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Dyslipidemia is a lipid metabolism disorder characterized by increased or decreased plasma lipid fractions. Types of dyslipidemia usually are hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia. Hypertriglyceridemia increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, and myocardial infarction (heart attack) and is also a major clinical characteristic of insulin resistance syndrome. Hypertriglyceridemia can be addressed and prevented by changing to a healthy lifestyle, such as exercising or physical activity regularly, and reducing the intake of fatty foods and sugary foods needed to decrease triglyceride levels in the blood. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of Zumba exercise on triglyceride levels. This research used a quasi-experimental with one group pretest–posttest design. The study subjects were 23 respondents. The data were analyzed descriptively to identify the demographic characteristics and statistical analysis by Shapiro-Wilk dan Wilcoxon Signed Ranked Test. The duration of the Zumba workout was six times over two weeks. Zumba training could reduce statistically significant triglyceride levels (p=0.042). There was a decrease in triglyceride levels after Zumba training; thus, Zumba effectively lowered triglyceride levels. Zumba workout effectively lowered triglyceride levels due to delivering a significant result in decreased triglyceride levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic syndrome disease characterized by a hyperglycemic state due to the pancreas' inability or not being able to produce enough insulin. Plants are an antidiabetic alternative by utilizing both extracts and functional foods formulated. Peronema canescens Jack known as a medicinal plant, with its potential to be developed as an alternative to hypoglycemic functional drinks is Peronema canescens Jack. This study aims to develop a functional tea antioxidant rich from Peronema canescens leaves extract as a healthy drink for diabetes. The characterization of bioactive compounds used the DPPH method and Alpha-glucosidase inhibition. Tea was formulated by adding four different extract concentrations, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, respectively, then determined tea's organoleptic and antioxidant activity. The results showed that the IC50 value of the antioxidant activity of P. canescens leaves extract in n-hexane and ethyl acetate was inactive, 1023.556 and 884.854 ppm respectively while IC50 value was 291.588 ppm for ethanol solvent. Somehow, the inhibitory activity test showed that the 10ppm ethanol extract had 0.079% % inhibition belongs to weak, while the acarbose control was 95%. These results indicate that the ethanol extract of P. canescens leaves inhibits the α-glucosidase enzyme, IC50 20ppm. The antidiabetic activity was then verified by measured on the blood sugar levels of mice. The test results showed that the highest decrease in blood sugar levels was at PE4 (extract 800mg/kg BW). Our finding in this research is that in functional drinks, the highest decrease in blood sugar levels was at TF2 (10% extract). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A metabolic syndrome is a group of health problems that increase the risk of degenerative diseases. One effort to prevent metabolic syndrome is consuming foods that contain complex carbohydrates, such as tubers. Bulbs can be consumed directly or processed in other forms. One of the processed tubers' products is formed as rice analogues to ease consumption. This study aims to observe the nutritional composition of rice analogues and its carbohydrate components. The results show that the energy contained in rice analogues made from purple sweet potato, arrowroot, and taro are 377%, 372%, and 371%, respectively, in 100 grams of ingredients. Overall, purple sweet potato-based rice analogues have the highest energy, fat, and carbohydrate content compared to the other two types of bulbs. At the same time, the highest protein composition is found in taro-based rice analogues. However, further investigation related to more suitable formulations and glycemic index of rice analogues is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is a global phenomenon that causes a slew of health issues, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Methods: This research was carried out at Karbala's Al-Hussein general teaching hospital. The samples were collected between the months of August 2020 and March 2021. The Case-control study included 80 obese patients and 28 healthy people from the obesity clinic at the hospital in question. A total of 31 males and 49 females were infected with metabolic syndrome. The patients' ages ranged from 31 to 65 years old. The requirements for working were established. Those who met at least three of the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) metabolic syndrome requirements were assigned to a category. Serum levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and insulin were measured. Results The findings indicate a substantial decrease in serum levels of atrial natriuretic peptide hormone in obese and non-obese patients as compared to controls in both sexes (P value 0.05). Mean levels of ANP showed a significant difference between patients with Mets morbidly obesity (28.714.50) mg/dl and safe subjects (58.722.51) mg/dl. There is a strong negative association between the atrial natriuretic peptide test and total serum glucose levels. Conclusions Diabetes is linked to lower natriuretic peptide levels in both non obese and obese people. These results suggest that low levels of ANP could be a symptom of obesity, with potential pathophysiological implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was carried out at Diabetes and Endocrinology Unit in Al-Sader Teaching Hospital in AL-Najaf province /Iraq from January 2019 to July 2019 on metabolic syndrome patients who attended the hospital for monthly checkup. (130) participants have been involved in this study, blood samples were obtained from (90) patients with metabolic syndrome. (50 female and 40 male), and from (40) individuals as a control samples, who were obviously healthy. The age, gender, WC and BMI of the patients and the control is taken during physical exam, lipid profile and blood glucose also estimated for all groups. MCP-1 biomarker in serum was measured by solid phase enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The aims of this study is find out the relationship between MCP-1serum concentration and some clinical characteristics of MetS patients which include body mass index, waist circumferences, age and gender in Iraqi MetS patients and make comparison between both the males and females MetS patients in metabolic syndrome severity. A significant increase in concentration of serum MCP-1 was revealed by the results of the present study in metabolic syndrome patients in compared with control group. The results showed that MCP-1biomarker concentration had a significant increase in serum of Mets females' group in compared with Mets males' group respectively. In regarding to the age, the study show there is a significant increase in serum MCP-1in Mets females' patients when equated with Mets group of male patients at same age group in [40-49y], [50-59 y] and [60-69 y]. The study also indicates a significantly increase in serum concentrations of MCP-1of Mets females' patients with all different WC groups as compared with the males patient in the same WC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this work we introduce a standard framework to represent abnormal conditions related to metabolic syndrome (MetS). This framework is based on percentiles represented by reference ellipses constructed from a reference population, and it allows us to observe drifts respect references caused by MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver fibrogenesis can turn out into liver cirrhosis and being a fatal failure. Infection of HBV and metabolic syndrome is the primary cause of liver fibrogenesis. ANGPTL8 is the hormones that interact with many factors related to HBV infection and metabolic syndrome. The purpose of this study is to crosscheck computational based interaction of ANGPTL8 and TGFβ1 and TGFβR1 as the pathological signal that related to liver fibrogenesis. Our study shows that ANGPTL8 bind better onto TGFβ1R than TGFβ1 so that ANGPTL8 may implicate with fibrogenesis through simultaneous binding into TGFβ1R with TGFβ1. This study work as an initial study that can be used as the basis of the next study to determine the role of ANGPTL8 in the occurrence of liver fibrogenesis due to metabolic syndrome and HBV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic syndrome and physical activity