymus DNA (ct-DNA) has been investigated by multispectroscopic techniques. The complex displays significant binding properties with ct-DNA. The results of fluorescence and UV–vis absorption spectroscopy indicated that this complex interacted with ct-DNA in a groove-binding mode, and the binding constant was 3.8 × 10⁴ M⁻¹. Furthermore, the complex induced detectable changes in the CD spectrum of ct-DNA and slightly changed its viscosity which verified the groove-binding mode. Finally, all results indicated that Pt(II) complex interact with DNA via groove-binding mode.</p