The Antioxidant Potential of the Mediterranean Diet in Patients at High Cardiovascular Risk: An In-Depth Review of the PREDIMED

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading global cause of death. Diet is known to be important in the prevention of CVD. The PREDIMED trial tested a relatively low-fat diet versus a high-fat Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) for the primary prevention of CVD. The resulting reduction of the CV composite outcome resulted in a paradigm shift in CV nutrition. Though many dietary factors likely contributed to this effect, this review focuses on the influence of the MedDiet on endogenous antioxidant systems and the effect of dietary polyphenols. Subgroup analysis of the PREDIMED trial revealed increased endogenous antioxidant and decreased pro-oxidant activity in the MedDiet groups. Moreover, higher polyphenol intake was associated with lower incidence of the primary outcome, overall mortality, blood pressure, inflammatory biomarkers, onset of new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and obesity. This suggests that polyphenols likely contributed to the lower incidence of the primary event in the MedDiet groups. In this article, we summarize the potential benefits of polyphenols found in the MedDiet, specifically the PREDIMED cohort. We also discuss the need for further research to confirm and expand the findings of the PREDIMED in a non-Mediterranean population and to determine the exact mechanisms of action of polyphenols

Human depression: a new approach in quantitative psychiatry

The biomolecular approach to major depression disorder is explained by the different steps that involve cell membrane viscosity, Gsα protein and tubulin. For the first time it is hypothesised that a biomolecular pathway exists, moving from cell membrane viscosity through Gsα protein and Tubulin, which can condition the conscious state and is measurable by electroencephalogram study of the brain's γ wave synchrony

Effect of protocatechuic acid on insulin responsiveness and inflammation in visceral adipose tissue from obese individuals: possible role for PTP1B

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Simultaneous Analysis of Multiple Mycobacterium tuberculosis Knockdown Mutants In Vitro and In Vivo

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) represents one of the most persistent bacterial threats to human health and new drugs are needed to limit its impact. Conditional knockdown mutants can help validate new drug targets, but the analysis of individual mutants is laborious and time consuming. Here, we describe quantitative DNA tags (qTags) and their use to simultaneously analyze conditional Mtb knockdown mutants that allowed silencing the glyoxylate and methylcitrate cycles (via depletion of isocitrate lyase, ICL), the serine protease Rv3671c, and the core subunits of the mycobacterial proteasome, PrcB and PrcA. The impact of gene silencing in multi-strain cultures was determined by measuring the relative abundance of mutant-specific qTags with real-time PCR. This achieved accurate quantification over a broad range of qTag abundances and depletion of ICL, Rv3671c, or PrcBA resulted in the expected impairment of growth of Mtb with butyrate as the primary carbon source, survival during oxidative stress, acid stress and starvation. The impact of depleting ICL, Rv3671c, or PrcBA in multi-strain mouse infections was analyzed with two approaches. We first measured the relative abundance of mutant-specific qTags in total chromosomal DNA isolated from bacteria that were recovered from infected lungs on agar plates. We then developed a two-step amplification procedure, which allowed us to measure the abundances of individual mutants directly in infected lung tissue. Both strategies confirmed that inactivation of Rv3671c and PrcBA severely reduced persistence of Mtb in mice. The multi-strain infections furthermore suggested that silencing ICL not only prevented growth of Mtb during acute infections but also prevented survival of Mtb during chronic infections. Analyses of the ICL knockdown mutant in single-strain infections confirmed this and demonstrated that silencing of ICL during chronic infections impaired persistence of Mtb to the extent that the pathogen was cleared from the lungs of most mice

Effect of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on the total phenolic contents and antioxidant activity of wild Mediterranean edible plant extracts

The recent interest in wild edible plants is associated with their health benefits, which are mainly due to their richness in antioxidant compounds, particularly phenolics. Nevertheless, some of these compounds are metabolized after ingestion, being transformed into metabolites frequently with lower antioxidant activity. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of the digestive process on the total phenolic contents and antioxidant activity of extracts from four wild edible plants used in the Mediterranean diet (Beta maritima L., Plantago major L., Oxalis pes-caprae L. and Scolymus hispanicus L.). HPLC-DAD analysis revealed that S. hispanicus is characterized by the presence of caffeoylquinic acids, dicaffeoylquinic acids and flavonol derivatives, P. major by high amounts of verbascoside, B. maritima possesses 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid, quercetin derivatives and kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside, and O. pes-caprae extract contains hydroxycinnamic acids and flavone derivatives. Total phenolic contents were determined by Folin-Ciocalteu assay, and antioxidant activity by the ABTS, DPPH, ORAC and FRAP assays. Phenolic contents of P. major and S. hispanicus extracts were not affected by digestion, but they significantly decreased in B. maritima after both phases of digestion process and in O. pes-caprae after the gastric phase. The antioxidant activity results varied with the extract and the method used to evaluate the activity. Results showed that P. major extract has the highest total phenolic contents and antioxidant activity, with considerable values even after digestion, reinforcing the health benefits of this species.European Union (FEDER funds through COMPETE)European Union (EU)European Union (FEDER)European Union (EU)Programa de Cooperacion Interreg V-A Espana - Portugal (POCTEP) 2014-2020 [0377_IBERPHENOL_6_E]project INTERREG - MD. Net: When Brand Meets PeopleFCT Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technolog

