SELF-RATED PHYSICAL ACTIVITY LEVEL ACROSS EUROPE – POLAND AND OTHER EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Physical inactivity has become a serious public health problem as it contributes to major non-communicable diseases. Increasing activity levels has beneficial effects on musculoskeletal health and mental health as well. In Poland there are a few studies which refer to the physical activity (PA) of the overall society and which are based on an international questionnaire, thus enabling comparative analysis. The aim of the study was to assess the PA level of the Polish society and to examine fields of their activity and intensity of them in order to compare the data with fifteen European countries. A survey based on computer-assisted personal interview (CAPI) was carried out in Poland in November 2006. A random sample of Polish adults (n=1028) was selected and divided according to demographic criteria. PA was estimated by a short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). In the last seven days 53.4�0of the Polish society reported no vigorous PA whereas in the European sample the percentage was significantly higher (57.4% For the PA of moderate level of intensity 39.8% of the Polish respondents reported no such PA; in the European sample the percentage was 40.8%. Only 12.8% of the Polish respondents reported not having walked in the past week, whereas in the EU the percentage was 17.1%. It must be noted that in all aspects the results were varied in the studied countries. These observations indicate a need for urgent actions to promote HEPA across EU member countries and in particular the least active member states. The present study is the first referring to PA of the whole Polish population, based on a representative sample and an international standardised questionnaire. The data confirm that the PA level of the Polish society is not as low as it has been shown in many studies

Periprocedural decrease in tumor necrosis factor alpha is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation recurrence after ablation

Background: Concentration of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) might be useful in selecting patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) who will benefit the most from pulmonary vein isolation. Material and methods: This is a prospective cohort study among patients with PAF who had sinus rhythm prior to undergoing either radiofrequency ablation or cryoablation procedure. Blood samples were collected at the start of the procedure and 16-24 h after. TNF-alpha concentrations were measured. Follow-up data was obtained during a structured telephone interview and 24-hour ECG Holter monitoring 12 months after the ablation procedure. Results: Thirty seven patients were enrolled. After 12-month follow-up 27 patients maintained sinus rhythm, 8 had recurrence of AF and 2 were lost to follow-up. There was no significant correlation between TNF-alpha concentrations in any of the samples and the recurrence of arrhythmia (for pre-procedural samples: 1.75 pg/ ml vs. 1.74 pg/ml; p = 0.72; for post-procedural samples: 1.49 pg/ml vs. 1.79 pg/ml; p = 0.16). In patients who had a recurrence of AF, we observed a decrease in the periprocedural TNF-alpha concentration (-0.12 pg/ml vs 0.05 pg/ml; p = 0.05). Conclusions: Neither pre- nor post-procedural TNF-alpha concentrations are predictive of ablation outcome in patients with PAF. We observed a decrease in the periprocedural TNF-alpha concentration in patients who had AF recurrence

Exome sequencing to explore the possibility of predicting genetic susceptibility to the joint occurrence of polycystic ovary syndrome and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis

A large body of evidence indicates that women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have a higher risk of developing Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) than healthy individuals. Given the strong genetic impact on both diseases, common predisposing genetic factors are possibly involved but are not fully understood. Here, we performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) for 250 women with sporadic PCOS, HT, combined PCOS and HT (PCOS+HT), and healthy controls to explore the genetic background of the joint occurrence of PCOS and HT. Based on relevant comparative analyses, multivariate logistic regression prediction modeling, and the most informative feature selection using the Monte Carlo feature selection and interdependency discovery algorithm, 77 variants were selected for further validation by TaqMan genotyping in a group of 533 patients. In the allele frequency test, variants in RAB6A, GBP3, and FNDC7 genes were found to significantly (padjusted < 0.05) differentiated the PCOS+HT and PCOS groups, variant in HIF3A differentiated the PCOS+HT and HT groups, whereas variants in CDK20 and CCDC71 differentiated the PCOS+HT and both single disorder groups. TaqMan genotyping data were used to create final prediction models, which differentiated between PCOS+HT and PCOS or HT with a prediction accuracy of AUC = 0.78. Using a 70% cutoff of the prediction score improved the model parameters, increasing the AUC value to 0.87. In summary, we demonstrated the polygenic burden of both PCOS and HT, and many common and intersecting signaling pathways and biological processes whose disorders mutually predispose patients to the development of both diseases