entail a significant correlation to the gradual augmentation of degenerative disease incidence in the global population. Currently, several approaches have been applied to prevent the progression of metabolic syndrome, including clinical drug therapy and physical training program. However, little attention has been addressed to investigate whether acute medium intensity exercise (AMIE) co-treated with middle rhythm musical exposure can affect to thermogenesis and fatty acid oxidation. To fill this void, this present study was designed by applying AMIE and music on 45 individuals, non-professional athletes to evaluate the potential inducer of thermogenic activity (PGC-1α) profile in the muscle and adipose tissue. The finding of this study showed that AMIE exposure was significantly induced by the increase of circulating PGC-1α as linear to the high-intensity exercise group. On the contrary, the expression of this transcription factor led to decreased post-AMIE-musical co-treatment. It is suggested that AMIE can induce thermogenesis in the skeletal muscle and adipose tissue by modulating oxidative phosphorylation within mitochondria. In summary, the AMIE model may provide an alternative solution to combat metabolic syndrome linked obesity through enhancing the beta-oxidation process. Thus, the expanding investigation with a large sample and long-term monitoring program is required to establish this physical training program in the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma is cancer, which is a significant problem in several countries in the world, one of which is Indonesia. The presence of hepatocellular carcinoma is often accompanied by the occurrence of the metabolic syndrome and infection of the HBV virus. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) is an enzyme that is thought to be a key factor of metabolic syndrome occurrence and also HBV infection. This computational study aims to see the interaction between ANGPTL8 and HBV virus particles against LPL as a target. Our study shows that HBV and ANGPTL8 have different binding regions in the LPL enzyme so that they can bind simultaneously. Computationally HBV has stronger energy bonds than ANGPTL8. To sum up, this study can be the hallmark of another research to find out the role of LPL in the occurrence of Hepatocellular carcinoma by the binding of ANGPTL8 and HBV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The epidemiologic evidence has been proved that chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection may significantly contribute to the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Moreover, the prevalence of individuals with CHC infection in Indonesia increased dramatically during the last decade. Importantly, there is no preliminary data, whether specific liver derived-hormone, betatrophin/ANGPTL-8/ can contribute to the early stage of HCC caused by HCV infection. The goal of this study was to provide baseline data of betatrophin profile in subjects with CHC. Nineteen healthy control and fourteen CHC patients were considered as the samples, and circulating betatrophin was measured by ELISA. Interestingly, the higher level of betatrophin was observed in an individual with CHC compared to placebo. Furthermore, the linear data was also found that the classical marker of liver injury, ALT significantly increased in the same patients. Based on this critical data, it is suggested that betatrophin may contribute to the early stages of HCC in connection to the gradual changes of HCV DNA and ALT level. Even though this finding could be a hallmark for the essential characteristic of betatrophin in CHC subjects progress to HCC, however, the future study with long-term monitoring in clinical observation of CHC patients is compulsory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a group of heart diseases which is globally considered as a leading cause of mortality and an ultimately huge burden to the economies. In this paper, we propose a new role of metabolic syndrome (MS) as a mediator of the relationship of CVDs and its socio-demographic risk factors. Mediation is a phenomenon which looks simple but methodologically it needs a realistic attention of researchers to investigate the true influence of cause on effect to the variables by splitting its effect into direct and indirect paths. Past studies have mainly investigated the direct paths of social-demographic risk factors between MS and CVDs. In this paper, we discuss direct relationships and uncover the indirect relationship between CVDs and the risk factors. Then, we developed theoretically the mediator role of MS in the relationship of socio-demographic risk factors and CVDs. A comprehensive relationship-based model of social-demographic risk factors, MS and CVDs has been proposed for the future researches including the correspond mathematical model. It would help in more precise risk estimation of CVDs and ultimately delay in the onset of fatal CVDs events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic syndrome is a data set collected with 3 or more of an increase in blood pressure more than or equal to 140/90 mmHg, an increase in triglyceride levels more than or equal to 150 mg / dl and / or an decrease in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels less than or equal to 35 mg / dl (male) and less than or equal to 39 mg / dl (female), body's future index more than or equal to 30 kg / m2, and the presence of microalbuminuria. The presence of the metabolic syndrome will lead individuals to have a type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart disease. This study provides an overview of metabolic syndrome among firefighter in Samarinda, East Kalimantan. The design in this study was descriptive research with variables: blood pressure, body mass index, HDL-C levels and metabolic syndrome. The result shows obtained 54 people (69%) respondents experienced high blood pressure, 13 people (16.7%) overcame obesity, 32 people (41%) experienced weight gain, as many as 70 people (89.7%) had normal HDL-C levels or less than 40 mg / dl, and as many as 12 people (15.4%) eliminate from having a metabolic syndrome. The conclusion of this study, the circumstances for improving health condition regarding to metabolic syndrome among firefighter is still very low, therefore, needs self improvement to preserve the existing healthy condition yet improve the health of firefighters who are indicated to suffer from metabolic syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In food production to reduce product glycemic index, glucose and sucrose are substituted with fructose, which does not rapidly increase the sugar level in the blood. However, increased fructose intake can cause the development of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and alcohol-free fatty liver disease. The aim of the research was to evaluate the studies on possible fructose alternatives that would be of natural origin, suitable for food production, and would not affect sugar level in the blood. In the scientific literature, three possible alternatives to fructose can be identified, namely stevia, thaumatin, and polyols. Stevia is a sweet plant rich in nutrients with a favorable impact on the human body, i.e., it decreases glucose level in the blood, and yields antibacterial and antioxidative effects. The negative aspect of stevia is the bitter aftertaste that is reduced by adding fructose. Thaumatin is a sweet protein that keeps stability up to 120 oC and endure pasteurization and high-temperature sterilization. Thaumatin may add a liquorice taste to the product. Polyols are low-calorie sweeteners that naturally appear in fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, and seaweed. Polyols have a low glycemic index that is attributed to lipogenesis delay, the lower necessity for insulin, and small sugar level change after a meal. The results have shown that the evaluated fructose alternatives have a high potential for the development of products for patients with diabetes, however, there are needed studies to evaluate their impact on technological and sensory features, as well as their influence on glucose level in blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic syndrome is also known as syndrome X, insulin resistance syndrome, syndrome of hypertension or syndrome of catecholamine excess. Population studies in recent years have shown that metabolic syndrome (SMet) would double the risk of adverse cardiovascular events [1] and non-diabetic patients would increase 5 times the risk of developing type 2 diabetes [2]. Clinical identification of the metabolic syndrome is based on the evaluation of abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, arterial hypertension and glucose intolerance. Among the