We investigated the fitness consequences of specialization in an organism whose host choice has an immense impact on human health: the African malaria vector Anopheles gambiae s.s. We tested whether this mosquito's specialism on humans can be attributed to the relative fitness benefits of specialist vs. generalist feeding strategies by ...

To investigate the relationship between malaria parasite status and cholesterol level of 110 consenting subjects (55 patients and 55 controls) in parts of the Imo River Basin of Nigeria. Giemsa staining was used for malaria parasite examination while Randox cholesterol kit was used for cholesterol level estimation. About 49 persons ...

Prevalence of Hepatozoon caimani has been reported in 76% of caimans Caiman yacare from the Pantanal region. Culex (Melanoconion) spp. mosquitoes were recently identified as natural vectors of this parasite. However, culicids are not typically eaten by crocodilians, suggesting that the main transmission route is through ingestion of insectivorous vertebrates, ...

Dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine is a new, highly effective and well tolerated combination treatment for uncomplicated falciparum malaria. The lipophilic characteristic of piperaquine suggests that administration together with fat will increase the oral bioavailability of the drug, and this has been reported for healthy volunteers. This pharmacokinetic study followed 30 adult patients with ...

Observational studies have indicated that soya food consumption is inversely associated with blood pressure (BP). Evidence from randomised controlled trials (RCT) on the BP-lowering effects of soya protein intake is inconclusive. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of soya protein intake in lowering BP. The PubMed database was searched for ...

Background:Sympathetic activation is an important metabolic adaptation limiting weight gain. Propensity of weight gain associated with β-blocker therapy in the obese modern population is unknown.Objective:To determine whether chronic β-blocker therapy reduces energy expenditure (EE) and increases body weight.Methods:We undertook (i) a mechanistic study comparing EE, diet-induced thermogenesis and habitual activity ...

Silicon is rich in the normal human aorta but decreases with age and the development of atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that soluble silica (Si) and coral sand (CS), as a natural Si-containing material, would suppress high blood pressure (BP) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), and clarify the observed antihypertensive mechanism by ...

High dietary salt-caused hypertension is associated with increasing reactive oxygen species generation and reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Transient receptor potential vanilloid type 1 (TRPV1), a specific receptor for capsaicin, is proposed to be involved in Dahl salt-sensitive hypertension, as determined in acute or short-term experiments. However, it remains unknown ...

Feeding flavonoid-rich blueberries to spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats (SHRSP) lowers blood pressure. To determine whether this is due to inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity, as seen with other flavanoid-rich foods, we fed blueberries to SHRSP and normotensive rats and analyzed ACE activity in blood and tissues. After 2 weeks on ...

Essential hypertension results from the interaction of several genetic and environmental factors. Identification of genetic factors that modulate blood pressure (BP) response to interventions can lead to improved strategies for prevention and control. The purpose of this study was to identify genes that modulate BP response to dietary interventions. We ...

Aim:To evaluate the relationship between lipoproteins, fibrinogen and sudden sensorineural hearing loss in a Croatian population. Since pathological derangement of lipoproteins and fibrinogen could be one of the causes of sudden sensorineural hearing loss, we hypothesised that patients with sudden sensorineural hearing loss would have more abnormal fibrinogen and lipoprotein ...

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and parallel-designed study was conducted to investigate the effect of a synbiotic product containing Lactobacillus gasseri [corrected] CHO-220 and inulin on lipid profiles of hypercholesterolemic men and women. Thirty-two hypercholesterolemic men and women with initial mean plasma cholesterol levels of 5.7±0.32 mmol/L were recruited for the ...

Taeeumjowitangkagambang (ETJKB) is a traditional Korean medicine that has been clinically used for obesity with little mechanistic understanding. The present study investigated antiobesity and hypolipidemic effects of ETJKB in high fat diet fed rats as well as a 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte differentiation model. ETJKB significantly inhibited the lipidogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes ...

Sanchi, also known as Radix Notoginseng, is a Chinese traditional medicine prepared from roots of the herb Panax notoginseng. Sanchi is traditionally used as a hemostatic to control internal and external bleeding but also shows diverse bioactivities that include increasing coronary blood flow and reducing myocardial oxygen consumption and blood ...

Long-term effects of propolis administration on serum biochemical parameters of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were investigated. To determine the possible toxicity and side effects of propolis, fish were fed on diets containing 0, 0.5, 1.5, 4.5 and 9g propolis/kg diet for 8 weeks. At the end of the experiment, various ...

We previously reported that the ESR1 XbaI genotypes were associated with baseline and tamoxifen-induced serum lipid profiles. The analysis in that study was carried out by PCR followed by restriction-enzyme digestion. After reanalysis using more robust TaqMan assays, the findings related to ~10% of the genotypes for the ESR1 XbaI ...

