Dairy Foods in a Moderate Energy Restricted Diet Do Not Enhance Central Fat, Weight, and Intra-Abdominal Adipose Tissue Losses nor Reduce Adipocyte Size or Inflammatory Markers in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Controlled Feeding Study

Background. Research on dairy foods to enhance weight and fat loss when incorporated into a modest weight loss diet has had mixed results. Objective. A 15-week controlled feeding study to determine if dairy foods enhance central fat and weight loss when incorporated in a modest energy restricted diet of overweight and obese adults. Design. A 3-week run-in to establish energy needs; a 12-week 500 kcal/d energy reduction with 71 low-dairy-consuming overweight and obese adults randomly assigned to diets: ≤1 serving dairy/d (low dairy, LD) or ≤4 servings dairy/d (adequate dairy, AD). All foods were weighed and provided by the metabolic kitchen. Weight, fat, intra-abdominal adipose tissue (IAAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) macrophage number, SAT inflammatory gene expression, and circulating cytokines were measured. Results. No diet differences were observed in weight, fat, or IAAT loss; nor SAT mRNA expression of inflammation, circulating cytokines, fasting lipids, glucose, or insulin. There was a significant increase (P = 0.02) in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D in the AD group. Conclusion. Whether increased dairy intake during weight loss results in greater weight and fat loss for individuals with metabolic syndrome deserves investigation. Assessment of appetite, hunger, and satiety with followup on weight regain should be considered

Plasma Zinc But Not the Exchangeable Zinc Pool Size Differs Between Young and Older Korean Women

This study was done to determine the effect of age on zinc metabolism and status among healthy Korean women. Measures of zinc metabolism and status were measured in eight young women (22–24 years) and seven elderly women (66–75 years) consuming a typical Korean diet. Oral and intravenous tracers highly enriched in 67Zn and 70Zn were administered simultaneously. Multiple plasma, 24-h urines, and fecal samples were collected after isotope administration. In the young women, additional plasma were collected to determine zinc kinetics using a seven-compartmental model. Exchangeable Zinc Pool (EZP) was estimated by Miller’s method. Plasma zinc concentrations were higher in older women than younger women (p < 0.05). EZP and urinary zinc tended to be higher in older women than younger women. Fractional and total zinc absorption and endogenous fecal zinc losses did not differ between young and older women. A comparison of the zinc kinetics of the Korean and American women showed no differences in plasma or EZP zinc parameters. However, absorbed zinc and zinc flux to slowly turning over tissues (Q7) were lower in Korean women than that of Americans (p < 0.01) suggesting the total body zinc content of Korean women is lower than that of American women

Antiplatelet therapy with aspirin, clopidogrel, and dipyridamole versus clopidogrel alone or aspirin and dipyridamole in patients with acute cerebral ischaemia (TARDIS): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 superiority trial

Background: Intensive antiplatelet therapy with three agents might be more effective than guideline treatment for preventing recurrent events in patients with acute cerebral ischaemia. We aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of intensive antiplatelet therapy (combined aspirin, clopidogrel, and dipyridamole) with that of guideline-based antiplatelet therapy. Methods: We did an international, prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded-endpoint trial in adult participants with ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) within 48 h of onset. Participants were assigned in a 1:1 ratio using computer randomisation to receive loading doses and then 30 days of intensive antiplatelet therapy (combined aspirin 75 mg, clopidogrel 75 mg, and dipyridamole 200 mg twice daily) or guideline-based therapy (comprising either clopidogrel alone or combined aspirin and dipyridamole). Randomisation was stratified by country and index event, and minimised with prognostic baseline factors, medication use, time to randomisation, stroke-related factors, and thrombolysis. The ordinal primary outcome was the combined incidence and severity of any recurrent stroke (ischaemic or haemorrhagic; assessed using the modified Rankin Scale) or TIA within 90 days, as assessed by central telephone follow-up with masking to treatment assignment, and analysed by intention to treat. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN47823388. Findings: 3096 participants (1556 in the intensive antiplatelet therapy group, 1540 in the guideline antiplatelet therapy group) were recruited from 106 hospitals in four countries between April 7, 2009, and March 18, 2016. The trial was stopped early on the recommendation of the data monitoring committee. The incidence and severity of recurrent stroke or TIA did not differ between intensive and guideline therapy (93 [6%] participants vs 105 [7%]; adjusted common odds ratio [cOR] 0·90, 95% CI 0·67–1·20, p=0·47). By contrast, intensive antiplatelet therapy was associated with more, and more severe, bleeding (adjusted cOR 2·54, 95% CI 2·05–3·16, p<0·0001). Interpretation: Among patients with recent cerebral ischaemia, intensive antiplatelet therapy did not reduce the incidence and severity of recurrent stroke or TIA, but did significantly increase the risk of major bleeding. Triple antiplatelet therapy should not be used in routine clinical practice