Physicians are a key to encouraging cessation of smoking among people living with HIV/AIDS: a cross-sectional study in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

BackgroundHIV care providers may be optimally positioned to promote smoking behaviour change in their patients, among whom smoking is both highly prevalent and uniquely harmful. Yet research on this front is scant, particularly in the developing country context. Hence, this study describes smoking behaviour among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, and assesses the association between experience of physician-delivered smoking status assessment and readiness to quit among HIV-positive smokers.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of PLWHA residing in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Data from 321 adult PLWHA were analyzed using multiple logistic regression for correlates of current smoking and, among current smokers, of motivational readiness to quit based on the transtheoretical model (TTM) of behaviour change.ResultsOverall, 47% of participants were current smokers, with significantly higher rates among men (72%), ever- injecting drug users (IDUs), recent (30-day) alcohol consumers, those without any formal education, and those with higher HIV symptom burdens. Of 151 current smokers, 34% were thinking seriously of quitting within the next 6 months (contemplation or preparation stage of behaviour change). Adjusting for potential confounders, experience of physician-delivered smoking status assessment during any visit to a hospital or clinic in the past 12 months was associated with greater readiness to quit smoking (AOR = 3.34; 95% CI = 1.05,10.61).ConclusionsRoughly one-third of HIV-positive smokers residing in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, are at the contemplation or preparation stage of smoking behaviour change, with rates significantly higher among those whose physicians have asked about their smoking status during any clinical interaction over the past year. Systematic screening for smoking by physicians during routine HIV care may help to reduce the heavy burden of smoking and smoking-related morbidity and mortality within HIV-positive populations in Nepal and similar settings

Transforming growth factor-β in breast cancer: too much, too late

The contribution of transforming growth factor (TGF)β to breast cancer has been studied from a myriad perspectives since seminal studies more than two decades ago. Although the action of TGFβ as a canonical tumor suppressor in breast is without a doubt, there is compelling evidence that TGFβ is frequently subverted in a malignant plexus that drives breast cancer. New knowledge that TGFβ regulates the DNA damage response, which underlies cancer therapy, reveals another facet of TGFβ biology that impedes cancer control. Too much TGFβ, too late in cancer progression is the fundamental motivation for pharmaceutical inhibition

Differentiation of breast cancer stem cells by knockdown of CD44: promising differentiation therapy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) are the source of breast tumors. Compared with other cancer cells, cancer stem cells show high resistance to both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Targeting of BCSCs is thus a potentially promising and effective strategy for breast cancer treatment. Differentiation therapy represents one type of cancer stem-cell-targeting therapy, aimed at attacking the stemness of cancer stem cells, thus reducing their chemo- and radioresistance. In a previous study, we showed that down-regulation of CD44 sensitized BCSCs to the anti-tumor agent doxorubicin. This study aimed to determine if CD44 knockdown caused BCSCs to differentiate into breast cancer non-stem cells (non-BCSCs).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We isolated a breast cancer cell population (CD44⁺CD24^-cells) from primary cultures of malignant breast tumors. These cells were sorted into four sub-populations based on their expression of CD44 and CD24 surface markers. CD44 knockdown in the BCSC population was achieved using small hairpin RNA lentivirus particles. The differentiated status of CD44 knock-down BCSCs was evaluated on the basis of changes in CD44⁺CD24^-phenotype, tumorigenesis in NOD/SCID mice, and gene expression in relation to renewal status, metastasis, and cell cycle in comparison with BCSCs and non-BCSCs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Knockdown of CD44 caused BCSCs to differentiate into non-BCSCs with lower tumorigenic potential, and altered the cell cycle and expression profiles of some stem cell-related genes, making them more similar to those seen in non-BCSCs.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Knockdown of CD44 is an effective strategy for attacking the stemness of BCSCs, resulting in a loss of stemness and an increase in susceptibility to chemotherapy or radiation. The results of this study highlight a potential new strategy for breast cancer treatment through the targeting of BCSCs.</p