essential criteria of the metabolic syndrome, according to WHO, insulin resistance and insulin estimating consumption or its substitutes have an important role. The work itself consists of two separate studies, one retrospective, performed during the period December 2012 - December 2013, comprising a total of 2672 patients suffering from SMet admitted to the Medical Clinic 1 Hospital CF Constanta and a prospective study that included 21 patients who were diagnosed with SMet prepared a worksheet similar clinical observation sheet and it has imposed a 1500 calorie diet / day, personalized diet according to food preferences of each. Afterward it has been watched blood pressure, serum glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol to 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. It was observed that weight loss under a restrictive diet to 1500 calories / day resulted in: - lowering systolic blood pressure to a total of 15 patients, reaching these values <140 mm Hg, - total cholesterol levels dropped below diet to a total of 16 patients, they reaching the threshold of 200 mg / dl (even <200 mg / dl) - Proportional to the total cholesterol, decreased LDL-cholesterol values also, which has reduced atherogenic risk in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of our study was to point out the key factors on the metabolic syndrome (MetS) occurrence and their order of significant influence. According to National Cholesterol Education Program guidelines, patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome account at least three criteria of the 5 abnormal values for: blood pressure (BP), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and waist circumference (WC). Romania exhibited high rates for the prevalence of MetS. We developed a CHAID decision tree of MetS diagnosis using a data set of patients over 40 years old, with a predominance of elderly senescence group, enrolled in some general practitioner offices in North-East region of Romania. Laboratory information was focused on TG, HDL, and lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol values, and FPG. Each individual was also characterized by: systolic and diastolic pressure, hypertension severity, serum creatinine, uric acid, total cholesterol. Abnormal values of waist circumference associated with hipo-HDL (< 40 mg/dl) have the same probability to develop MetS, as in the cases with pathological WC with uncertain HDL (40-49 mg/dl) and with abnormal TG values. The visceral obesity (identified by waist circumference value) was chosen as user-specified variable because it's easy to look for it in clinical practice and most of all for financial reasons having a negligible cost. In the decision tree, below WC, significant factors are emerging: TG, IFG, HTN degree, LDL, and they are displayed in an ordered sequence from top towards the 12 terminal nodes. The categorical variables on the second, third and fourth levels are laboratory parameters that can be assessed free of charge once every year in asymptomatic patients, or frequently when monitoring patients with chronic conditions. Further studies should search for the existence of correlations between socioeconomic status and the amount of drugs used to delay the occurrence MetS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) has become a global health challenge due to unhealthy lifestyles. Health-promoting behaviors (HPBs), especially exercise and diet, are recommended as the first-line strategy for MetS management. However, the adherence to these behaviors is challenging. The study was to understand the current levels of HPB among Chinese patients with MetS. Methods: A crosssectional descriptive survey was conducted in Chinese patients with MetS. Demographic and MetS related information were collected through physical examinations and questionnaires. The HPBs were measured by a valid instrument of Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP). Results: The study recruited a total of 178 MetS patients, with a mean age of 55.6 years. Although 57.3% of the patients performed a normal level of score in HPLP, the exercise dimension only had a mean score of 2.05 out of 4. Elder patients (>60 years) reported higher scores in stress management and exercise (all p <0.05). Male patients exercised more than females (p <0.05). Patients with different occupations also had different scores in exercise and overall HPBs (p<0.01). Conclusions: The Chinese MetS patients should improve their behaviors in exercise and healthy diet. Elder patients performed more HPBs. Male patients were more physically active than females. Health promotion programs should be developed to promote the HPBs, especially for females and younger MetS patients [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver cancer, the fifth most common cancer and second leading cause of cancer-related death among men worldwide, is plagued by not only lack of clinical research, but informatics tools for early detection. Consequently, it presents a major health and cost burden. Among the different types of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common and deadly form, arising from underlying liver disease. Current models for predicting risk of HCC and liver disease are limited to clinical data. A domain analysis of existing research related to screening for HCC and liver disease suggests that metabolic syndrome (MetS) may present oppportunites to detect early signs of liver disease. The purpose of this paper is to (i) provide a domain analysis of the relationship between HCC, liver disease, and metabolic syndrome, (ii) a review of the current disparate sources of data available for MetS diagnosis, and (iii) recommend informatics solutions for the diagnosis of MetS from available administrative (Biometrics, PHA, claims) and laboratory data, towards early prediction of liver disease. Our domain analysis and recommendations incorporate best practices to make meaningful use of available data with the goal of reducing cost associated with liver disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of an integrated and personalized healthcare system is becoming an important issue in the modern healthcare industry. One of main objectives of integrated healthcare system is to effectively manage patients having chronic disease. Different from acute disease, chronic disease requires long term care and its temporal information plays an important role to manage the status of disease. Thus, a patient having chronic disease needs to visit the hospital periodically, which generates large volume of medical data. Among the various chronic diseases, metabolic syndrome has become a major public healthcare issue in many countries. There have been efforts to develop a metabolic syndrome risk quantification and prediction model and to integrate them into personalized healthcare system, so as to predict the risk of having metabolic syndrome in the future. However, the development of methods for temporal progress management of metabolic syndrome has not been widely investigated. In this paper, we propose a method for identifying a temporal progress and patient's status of metabolic syndrome. Further, the effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated using a sample patient data while emphasizing the capability to identify chronological changes of metabolic syndrome status. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many physiological systems have been in recent years quantitatively characterized using fractal analysis. We applied it to study heart variability of young subjects with metabolic syndrome (MS); we examined the RR time series (time between two R waves in ECG) with the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) method, the Higuchi's fractal dimension method and the multifractal analysis to detect the possible presence of heart problems. The results show that although the young persons have MS, the majority do not present alterations in the heart dynamics. However, there were cases where the fractal parameter values differed significantly from the healthy people values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The World Health Organization reported that ischemic heart disease is the most common cause of death worldwide in 2008. The main causes of ischemic heart disease are obesity, hypertension, arteriosclerosis and other metabolic abnormalities. These conditions are related to lifestyle issues, such as diet and exercise. We developed a system to support the self-management of patients using a personal digital assistant (PDA). However, diet management becomes more difficult as patient condition worsens. Both self-management and behavior change by persons with metabolic syndrome are needed to prevent ischemic heart disease. In the present study, we have improved the system to support behavior change in persons with metabolic syndrome. The system has three functions of an entry of user's lifestyle information, a calculation of total amount of calorie intake and a reference to food model pictures of 80 kcal standard quantities for the behavior change. We focused on a self-review of user lifestyle as the first step of the behavior change. We conducted an experiment with the cooperation of 14 medical staff members to verify the operability of the system. No serious problems with the system were encountered. Additionally, we tested the system with health checkup examinees. The results of these tests suggested that our system will help physicians provide advice regarding total amount of calorie intake to health checkup examinees. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The body mass index (BMI) is nowadays the most used tool to evaluate obesity, involving only two anthropometric measures easy to obtain, the weight and the height (BMI=weight/height^2). The BMI is valuable because it evaluates obesity, classifying people into `underweight', `normal weight', and `overweight' classes. The value of the BMI means that through a classification of the weight condition, it implicitly estimates the possible alteration in metabolic parameters, such as blood glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol, among others. Because it is widely used, a little variation in the accuracy of the classification of the BMI may involve thousands of individuals misclassified. The aim of this work was to evaluate variations of the BMI formula searching for one which increases the specificity and sensitivity, respect to metabolic alterations. We applied heuristic search of algebraic and constant variation to the original BMI formula, for example, a rule to generate new variations of the BMI formula is increasing the exponent of the denominator by 0.1. The heuristic function used was the intersection of specificity and sensitivity of the particular formula evaluated, i.e., the maximum values of the two statistics. To evaluate the specificity and sensitivity a database of a sample of 4,308 young Mexicans (17-24 years old), including the parameters of the metabolic alterations evaluated, and weight and height was used. The heuristic search can be applied to adjust formulae that evaluate other clinical alterations, such as the atherogenic index. Also, we propose to use the variations of the BMI formula found in this study, with the high sensitivity and specificity when evaluate obesity of young Mexican as a risk to present metabolic alterations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, I argue that pharmacological research on antipsychotics and the metabolic syndrome is a site for the technoscientific transformation of race. The metabolic syndrome is a new biomedical classification whose meanings and applications vary widely across research contexts. These new intersections of professional psychiatry, government psychiatric epidemiology, and pharmaceutical capitalism have created a context in which constructions of the metabolic syndrome are used to target particular raced bodies and racial populations in the contexts of pharmaceutical research and development on antipsychotics. Schizophrenia researchers use the metabolic syndrome as a way of analyzing the adverse side effects of atypical antipsychotics in racially categorized populations. I analyze the technoscientific, economic, and political forces that shape the production of knowledge about African Americans' drug metabolism of antipsychotics. In particular, I deconstruct the theories of race that are deployed to ask questions about African Americans' drug metabolism of antipsychotics. I show how drug researchers use conceptions of race, metabolism, and schizophrenia in antipsychotics research in ways that transform administrative taxonomies of race into biological and genetic taxonomies of race. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high urinary pH is main risk factor for the calcium phosphate stone formation; however, its pathophysiologic mechanism has not been fully understood. The introduction of Topiramate in the treatment of various neurological disorders has been complicated by metabolic acidosis, significant hypocitraturia, elevated urinary pH, and calcium phosphate stone formation. This model provides a probe to investigate the pathophysiologic mechanism of calcium phosphate stone formation and perhaps to develop appropriate countermeasures in the future. On the other hand an unduly acidic urine predisposes one to uric acid nephrolithiasis. Our recent investigation linking low urinary pH, and defective renal ammoniagenesis to insulin resistance provides new knowledge to unfold the pathophysiology of uric acid nephrolithiasis. The metabolic profile leading to uric acid stone may emerge as one of the components of metabolic syndrome. © 2007 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Race is a central category of analysis in epidemiological and genetic research on the metabolic syndrome. Once metabolic syndrome becomes theoretically attached to race, it can then 'travel' to multiple social locations and knowledges, including multiple locations within and without medical science. Conversely, once race becomes attached to metabolic syndrome, scientific claims about differentiation among racial groups take on new meaning. Race is repackaged through the scientific construct of the syndrome, as it simultaneously embodies the social distribution of the syndrome. Therefore, the metabolic syndrome is an important site in the surging debate about whether race is fundamentally a social or biological construct, and how it should be used especially in the contexts of biomedicine and genomics. In this paper, I explore how race is mobilized in biomedical and genetic research metabolic syndrome and explore the dialectical relationship between the construction of race and metabolic syndrome. I argue that the metabolic syndrome a new site for the scientific inscription and reformulation of race as a genetically and biologically relevant category. The new treatment of race in biomedicine, and its related fields, constructs scientific knowledge that obscures unequal power relations and the social causes of disease. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of the adverse health conditions known as "metabolic syndrome" has been increasingly documented in a variety of studies. This research addresses the linkage between socioeconomic factors and the prevalence of several self-reported metabolic disorders based on a nationally representative sample of middle-aged adults (aged 51-61). People with "metabolic syndrome" are at increased risk for developing Type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and yet we know little about its linkage to social inequalities embodied by ascribed and achieved statuses. Using self-report data (N = 8,439) from the 1992 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we (1) determine the prevalence of several health conditions identified as metabolic disorders (diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol) by sex and race-ethnicity, (2) estimate the linkage of metabolic disorders to socioeconomic factors (both socioeconomic origins and socioeconomic achievements), and (3) examine the extent to which socioeconomic factors can account for differences in the risk of metabolic disorders linked to sex and race-ethnic differences. Results indicate that there are significant influences of age, sex, race-ethnicity and socioeconomic status - both background (parental education) and attainments (education and economic well-being) - on the risk of metabolic disorders in mid-life. Our findings suggest, however, that the influences of race-ethnicity are largely independent of group differences in socioeconomic experiences and that other explanations must be sought for race-ethnic disparities in metabolic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Epidemiological evidences suggest a strong relation between birth weight and some diseases in adult life (hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD)). It is thought that an adverse intrauterine environment provokes adaptive response to ensure fetal survival which if persist into adulthood may cause metabolic and CVD disease. Objectives: The aim of this study was to study association between birth weight and metabolic syndrome parameters among medical students, aiming to avail information to build the natural history of weight gain during early adulthood. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in Al-Neelain public University; done as part of a larger study that examined the prevalence of obesity among medical, 50 students who have birth weight data were involved in this study. Ethical approval was obtained and Data (collected by Questionnaire, blood pressure, anthropometric measurements and blood sample) were analyzed using SPSS (version23). Results: In this study metabolic syndrome prevalence was 2% and 4.1% using IDF and ATPIII definitions respectively. Metabolic syndrome risk factors were highly prevalent 32.6%; for obesity and overweight, 48.1% for hypertension and pre hypertension. There was gender base difference in blood pressure which was statistically significant p value = 0.02, with higher prevalence of pre hypertension and hypertension among male. The relationship between birth weight and adulthood obesity show inverted J shape relation with higher BMI among lower birth weight. Mean value for BP was higher among large for gestational age LGA and low birth weight LBW compared to appropriate birth weight individuals. Birth weight show statistical significance in relation to uncontrolled eating habit P value= 0.004 LBW compared to appropriate birth weight). Conclusion: High prevalence of overweight/obesity as well as pre-hypertension/ HTN. An insignificant inverted J shape relationship between birth weight and adulthood obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract to the article "Cardiometabolic risk factors clustered around metabolic syndrome and apolipoprotein E genotype predict cerebrovascular health in older adults: results from the Brain in Motion study" by A.V. Tyndall and colleagues, is presented.

An abstract of the article "Altered perfusion control within skeletal muscle with metabolic syndrome: Does a shifted attractor define peripheral vascular disease?" by J. C. Frisbee, J. T. Butcher, P. D. Chantler, S. J. Frisbee, and F. Wu is presented.

Objective: Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) has an anticontractile effect which is lost in obesity and the metabolic syndrome leading to hypertension associated cardiovascular complications (1). cGMP dependent protein kinase has been implicated in as a key molecule in regulating vasculartone (2), furthermore obesity the intake of a high fat diet is associated with a reduction in PKG expression (3). We investigated the role of cGMP dependent protein kinase (PKG) in PVAT function specifically in modulating adipokine release/signalling and whether activation of PKG is beneficial using an in vitro model of obesity. Methods: Contractility of mesenteric arteries ± PVAT from PKG+/+, PKG-/-, adiponectin-/- knockout and C57/Bl6J mice was investigated by wire myography. All procedures were performed in accord with current UK legislation. Vessels were studied under normoxia +/- DT-2 (PKG1 apeptide selective inhibitor) (125nM), hypoxia (95% N2/ 5%O2)± atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) (5µM). Contractile responses to noradrenaline (NA) (1x10-5M to 3x10-9M) were calculated as a percentage of KCl (60mM) contraction, and expressed as mean±SEM. Expression of adiponectin was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Results: Healthy PVAT had an anticontractile effect which was absent in PKG-/- mice and following pharmacological inhibition of PKG signalling (PVAT vs. no PVAT: PKG+/+: P<0.001 n=13; PKG-/-: P=0.052, n=13; DT-2: P=0.071, n=8). Solution transfer studies between preconstricted (3x10-8M NA) PKG+/+ (+PVAT) donor arteries to PKG-/- (-PVAT) recipient arteries and PKG-/- (+PVAT) donor arteries to PKG+/+ (-PVAT) recipient arteries were associated with a significantly impaired relaxation compared with PKG+/+ +PVAT to PKG+/+ -PVAT solution transfer (P=0.023 and P=0.043 respectively, n=13). Experimental hypoxia in PKG+/+ induced a loss of PVAT associated anticontractile effect which was prevented by ANP (PVAT+normoxia vs. PVAT+hypoxia: P=0.0157, n=10; PVAT+hypoxia vs. PVAT+hypoxia+ANP P=0.0093, n=8) No significant effects of hypoxia+/-ANP were observed in PKG-/- animals. Furthermore, the loss of anticontractile effect observed in adiponectin-/mice was not affected by hypoxia and could not be rescued by ANP (no PVAT vs PVAT: P=0.1486, n=6; PVAT vs. PVAT+hypoxia: P=0.6507, n=6; PVAT+hypoxia vs. PVAT+hypoxia+ANP: P=0.1538, n=6). Immunohistochemical detection of adiponectin demonstrated reduced adiponectin following hypoxia, which was prevented when ANP was present. Conclusions: Our data implicate PKG signalling in mediating PVAT function both up and down stream of secreted adipose tissue factor(s) through its role in mediating the expression and signalling of adiponectin. Investigations in obesity are necessary to confirm the role of PKG in PVAT dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background & Aim: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) triggers abnormal insulin signaling and insulin resistance, which is associated with impaired nitric oxide (NO) availability. Endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) has been link to insulin signaling but the role of neuronal NOS (nNOS) remains unknown. Recently, nNOS is shown to be up-regulated in hypertensive left ventricular (LV) myocardium (HP). Here, we tested whether enriching metabolic substrates in vitro affects insulin regulation of LV myocyte contraction and the functional contribution of nNOS in normal and in HP rat LV myocytes. Materials & Methods: LV myocytes were isolated using enzymatic dispersion technique from normal and angiotension II-induced hypertensive rats (via osmotic minipump, 125 ng/min/kg, 10-12 weeks, males). Myocyte contraction was assessed by using a video-sarcomere detection system (IonOptix Corp, field stimulation at 2 Hz, 36 ± 1°C). Metabolic substrates (oleic acid 200 μM, palmitic acid 100μM, linolic acid 100μM, lactate 1mM, pyruvate 100μM and carnitine 50μM) were supplemented (termed nutrition full, NF solution) to the normal tyrode (NT) solution. Insulin (1-10 nM), isoprenaline (ISO, 10-50 nM), S-methyl-L-thiocitrulline (SMTC, 100 nM), L-NG-nitroarginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 1 mM) and n-acetyl cysteine (NAC, 1 mM) were used in the study. Results: Our results demonstrated that sarcomere shortenings were greater with NF in both normal and HP under basal conditions (P<0.0001, n=19 in normal and P<0.0001, n=8 in HP) and after ISO treatment (P=0.0003, n=14, n=24 in normal and P<0.0001 n=15, n=8 in HP). NAC did not affect NF increases in myocyte contraction in normal (P=0.003, n=6) and in HP (P=0.02, n=5). In normal rats, insulin pre-treatment abolished ISO-stimulation of LV myocyte contraction with NT (P=0.8, n=27) but not with NF (P<0.001, n=20), suggesting impaired insulin response in NF. L-NAME, but not SMTC, prevented the anti-adrenergic effect of insulin in these rats (L-NAME: P=0.004, n=6; SMTC: P=0.16, n=9). In contrast, ISO failed to increase LV myocyte contraction with NT in HP (P=0.1, n=15); SMTC restored the positive inotropic effect of ISO (P=0.004, n=6). The inotropic response of ISO in HP was not affected by insulin (P=0.3, n=11 in NT; P<0.0001, n=11 in NF). SMTC or L-NAME did not affect myocyte contraction the effect of ISO with NF in HP (P=0.8, n=11, n=7 with SMTC; P=0.3, n=11, n=5 with L-NAME). Conclusion: Our results show that eNOS mediates anti-adrenergic effect of insulin in normal rat LV myocytes and nNOS exerts such an effect in HP. In vitro enrichment of metabolic substrates diminished insulin responsiveness in LV myocytes by attenuating the role of NOS. Downstream mechanisms mediating impaired insulin signaling in cardiac myocytes in metabolic syndrome and in HP warrant further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, environmental pollutants/endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have received special attention as metabolic disruptors that produce adverse developmental, reproductive, neurological, cardiovascular, metabolic and immune effects, including predisposition to metabolic syndrome, obesity and type 2 diabetes. Many EDCs are found in everyday products, such as plastic bottles, metal food cans, pesticides, detergents, toys, cosmetics, etc. The knowledge on cellular mechanisms behind the biological effect of EDCs exposure on the development of obesity and type2 diabetes is very limited. Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the most abundant EDCs present in the environment. BPA is present in the tested samples of human serum and urine worldwide and is considered to be an "obesogene" that interferes with lipid and glucose metabolism (reviewed in Umar et al., 2013). We focused our study on the effects produced by the exposure to BPA on the expression of obesity-related genes using zebrafish as an experimental model. We have chosen the zebrafish model based on several criteria: 1) recent studies have used zebrafish as a model for studies of the effects of EDCs (Chow et al., 2012); 2) a review by Holtta-Vuori at al. (2010) described zebrafish as an excellent model organism for lipid research; 3) studies of diet-induced obesity show that zebrafish and mammals share common pathophysiological pathways (Oka et al., 2010). Our experiments showed that exposure of 7dpf zebrafish larvae to 5mg/L of BPA for 24 hours significantly decreased adiponectin and ghrelin mRNA expression (by 29±7% and 26±6 %, respectively, N=5, t-test p<0.05) assessed by quantitative RT-PCR using RPLO mRNA expression for the normalization. In the same experiments vitellogenin mRNA expression was increased (by 96±11%, N=5, t-test p<0.05) and there were no changes in the mRNA expression of PDK4, perilipin and UCP3. Exposure of 7dpf zebrafish larvae to 5mg/L of BPA for 72 hours decreased adiponectin and ghrelin mRNA expression by 56±4% and 38±5 %, respectively (N=5, t-test p<0.05). The data presented here are the first to show that exposure of zebrafish to BPA decreases adiponectin and ghrelin expression. Adiponectin increases fatty acid oxidation and glucose metabolism in muscle, reduces glucose output and enhances insulin sensitivity in liver, and exposure of mammalian adipocytes to BPA inhibits adiponectin release (reviewed in Ben-Jonathan et al., 2009). Ghrelin is involved in regulation of feeding and has potent growth hormone stimulation activity in zebrafish. Our data on increased vitellogenin mRNA expression correlate well with previously reported data on the zebrafish response to BPA (Chow et al., 2012). Overall our data suggest that exposure of zebrafish to BPA displays similarities with obesity-promoting effects of BPA previously documented in mammalian models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is the coexistence of obesity, hyperglycaemia, hypertension and dyslipidaemia in an individual (1). The modern human diet contains high fructose level (2), which is culpable in the pathogenesis of MetS in adults (1) and children (3). We investigated the effects of two dietary sources of fructose, natural honey (NH) and cane syrup (GS) on metabolism in growing rat models (Rattus norvegicus) fed from neonatal age. Fifty-nine suckling (7-day old male (18.1±0.78g) and female (17.7±0.63g) rats were divided into five groups, namely NH Low (NHL); NH High (NHH); GS Low (GSL); GS High (GSH); and control (CRF), with replication on gender basis (n=6, except NHH female with 5rats). The rats were fed either NH or GS at low (10ml kg-1 b.wt) or high (20ml kg-1 b.wt) dose daily via stomach tube for 14 days, while the CRF was gavaged with distilled water. On weaning, NH or GS was mixed with rat feed as low (20%) or high, 50% (volume/weight, v/w) supplement, while tap water (20% v/w) was added to the control diet. The rats were euthanized at 13 weeks old to obtain visceral measurements, general health indices and growth parameters. Values are mean ± S.E.M., compared by ANOVA. NHL caused normal body weight gain (498.67±11.51g) as control (475.00±8.92g) in males, but significantly (p<0.01) higher than NHH, 407.17±9.75g; GSL, 426.17±9.04g, and GSH, 416.00±6.61g respectively. There was significant (p<0.05) increase in males' long bone weight and length while there was no difference (p>0.05) in linear growth among the female rats. Dietary cane syrup significantly (p<0.0001) increased the absolute and relative weights of abdominal visceral fat (GSL, 17.70±0.73g, 3.75±0.14%; GSH, 15.48±0.85g, 3.64±0.14%) vs. NHL, 11.11±0.37g, 2.39±0.07%; NHH, 10.21±1.04g, 2.48±0.21%; and CRF, 8.56±0.50g, 1.97±0.13% in males. GS-fed males had significantly (p<0.05) increased liver weight (GSL, 14.23±0.56g; GSH, 12.57±0.30g) vs. NHL, 10.92±0.32g; NHH, 10.24±0.40g; and CRF, 11.16±0.34g. The increased visceral fat and hepatomegaly were neither observed in the NH-fed nor the female rats. The surrogate markers of liver function were normal in the NH males, unlike GS-fed male rats with significantly (p<0.05) increased AST (GSL, 75.5±4.56U/L; GSH, 86.7±8.15U/L; NHL, 58.2±4.19U/L; NHH, 69.9±2.88U/L; CRF, 67.2±2.19U/L) and ALT (GSL, 43.5±9.57U/L; GSH, 32.8±8.68U/L; NHL, 27.5±3.13U/L; NHH, 25.8±2.87U/L; CRF, 28.5±2.46U/L). The rats fed GS diets were predisposed to developing diet-induced MetS. Unlike cane syrup, feeding rats NH from an early age neither caused susceptibility to MetS, nor compromised their health status, despite the similar fructose content of NH and GS. The good metabolic health of the NH-fed rats could be due to micronutrients, antioxidants and phytochemical constituents of NH (4, 5). There are definitely nutritional and health benefits in substituting honey for refined sugars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Converging lines of evidence suggests that maternal obesity is an independent risk factor for childhood obesity and metabolic syndrome. We have developed a murine model of maternal diet-induced obesity, which gives rise to offspring obesity and metabolic syndrome. Objective: We investigated whether maternal obesity could alter offspring energy balance and whether offspring exposure to an obesogenic diet in adulthood would exacerbate the effect. Methods: Female mice were fed standard chow or a highly palatable obesogenic diet, for 6 weeks before mating and throughout pregnancy and lactation. Offspring were weaned onto standard chow. At 3-months of age food intake, energy expenditure (EE) and Respiratory Exchange Ratio (RER) were measured continuously by indirect calorimetry, (Labmaster, TSE). The animals were then challenged for 3 weeks with an obesogenic diet before re-estimation of EE, RER and food intake. Results: At 3-months of age, offspring of obese mothers (OffOb, n=11) had lower RER over 24hrs (P<0.05) compared to offspring of control dams (OffCon, n=10). Following the obesogenic diet challenge OffOb females showed increased calorific intake (OffCon: 17.56±1.72 kcals vs OffOb: 27.65±3.24 kcals, P<0.01). OffOb showed reduced average EE compared to Off-Con (OffCon: 12.12±0.75 kcal/h/kg, n=11; vs OffOb: 10.76 ±0.31 kcal/h/kg, n=10 P<0.01). By 4-months males OffOb showed significantly increased bodyweight (OffCon: 43.93±1.16 g vs 48.1 ± 1.34 g, P<0.05). Conclusions: Maternal obesity results in lower offspring RER. Maternal obesity showed an apparent interaction with the adult obesogenic diet to increase food intake in females and reduce energy expenditure in both males and females, resulting in increased risk of obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation. The pattern of skeletal muscle deoxygenated hemoglobin and myoglobin (deoxy [Hb + Mb]) during incremental exercise is typically fitted by a sigmoid model and is a proxy of microvascular fractional O2 extraction. Given previous studies showing that metabolic syndrome subjects (MetS) have an altered vascular function, which possibly contributes to an imbalance between O2 supply and O2 demand during exercise, we tested the hypothesis that their sigmoidal increase in deoxy [Hb + Mb] would show a leftward shift when compared to healthy (H) controls, and that the deoxygenation pattern would be associated with cardiorespiratory fitness. Methods. Twenty subjects with MetS (4 women) and 14 H controls (7 women) were recruited. All subjects were submitted to a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test performed on a cycle ergometer. In addition, a subgroup of twelve subjects with MetS (3 women) and nine H controls (6 women) were submitted to dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Cardiorespiratory fitness was evaluated by the oxygen consumption at the ventilatory threshold (VO2VT) and the peak pulmonary oxygen consumption (VO2peak), which were measured by a metabolic analyzer. Deoxy [Hb + Mb] was measured by near-infrared spectroscopy in the Vastus Lateralis muscle. This signal was normalized to the total response amplitude and expressed in relation to power output (PO) by a sigmoid function {f(x)=f0+A/[1+e-(-c+dx)]}, which generated the variable c/d (PO at 50% of deoxy [Hb + Mb] response). Results. There was no difference between groups' age (MetS: 37±7 vs. H: 33±9 years, mean±SD, p=0.15), test duration (MetS: 535±90 vs. H: 540±101 s, p=0.88), and absolute VO2peak (MetS: 2.2±0.6 vs. H: 1.9±0.5 L/min, p=0.24). Within the subgroup, there was no difference in VO2peak corrected for lean body mass (MetS: 38.3±5.7 vs. H: 42.2±5.6 ml/kg/min, p=0.13). The deoxygenation pattern was adequately fitted by the sigmoid model (r≥0.95 for all cases). There was no difference for c/d between groups (MetS: 109±25 vs. H: 110±32 W, p=0.88), however there was a significant correlation between c/d and absolute VO2VT and absolute VO2peak in the whole sample (VO2VT r=0.67, p<0.0001; VO2peak r=0.69, p<0.0001), and within groups [(MetS VO2VT r=0.68, p=0.001; VO2peak r=0.69, p=0.001) (H VO2VT r=0.74, p=0.002; VO2peak r=0.76, p=0.001)]. Moreover, within the subgroup submitted to DEXA, we observed a significant correlation between c/d and VO2peak corrected for lean body mass r=0.56, p=0.008 in the whole group, and within groups (MetS: r=0.52, p=0.08; H: r=0.67, p=0.049). Conclusions. The pattern of skeletal muscle deoxygenation was similar between groups, probably due to similar-cardiorespiratory fitness, as the deoxygenation pattern was significantly associated with cardiorespiratory fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously reported that group-based physical activity (PA) intervention had beneficial effects on weight loss in Japanese subjects with metabolic syndrome (MS). Although, water- and land-based PA intervention was often conducted, it is unknown which PA interventions were more effective. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of these two interventions in Japanese subjects with MS or several MS risk factors (such as overweight, diabetes, hyperlipidemia). As a result, after 10-weeks, participants in both groups reported significant loss of weight, BMI, and percent body fat. Statistical analyses showed no significant differences between the groups with the exception of daily physical activity levels. It was suggested that both water- and land-based physical activity interventions had short-term beneficial effects on weight loss and reduction of percent body fat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study is to describe our efforts in a pilot study on modeling diagnostic criteria using a Semantic Webbased approach. We reused the basic framework of the ICD- 11 content model and refined it into an operational model in the Web Ontology Language (OWL). The refinement is based on a bottom-up analysis method, in which we analyzed data elements (including value sets) in a collection (n=20) of randomly selected diagnostic criteria. We also performed a case study to formalize rule logic in the diagnostic criteria of metabolic syndrome using the Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL). The results demonstrated that it is feasible to use OWL and SWRL to formalize the diagnostic criteria knowledge, and to execute the rules through reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in college going students of an urban territory of Northern India" by A. Bhagat, N. Kapoor and G. Kaur is presented.

Metabolic syndrome is a major healthcare and economic burden. Cardiovascular disease and obesity are major symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenously produced inhibitor of nitric oxide synthesis that is an established biomarker of cardiovascular disease. Increased plasma concentrations of ADMA have been reported in obese individuals in whom it is thought to contribute to cardiovascular dysfunction. However, at present little is known about the direct effects of ADMA on adipocytes and obesity. In the present study we examined the effects of ADMA on 3T3-L1 cells in vitro and on adipose tissue in vivo. Mouse 3T3-L1 cells were fully differentiated to adipocytes and treated with exogenous ADMA (10µM) after which intracellular neutral lipid was stained with oil red O and adipocyte area quantified by microscopy. To specifically elevate ADMA concentrations in adipocytes in vivo we deleted the enzyme dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase 1 (DDAH1, the predominant enzyme responsible for intracellular ADMA metabolism) in adipocytes using adiponectin driven Cre expression1. In vitro treatment with ADMA caused adipocyte hypertrophy (control area 27.65µM² 1.41, 10µM ADMA area 33.85µM² ± 1.62, p>0.01, n=6, all results ±SEM and student T test ) which was independent of NO blockade as the nitric oxide synthase inhibitors L-NAME (1mM) and PB-ITU (20µM) had no effect on lipid accumulation (28.02µM² ± 1.52 and 25.73µM² ±1.27 respectively). ADMA treatment of 3T3-L1 cells (10µM, 48h) resulted in increased expression of mTOR RNA and protein (2.4X ±0.47, and 1.73X ±0.22 respectively, p>0.05, n=3). Downstream of mTOR the targets of the transcription factor SREBP1c including ACC and FASN were upregulated (4.6±0.8 and 1.4±0.16 fold respectively, p>0.05, n=6) suggesting that ADMA increases adipocyte size through the upregulation of lipid biosynthesis in an NO independent manner. Adipocytes isolated from AdCre-DDAH1-/- mice were found to have increased intracellular ADMA (control 72.1 ±22.36 nmol/mg, KO 85.24 ±11.90 nmol/mg) which caused a corresponding decrease in intracellular NO concentration (control 30.66µM/mg ± 4.9, KO 18.22µM/mg ± 3.86, p>0.05, n=4). Immunohistochemistry revealed that adipocytes within the epididymal depot were larger in AdCre-DDAH1-/- mice than wildtype littermates (18.05±1.01µM² and 14.47±0.52µM² respectively, p>0.05, n=4). The physiological consequence of this adipocyte hypertrophy was increased macrophage infiltration (control 17.9±0.9, KO 22.2±1.2 cells per frame, p<0.05, n=4). These data suggest that ADMA is a novel regulator of lipid biosynthesis within adipocytes independent to its actions as a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor. Adipocyte hypertrophy causes increased inflammation and is likely to contribute to insulin resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: We investigated the effects of a chronic anti-hypertensive treatment using centrally-acting sympatho-inhibitory drugs on microvascular parameters in a rat model of metabolic syndrome (MS) induced by long-term high-fat diet with salt supplementation. Methods: Fifty male adult Wistar rats were used in conformity with the guidelines of the Animals Care and Use Comitee of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil (Autorization P 31-11). They were maintained under normal (CON, n = 10) or high-fat diet (HFD, n = 40) during 20 weeks. Thereafter, the HFD group received oral clonidine (HFD-CLO, 0.1 mg/kg), rilmenidine (HFD-RIL, 1 mg/kg), LNP 599 (HFD-LNP, 10 mg/kg) or vehicle (HFD-CON). Functional capillary density (FCD) was evaluated in the gracilis muscle and skin of the ear using intravital videomicroscopy and structural capillary density (SCD) was studied in the skeletal muscle and left ventricle using histochemical analysis. Systolic blood pressure was evaluated by photo-plethysmography and plasma catecholamines by HPLC determination. Plasma glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol were determined by enzymatic assays. Results: There was an increase in systolic blood pressure (178±2 vs. 138±3 mmHg, P<0.05) and heart rate (412±8 vs. 336±5 bpm, P<0.05) in the HFD-CON compared to the CON group. The HFD-CON group also presented a decrease in FCD and SCD in the gracilis muscle, compared to CON group (153±8 vs. 253±16 capillaries/mm2 and 1.5±0.08 vs. 1.8±0.04 capillaries/ fiber, P<0.05, respectively). However, there were no alterations in FCD in the skin. The SCD was reduced in the left ventricle of the HFD-CON group when compared to the CON group (0.18±0.01 vs. 0.33±0.01 Vv[cap]/Vv[fib], P<0.05). The groups of animals submitted to HFD and treated with clonidine, rilmenidine and LNP 599 presented a similar reduction in systolic blood pressure (155±4, 161±4 and 156±4 mmHg, respectively, P<0.05) when compared to the HFD-CON group (178±2 mmHg) and in adrenaline levels (68±7 and 64±8 and 64±8 pg/mL, respectively, P<0.05) when compared to the HFD-CON group (89±4 pg/mL). These reductions in systemic catecholamines were accompanied by an increase in the FCD and SCD in the skeletal muscle when compared to the HFD-CON group. Moreover, there was an increase in the SCD in the left ventricle in the HFD-RIL group when compared to the HFDCON group. Conclusions: The modulation of sympathetic activity using chronic anti-hypertensive treatment with centrally-acting drugs results in a simultaneous reduction of arterial pressure and plasma catecholamines accompanied by an improvement of capillary rarefaction in the skeletal muscle and left ventricle in an experimental model of MS in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Our previous work has shown that the offspring of obese rat dams display an exaggerated and prolonged leptin surge early in life, which may predispose them to the metabolic syndrome in adulthood. It is hypothesized that this surge of leptin influences reward behaviour and the expression of associated receptors (e.g. dopamine D2, cannabinoid CB1 and opioid Mu receptors) in the central nervous system, Objective: This project investigated the ways in which elevated leptin levels in early life, comparable to those associated with maternal obesity, may alter the neonatal brain and lead to dysfunctional reward-seeking behaviours and obesity later in life. Methods: Twelve male Sprague Dawley rats were treated ip from post natal day 9-15 day with either leptin (0.3mg/kg, n=6) or