Inflammatory Markers and the Risk of Hip Fracture: The Women's Health Initiative

Cytokines play a major role in bone remodeling in vitro and in animal models, with evidence supporting the involvement of inflammatory markers in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis. However, less is known about the longitudinal association of inflammatory markers with hip fracture, the most devastating consequence of osteoporosis. The public health significance of hip fractures is substantial; the one-year mortality rate after a hip fracture in women is estimated to range from 17-22%. Thus, preventing hip fractures is a public health imperative. We tested whether high receptor levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines are associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in older women. The Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI-OS)is a nested case-control study among 400 cases with physician adjudicated incident hip fractures and 400 age, race, and date of blood draw matched controls. Subjects were selected from 39,795 postmenopausal women without previous hip fractures, not using estrogens or other bone-active therapies. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate the risk ratios for hip fracture. Incident hip fractures (median follow-up 7.1 years) were verified by review of radiological, magnetic resonance imaging, or operative reports and confirmed by blinded central adjudicators. Hip fractures with a pathological cause were excluded.In multivariate models, the risk ratio (95% CIs) of hip fracture for subjects with the highest inflammatory markers (quartile 4) compared with those with lower inflammatory markers (quartiles 1, 2, and 3) was 1.43 (0.98, 2.07) for interleukin-6 receptor (IL-6 SR) and 1.41 (0.97, 2.05) for tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 (TNF SR1) and 1.57 (1.09-2.25) for tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNF SR2). In subjects with all three high inflammatory markers, the risk ratio of fracture was 2.27 (1.04, 4.93) in comparison with subjects with 0 or 1 elevated marker(s) (p trend = 0.042). Inflammatory markers may be one of the strongest risk factors of hip fracture to date. Future clinical trials should test whether interventions to decrease inflammatory marker levels reduces hip fractures

Osteoporosis: Identification of Factors Associated with Fracture, Bone Mineral Density, Bone Geometry and Bone Strenth in Older Adults

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem in men and women. Low bone mineral density (BMD) is a major risk factor for fracture. Fractures have major implications for morbidity and mortality. This research project evaluated correlates of trabecular and cortical vBMD at the radius and tibia in primarily Caucasian men aged 69 years or older using the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men study (MrOS). The correlation between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] and bone density, content, geometry and strength was also assessed using Caucasian men from MrOS and men of African descent from the Tobago Bone Health Study, aged 65 years and older. We also investigated the longitudinal impact of serum leptin and adiponectin on bone loss and fractures in the Health Aging and Body Composition study (Health ABC) in men and women, aged 70 years and older, of African American and Caucasian descent. Our findings have important public health implications. We have a better understanding of how different factors are correlated with trabecular and cortical and vBMD. Future research can generate hypotheses to evaluate these associations prospectively. Men of African descent had significantly higher 25(OH)D than Caucasians, which has never been reported. Serum 25(OH)D was positively correlated with indices of bone strength in Caucasian men, but not men of African descent. Serum 25(OH)D thresholds were identified at an estimated 20 ng/ml (lower than previous consensus of 30 ng/ml), greater levels of 25(OH)D had minimal effects on bone measures. Significant correlations between 25(OH)D occurred only at cortical regions. Prospective studies that evaluate the impact of 25(OH)D on trabecular and cortical vBMD loss are needed. There was an association between higher adiponectin and greater risk of incident fracture in men only. We also report that adiponectin predicted greater hip areal BMD (aBMD) loss among women, but not men. The impact of leptin on bone loss and incident fractures was largely attenuated by BMI and weight change. This study provides strong evidence that higher levels of adiponectin may increase the risk of bone loss and fracture. Studies are needed to explain these differential associations for adiponectin in women and men

Impact of Antimicrobials use in chickens on emergence of drug-resistant Campylobacter organisms in humans