Periprocedural decrease in tumor necrosis factor alpha is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation recurrence after ablation

Background Concentration of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) might be useful in selecting patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) who will benefit the most from pulmonary vein isolation. Material and methods We performed prospective cohort study among patients with PAF who had sinus rhythm prior to undergoing either radiofrequency ablation or cryoablation procedure. Blood samples were collected at the start of the procedure and 16-24 h after. TNF-alpha concentrations were measured. Follow-up data was obtained during a structured telephone interview and 24-hour ECG Holter monitoring 12 months after the ablation procedure. Results Thirty seven patients were enrolled. After 12-month follow-up 27 patients maintained sinus rhythm, 8 had recurrence of AF and 2 were lost to follow-up. There was no significant correlation between TNF-alpha concentrations in any of the samples and the recurrence of arrhythmia (for pre-procedural samples: 1.75 pg/ml vs 1.74 pg/ml; p=0.72; for post-procedural samples: 1.49 pg/ml vs 1.79 pg/ml; p=0.16). In patients who had a recurrence of AF, we observed a decrease in the periprocedural TNF-alpha concentration (-0.12 pg/ml vs 0.05 pg/ml; p=0.05). Conclusions Neither pre- nor post-procedural TNF-alpha concentrations are predictive of ablation outcome in patients with PAF. We observed a decrease in the periprocedural TNF-alpha concentration in patients who had AF recurrence

8-Cyclopentyl-1,3-dimethylxanthine enhances effectiveness of antidepressant in behavioral tests and modulates redox balance in the cerebral cortex of mice

The objective of our study was to investigate whether 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dimethylxanthine (CPT), associated with the adenosine system, enhances the antidepressant efficacy of antidepressant. All experiments were carried out on Albino Swiss mice. Following drugs: CPT (3 mg/kg) and imipramine (15 mg/kg) were administered intraperitoneally (ip), 60 min before tests. Two behavioral tests on antidepressant capability – a forced swim test (FST) and a tail suspension test (TST) – were performed. To examine whether co-administration of CPT with antidepressants affects the redox balance, the lipid peroxidation products (LPO), glutathione (GSH), glutathione disulfide (GSSG), nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP+), and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) were determined in the cerebral cortex. The results have demonstrated a CPT-induced enhancement of the antidepressant-like effect of imipramine both in the FST and TST, which may indicate that the adenosine system may be involved in the increasing the effect of antidepressant. Co-administration of CPT with imipramine, such as imipramine alone, decreased the NADP+ and LPO concentrations and increased the GSH/GSSG ratio in comparison to the control, which may confirm beneficial – but comparable to imipramine – effect on redox balance under environmental stress conditions. An increase in the concentration of GSSG in the cortex of animals treated with imipramine in ineffective dose compared to control and no such changes after combined administration of both drugs may suggest a favorable oxidation-reduction potential resulting from their synergistic antidepressant effect. Keywords: Depression, CPT, Antidepressant, FST, TST, Oxidative stres

Chronic Variable Stress Is Responsible for Lipid and DNA Oxidative Disorders and Activation of Oxidative Stress Response Genes in the Brain of Rats

Chronic environmental stress is associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction and the pathogenesis of depression. The purpose of this study was to evaluate biochemical and molecular changes associated with ROS generation in the brains of rats submitted to chronic variable stress. Male Wistar rats (50–55 days old, weighing 200–250 g) were divided in two groups (n=10): control and stressed. Rats in the stressed group were exposed to stress conditions for 40 days. The animals were decapitated and the brain samples were collected. In prefrontal cortex, we measured the following biochemical parameters: lipid peroxidation and concentration of glutathione—GSH, GSSG, GSH/GSSG ratio, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase activities. In the hippocampus marker of DNA, oxidative damage and expression of DNA-repairing genes (Ogg1, MsrA) and gene-encoding antioxidative transcriptional factor (Nrf2) were determined. The results demonstrate indirect evidence of ROS overproduction and presence of oxidative stress. They also reveal disruption of oxidative defense systems (decreased GR activity, diminished GSH/GSSG ratio, and decreased Nrf2 expression) and activation of the oxidative DNA repair system (increased Ogg1 and MsrA expression). Together, the presented data suggest that independent activation of oxidative stress response genes occurs in chronic variable stress conditions