vehicle (saline, n=6). At day 30, rats were euthanised and brains were removed for examination of receptor levels via ligand-binding autoradiography. An overnight 'two-bottle sucrose preference test' was also carried out in separate cohorts (n=10/group) at day 30. Results: Following an overnight sugar preference test, it was found that the leptin-treated rats had a greater preference for sucrose compared to the saline-treated control animals (94.6% vs. 84.7% preference for sucrose, p<0.05).Analysis of [3H]-spiperone binding indicated that the leptin treated-rats had a significantly lower D2 level than the control animals in the nucleus accumbens (64.8% lower, p<0.05); for CB1 binding, the leptin treatment led to a rise in the nucleus accumbens and decrease in the caudate putamen (p<0.05). Opioid mu receptor binding was higher in the nucleus accumbens and thalamus of the leptin-treated rats (p<0.05). Conclusions: Early-life leptin exposure leads to alterations in reward-related receptors and behaviour, which may predispose those individuals to reward-related behavioural disorders later in life, such as obesity or addiction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome has reached epidemic levels globally. The rising incidence of diabetes and metabolic syndrome has been attributed to a sedentary lifestyle and the adoption of high energy diets that are deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, and contain excessive amount of omega-6 fatty acids. Coriander seeds, commonly used for culinary purposes, are rich in essential oils and have established hypoglycaemic and hypolipidaemic effects in the obese and diabetics. We investigated the effects of dietary coriander seeds on growth performance, hepatic and visceral adipose tissue lipid storage and circulating metabolic substrates in healthy growing rats. Female Sprague Dawley rats (150-200 g) were fed either standard rat chow (n = 8) or standard rat chow supplemented with crushed coriander seeds (n = 8; 500 mgkg-1 body mass) suspended in gelatine cubes. After five weeks, there were no significant differences in body mass gain, plasma free fatty acids, blood glucose and triglyceride concentrations of the rats from the two dietary groups (p > 0.05; t-test). Blood for the determination of circulating metabolites was collected by cardiac puncture under anaesthesia with sodium pentobarbitone. Whilst dietary supplementation with coriander did not affect the lipid content of the liver, however it significantly increased the amount of monounsaturated (MUFA) (22.62 ± 6.48%) and polyunsaturated (PUFA) (54.89 ± 5.10%) fatty acids in the visceral adipose tissue where it also decreased the saturated fatty acid content (p < 0.05; t-test). The physiological significance of the effect of coriander on MUFA and PUFA storage in visceral fat, but not in the liver, needs further investigation. The lower ratio omega 6: omega 3 in the visceral adipose tissue may explain some of the health benefits of coriander. These data suggest that dietary coriander supplementation may have beneficial effects on visceral adipose tissue lipid metabolism in healthy subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, the consumption of unhealthy diets and leading sedentary lifestyles contribute significantly to the high prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Although the complications of MetS can be managed with conventional medicines, there is a growing use of medicinal plants. Previous studies exploring the metabolic effects of Aloe vera have been in adult animals in which metabolic dysfunction was induced pharmacologically. We evaluated the effects of a crude Aloe vera leaf extract and fenofibrate on growth, visceral fat, circulating and stored metabolic substrates, and glucose tolerance of growing rats fed a high carbohydrate diet. Fifty nine male Sprague-Dawley rats (21 days old) were randomly allocated to six groups. Group I was fed normal rat chow (NRC). Group II received a high carbohydrate diet (HCD); Group III received NRC and fenofibrate at 100mg.kg-1; Group IV received a HCD and fenofibrate at 100mg.kg-1; Group V received normal rat chow and Aloe vera at 300mg.kg-1; Group VI received a HCD and Aloe vera at 300mg.kg-1. The Aloe vera crude aqueous leaf preparation and fenofibrate were administered in gelatine cubes. After 20 weeks the rats were fasted over night, an oral glucose tolerance test was performed, the rats were then killed with sodium pentobarbital (200mg.kg-1 i.p.) and tissue collected for further analysis. The rats fed the HCD had a significantly higher body mass than the other groups (p < 0.05, ANOVA), however the administration of fenofibrate prevented the HCD-induced increase in body mass whilst Aloe vera was not effective. Linear growth as measured by the tibial length was not significantly different between the groups (p >0.05, ANOVA). Fasting concentrations of glucose, triglycerides and free fatty acids were not significantly different between the groups and no significant differences (p>0.05, ANOVA) were observed in the circulating concentrations of insulin and the index of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). The rats in all groups were able to tolerate an oral glucose load. Feeding the rats a HCD resulted in a significantly increased (p< 0.05, ANOVA) visceral fat mass. Fenofibrate administration prevented the HCD-induced visceral fat mass gain whilst Aloe vera administration had no effect. Although there was no significant difference in the lipid and glycogen content in the liver, fenofibrate administration resulted in a significantly increased liver mass compared to the other groups. Thus, weaning rats onto a high carbohydrate diet and feeding them the diet for 20 weeks resulted in the development of visceral obesity without altering their glucose tolerance and concentrations of metabolic substrates. Treatment with fenofibrate prevented the high carbohydrate diet-induced visceral adiposity however the Aloe vera leaf preparation was ineffective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumption of high-fat, high-carbohydrate diet mainly contributed in the development of metabolic syndrome, which is associated with obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and high blood pressure. It is well established that asiatic acid, a natural triterpenoid compound derived from Centella asiatica, exhibited biological effects including, antiinflammation, antioxidant and antihyperglycemia. In the present study, we examined the metabolic, cardiovascular responses as well as antioxidant properties of asiatic acid in rats with metabolic syndrome (MS) induced by high-fat, high-carbohydrate (HFHC) diet. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (160-180 g) were fed with HFHC diet with 15% fructose in drinking water for 12 weeks to induce MS. Then, MS rats and normal rats received asiatic acid (10 mg/kg) or vehicle for further 3 weeks. Fasting serum insulin, fasting blood glucose (FBG), oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were measured once a month. At the end of treatment, rats were anaesthetized with peritoneal injection of pentobarbital-sodium (60 mg/kg) and hemodynamic status, lipid profiles and oxidative stress markers were evaluated. All procedures are complied with the standards for the care and use of experimental animals and approved by Animal Ethics Committee of Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand (AEKKU 36/2555). Data are expressed as the mean ± S.E.M., compared by ANOVA. Results showed that rats fed with HFHC diet had an impairment of OGTT, high homeostasis model assessment of insulin (HOMA-IR), high cholesterol, and high SBP, indicating metabolic syndrome (MS) in these rats (p<0.05). Moreover, mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) (MS: 114.61 ± 3.7 vs. 90.58 ± 1.7 mmHg control, p<0.05), hindlimb vascular resistance (HVR) (MS: 30.64 ± 2.5 vs. 11.46 ± 0.6 mmHg/min/100 g/ml control, p<0.05) were significantly increased, relating to the augmentation of vascular superoxide production (MS: 114.9 ± 15.1 vs. 56.9 ± 4.3 counts/min/mg dry weight control, p<0.05) and plasma MDA levels (MS: 5.8 ± 0.5 vs. 2.9 ± 0.2 µM control, p<0.05) in MS group. Treatment with asiatic acid significantly attenuated dyslipidemia and improved insulin sensitivity as shown by the decreased HOMA-IR (p<0.05). We found reductions in MAP (about 11 .4%) and HVR (about 36%) in MS rats received asiatic acid (p<0.05). Moreover, asiatic acid exhibited antioxidant properties by markedly reducing oxidative stress markers in vascular tissues and plasma in MS rats (p<0.05). In conclusion, asiatic acid improved metabolic and hemodynamic changes as well as oxidative stress in HFHC diet induced MS rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]