The objective of this review is to present the impact of uncontrolled use of antimicrobialagents in chicken husbandry on emergence of drug-resistant Campylobacterin humans. The absence of an Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System(ARMS) in most developing countries of the world, amidst trade’s globalization ofanimals and animal products, helped in the recent decade in spreading of drugresistantorganisms across the world’s food chains.The emergence of drug resistance in Campylobacter organisms was associated withtheir transmission from animals and their products to humans. This transmissionof drug-resistant Campylobacter resulted in serious failure of treatment regimensprescribed to infected humans

Some remarks on the notions of general covariance and background independence

In the first part of this paper I review some of the difficulties that seem to obstruct generally valid definitions of "general covariance" and/or "background independence" The second and more historical part deals with a rather strange argument that Einstein put forward in his 1913 "Entwurf paper" with M. Grossmann to discredit scalar theories of gravity in order to promote general covariance.Comment: 26 pages, 3 figures. Contribution to ``An assessment of current paradigms in the physics of fundamental interactions'', edited by I.O. Stamatescu (Springer Verlag, to appear

Modulation of carcinogen-metabolizing enzyme by madinah mint (Mentha spp) in rat liver

Background: The present study was undertaken to assess whether boiling water mint extract (BWME) modulates the cytochrome P450 mixed function oxidase system.Materials and methods: Male albino rats were randomly divided into two groups, comprising 12 animals each. The first group served as control, whereas the second was maintained on BWME (10 % w/v) as its sole drinking liquid for six weeks. Liver microsomal were separated and subjected for phase I and II enzymes (cytochrome P450 mixed function oxidase) analysisResults: The results obtained showed that, BWME caused a significant elevation in the activity of epoxide hydrolase (p<0.001) when compared with the control. However, glutathione S-transferase and glucuronosyl transferase activities were significantly decreased (p<0.001 and p<0.01) respectively compared with control. The mutagenic activity of N-nitrosopiperidine was lower in the minttreated hepatic microsomal compared with the controls.Conclusion: It can be concluded that BWME has the potential to suppress the activity of cytochrome enzymes involved in the bioactivation of chemical carcinogen; hence may display chemo preventive activity.Keywords: Carcinogen-PAH-Cytochrome P45

Highly Resistant Yersinia enterocolitica Isolated from Dairy Based Foods in Lebanon

Yersinia is small rod shaped, gram negative coccibacilli known as a food borne pathogen that may cause intestinal and systemic diseases known as yersiniosis. It has been reported that it may be transmitted by eating contaminated dairy foods.  This study aims at evaluating the presence of Yersinia enterocolitica in Lebanese three dairy based foods which include Kishk, Shankleesh and Baladi cheese and reporting their susceptibilities to commonly used antimicrobial agents. In total, sixteen Y. enterocolitica isolates were recovered and subjected to relevant biochemical tests and finally identified by API system.  Eleven of those isolates were from Baladi cheese, three from Shankleesh and two from Kishk. The API results confirmed their identity, and were then subjected for susceptibility testing against: chloramphenicol (30µg), trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole (1.25µg+23.75µg), gentamicin (10µg), ciprofloxacin (5µg), nalidixic acid (30µg), Kanamycin (30µg) and streptomycin (10µg). Surprisingly, all the tested Y. enterocolitica isolates showed high rates of resistance to all the antimicrobials used with highest resistance to kanamycin (81.2%) and streptomycin (87.5%). The data showed that the antimicrobial resistance levels exceeded by far all the levels reported elsewhere. Based on the data, it may be concluded that dairy based foods in Lebanon, especially cheese that is prepared under unaccepted conditions, not abiding by proper hygienic practices. This might be the cause of a public health hazard, as cheese might act as a potential vehicle for the transmission of many resistant bacterial pathogens to human consumers. For this reason, it is advisable to use strict conditions in cheese processing to reduce the hazards that may be involved with its consumption

Signaling pathways regulated by Brassicaceae extract inhibit the formation of advanced glycated end products in rat brain