Impact of primary kidney disease on the effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease: secondary analyses of the EMPA-KIDNEY trial

Background: The EMPA KIDNEY trial showed that empagliflozin reduced the risk of the primary composite outcome of kidney disease progression or cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease mainly through slowing progression. We aimed to assess how effects of empagliflozin might differ by primary kidney disease across its broad population. Methods: EMPA-KIDNEY, a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial, was conducted at 241 centres in eight countries (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the UK, and the USA). Patients were eligible if their estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 20 to less than 45 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or 45 to less than 90 mL/min per 1·73 m2 with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) of 200 mg/g or higher at screening. They were randomly assigned (1:1) to 10 mg oral empagliflozin once daily or matching placebo. Effects on kidney disease progression (defined as a sustained ≥40% eGFR decline from randomisation, end-stage kidney disease, a sustained eGFR below 10 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or death from kidney failure) were assessed using prespecified Cox models, and eGFR slope analyses used shared parameter models. Subgroup comparisons were performed by including relevant interaction terms in models. EMPA-KIDNEY is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03594110. Findings: Between May 15, 2019, and April 16, 2021, 6609 participants were randomly assigned and followed up for a median of 2·0 years (IQR 1·5–2·4). Prespecified subgroupings by primary kidney disease included 2057 (31·1%) participants with diabetic kidney disease, 1669 (25·3%) with glomerular disease, 1445 (21·9%) with hypertensive or renovascular disease, and 1438 (21·8%) with other or unknown causes. Kidney disease progression occurred in 384 (11·6%) of 3304 patients in the empagliflozin group and 504 (15·2%) of 3305 patients in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·71 [95% CI 0·62–0·81]), with no evidence that the relative effect size varied significantly by primary kidney disease (pheterogeneity=0·62). The between-group difference in chronic eGFR slopes (ie, from 2 months to final follow-up) was 1·37 mL/min per 1·73 m2 per year (95% CI 1·16–1·59), representing a 50% (42–58) reduction in the rate of chronic eGFR decline. This relative effect of empagliflozin on chronic eGFR slope was similar in analyses by different primary kidney diseases, including in explorations by type of glomerular disease and diabetes (p values for heterogeneity all &gt;0·1). Interpretation: In a broad range of patients with chronic kidney disease at risk of progression, including a wide range of non-diabetic causes of chronic kidney disease, empagliflozin reduced risk of kidney disease progression. Relative effect sizes were broadly similar irrespective of the cause of primary kidney disease, suggesting that SGLT2 inhibitors should be part of a standard of care to minimise risk of kidney failure in chronic kidney disease. Funding: Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, and UK Medical Research Council

Multiple novel prostate cancer susceptibility signals identified by fine-mapping of known risk loci among Europeans

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified numerous common prostate cancer (PrCa) susceptibility loci. We have fine-mapped 64 GWAS regions known at the conclusion of the iCOGS study using large-scale genotyping and imputation in 25 723 PrCa cases and 26 274 controls of European ancestry. We detected evidence for multiple independent signals at 16 regions, 12 of which contained additional newly identified significant associations. A single signal comprising a spectrum of correlated variation was observed at 39 regions; 35 of which are now described by a novel more significantly associated lead SNP, while the originally reported variant remained as the lead SNP only in 4 regions. We also confirmed two association signals in Europeans that had been previously reported only in East-Asian GWAS. Based on statistical evidence and linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure, we have curated and narrowed down the list of the most likely candidate causal variants for each region. Functional annotation using data from ENCODE filtered for PrCa cell lines and eQTL analysis demonstrated significant enrichment for overlap with bio-features within this set. By incorporating the novel risk variants identified here alongside the refined data for existing association signals, we estimate that these loci now explain ∼38.9% of the familial relative risk of PrCa, an 8.9% improvement over the previously reported GWAS tag SNPs. This suggests that a significant fraction of the heritability of PrCa may have been hidden during the discovery phase of GWAS, in particular due to the presence of multiple independent signals within the same regio