Background: The goal of this study was identification signaling molecules mediated the formation of AGEs in brain of rats injected with CdCl2 and the role of camel whey proteins and Brassicaceae extract on formation of AGEs in brain.Methods: Ninety male rats were randomly grouped into five groups; Normal control (GpI) and the other rats (groups II-V) were received a single dose of cadmium chloride i.p (5 μg/kg/b.w) for induction of neurodegeneration. Rats in groups III-V were treated daily with whey protein (1g/kg b.w) or Brassicaceae extract (1mg/kg b.w) or combined respectively for 12 weeks.Results: It was found that whey protein combined with Brassicaceae extract prevented the formation of AGEs and enhance the antioxidant activity compared with untreated group (p <0.001). Serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) and interleukine (IL-6) levels were significantly decreased (p<0.01) in rats treated with whey protein and Brassicaceae extract formation compared with untreated. The combined treatment showed a better impact than individual ones (p<0.001). The level of cAMP but not cGMP were lowered in combined treatment than individual (p<0.01).Conclusion: it can be postulated that Whey protein + Brassicaceae extract formation could have potential benefits in the prevention of the onset and progression of neuropathy in patients.Keywords: Whey protein- Brassicaceae extract -neurodegeneration -rat

MODULATION OF CARCINOGEN-METABOLIZING ENZYME BY MADINAH MINT (Mentha spp) IN RAT LIVER

Background: The present study was undertaken to assess whether boiling water mint extract (BWME) modulates the cytochrome P450 mixed function oxidase system. Materials and methods: Male albino rats were randomly divided into two groups, comprising 12 animals each. The first group served as control, whereas the second was maintained on BWME (10 % w/v) as its sole drinking liquid for six weeks. Liver microsomal were separated and subjected for phase I and II enzymes (cytochrome P450 mixed function oxidase) analysis Results The results obtained showed that, BWME caused a significant elevation in the activity of epoxide hydrolase (

BALANITES AEGYPTIACA PROTECTION AGAINST PROLIFERATION OF DIFFERENT CANCER CELL LINE

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate in vivo anti-tumor activity of Balanites aegyptiaca fruits extracts in addition to its role in cell cycle and apoptosis. Materials and Methods: Antitumor activities of ethylacetae extract (EAE), ethanol extract (EE) and chloroform extract (CE) were tested against different cell line Hep-2, MCF-7, HL-60 and HCV29T. Calculation of the IC50 values for these extracts confirmed that the most potent plant extract was EAE (40 ug/ml) followed by EE (55ug/ml), CE (61ug/ml). Results: The ethanolic and chloroform extracts showed lower difference in their potency, while the EAE was found to be more active indicating for nonpolar active principles responsible for the anti-proliferative activity. The ethanolic extract was three times higher active than the chloroform extract. The results obtained showed that EAE exert a significant anti-proliferative, enhancement of apoptosis and modulation of cell cycle phases compared with vincristine. Conclusion: The presence of alkaloids, flavonoids and Phenolics increase its efficiency as anti-proliferative action. EAE has promising anti-cancer activity with higher activity than EE or CE extract

SIGNALING PATHWAYS REGULATED BY BRASSICACEAE EXTRACT INHIBIT THE FORMATION OF ADVANCED GLYCATED END PRODUCTS IN RAT BRAIN

Background: The goal of this study was identification signaling molecules mediated the formation of AGEs in brain of rats injected with CdCl2 and the role of camel whey proteins and Brassicaceae extract on formation of AGEs in brain. Methods: Ninety male rats were randomly grouped into five groups; Normal control (GpI) and the other rats (groups II-V) were received a single dose of cadmium chloride i.p (5 μg/kg/b.w) for induction of neurodegeneration. Rats in groups III-V were treated daily with whey protein (1g/kg b.w) or Brassicaceae extract (1mg/kg b.w) or combined respectively for 12 weeks. Results: It was found that whey protein combined with Brassicaceae extract prevented the formation of AGEs and enhance the antioxidant activity compared with untreated group (