Antiplatelet therapy with aspirin, clopidogrel, and dipyridamole versus clopidogrel alone or aspirin and dipyridamole in patients with acute cerebral ischaemia (TARDIS): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 superiority trial

Background: Intensive antiplatelet therapy with three agents might be more effective than guideline treatment for preventing recurrent events in patients with acute cerebral ischaemia. We aimed to compare the safety and efficacy of intensive antiplatelet therapy (combined aspirin, clopidogrel, and dipyridamole) with that of guideline-based antiplatelet therapy.Methods: We did an international, prospective, randomised, open-label, blinded-endpoint trial in adult participants with ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) within 48 h of onset. Participants were assigned in a 1:1 ratio using computer randomisation to receive loading doses and then 30 days of intensive antiplatelet therapy (combined aspirin 75 mg, clopidogrel 75 mg, and dipyridamole 200 mg twice daily) or guideline-based therapy (comprising either clopidogrel alone or combined aspirin and dipyridamole). Randomisation was stratified by country and index event, and minimised with prognostic baseline factors, medication use, time to randomisation, stroke-related factors, and thrombolysis. The ordinal primary outcome was the combined incidence and severity of any recurrent stroke (ischaemic or haemorrhagic; assessed using the modified Rankin Scale) or TIA within 90 days, as assessed by central telephone follow-up with masking to treatment assignment, and analysed by intention to treat. This trial is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN47823388.Findings: 3096 participants (1556 in the intensive antiplatelet therapy group, 1540 in the guideline antiplatelet therapy group) were recruited from 106 hospitals in four countries between April 7, 2009, and March 18, 2016. The trial was stopped early on the recommendation of the data monitoring committee. The incidence and severity of recurrent stroke or TIA did not differ between intensive and guideline therapy (93 [6%] participants vs 105 [7%]; adjusted common odds ratio [cOR] 0·90, 95% CI 0·67–1·20, p=0·47). By contrast, intensive antiplatelet therapy was associated with more, and more severe, bleeding (adjusted cOR 2·54, 95% CI 2·05–3·16,

Biofortified cassava increases β-carotene and vitamin A concentrations in the TAG-rich plasma layer of American women

Biofortification of cassava with the provitamin A carotenoid β-carotene is a potential mechanism for alleviating vitamin A deficiency. Cassava is a staple food in the African diet, but data regarding the human bioavailability of b-carotene from this food are scarce. The objective of the present study was to evaluate provitamin A-enhanced cassava as a source of β-carotene and vitamin A for healthy adult women. The study was a randomised, cross-over trial of ten American women. The subjects consumed three different porridges separated by 2 week washout periods. Treatment meals (containing 100 g cassava) included: biofortified cassava (2mg β-carotene) porridge with added oil (15 ml peanut or rapeseed oil, 20 g total fat); biofortified cassava porridge without added oil (6 g total fat); unfortified white cassava porridge with a 0·3 mg retinyl palmitate reference dose and added oil (20 g total fat). Blood was collected six times from 20·5 to 9·5 h post-feeding. TAG-rich lipoprotein (TRL) plasma was separated by ultracentrifugation and analysed using HPLC with coulometric array electrochemical detection. The AUC for retinyl palmitate increased after the biofortified cassava meals were fed (P,0·05). Vitamin A conversion was 4·2 (SD 3·1) and 4·5 (SD 3·1) μg β-carotene:1 μg retinol, with and without added oil, respectively. These results show that biofortified cassava increases β-carotene and retinyl palmitate TRL plasma concentrations in healthy well-nourished adult women, suggesting that it is a viable intervention food for preventing vitamin A deficiency