Lifibrol is a potent lipid-lowering drug with an unknown mechanism of action. We investigated its effects on lipoprotein and sterol metabolism in normocholesterolemic male participants. Seven participants were treated for 4 weeks with 600 mg/d lifibrol and 9 with 40 mg/d pravastatin in a double-blind randomized parallel-group trial. Kinetic studies ...

Plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides are among the most important risk factors for coronary artery disease (CAD) and are targets for therapeutic intervention. We screened the genome for common variants associated with plasma lipids in >100,000 individuals of European ancestry. Here we ...

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis in a population-based cohort to compare the strength of the associations among various lipid parameters and the presence of atherosclerotic plaque in the proximal thoracic aorta. As part of Aortic Plaques and Risk of Ischemic Stroke (APRIS) study, 464 subjects were studied (mean age 69.1 ...

Monascus -fermented red mold dioscorea (RMD) has been proven to possess greater hypolipidemic effect than red mold rice (RMR) even though they include equal levels of cholesterol-lowering agent monacolin K. However, higher concentrations of yellow pigments (monascin and ankaflavin) were found in RMD than in RMR. In this study, purified ...

Fermented red pepper paste (FRPP) is one of the most well-known traditional foods in Korea. The effects of FRPP in experimental animals and adipocytes have been previously reported. However, the biochemical effects have not yet been validated in humans with various genetic backgrounds and environmental factors. In this study, 28 ...

Patients with psychosis have an increased prevalence of hyperlipidemia. We compared fasting concentrations of lipids in newly diagnosed, antipsychotic-naïve patients with nonaffective psychosis (N=87) and control subjects (N=92). After accounting for gender, age, smoking, socioeconomic status, and body mass index, there was no significant difference between the two groups in ...

Resveratrol has been reported to induce angiogenesis in ischemic tissue. We hypothesized that high-dose resveratrol would improve native angiogenesis in a swine model of metabolic syndrome and chronic myocardial ischemia. Yorkshire swine were fed a normal diet (Control, n = 7), hypercholesterolemic diet (HCD, n = 7), or hypercholesterolemic diet ...

Atherogenic dyslipidemia comprises a triad of increased blood concentrations of small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles, decreased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) particles, and increased triglycerides. A typical feature of obesity, the metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, atherogenic dyslipidemia has emerged as an important risk factor for myocardial ...

Epidemiological studies have shown an inverse correlation between a fruit and vegetable-rich diet and cardiovascular diseases; this beneficial effect of fruits and vegetables is probably due to the presence of antioxidant phytochemicals. In contrast, cigarette smoking is a high risk factor for lung and heart diseases, associated with chronic oxidative ...

Niacin has profound and unique effects on lipid metabolism. In addition to increasing high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, it is also known to decrease total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglyceride. Interestingly, the plasma concentration of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], which has been suggested to play a role as an independent risk factor for ...

Previously, we reported that a malleable protein matrix (MPM), composed of whey fermented by a proprietary Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens strain, has immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. MPM consumption leads to a considerable reduction in the cytokine and chemokine production (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, and interleukin-6), thus lowering chronic inflammation or metaflammation. Inhibition ...

Almond consumption is associated with ameliorations in obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. The hypothesis of this 12-week randomized crossover clinical trial was that almond consumption would improve glycemic control and decrease the risk for cardiovascular disease in 20 Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (9 male, 11 female; ...

The medications we use for cholesterol and triglyceride lowering are powerful and have substantial outcome data. However, even with aggressive statin therapy, there is residual risk for recurrent cardiovascular events. Strict dietary modification has been shown to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by 20% to 30%. Low-fat and Mediterranean-type diets ...

Recently, it has been suggested that non-high-density lipoprotein (non-HDL) cholesterol measure is a useful evaluation tool to assess heart disease death risk. The non-HDL cholesterol is defined as the value between total cholesterol and HDL - total cholesterol, and it involves the different fractions of lipoproteins: low-density lipoprotein, intermediate-density lipoprotein, ...

OBJECTIVE: Toremifene and tamoxifen have been used for adjuvant therapy in post-menopausal patients with breast cancer in Japan. Dyslipidemias are common in post-menopausal women. However, limited data are available on the effects of these agents on lipid profiles in Japanese patients. The Japan Toremifene Cooperative Study Group has been conducting ...

The Göttingen minipig is an excellent model for studying effects of dietary high-fat intake on obesity. In this study, we analyzed the expression level of microRNA-122 (miRNA-122) and its target mRNA, CAT1, in intact young male minipigs fed either high-cholesterol or standard diet for 11 wk. MiRNA-122 and CAT1 are ...

Chrysin is a flavonoid that exists in nature and is the major component of some traditional medicinal herbs. We investigated the hepatoprotective and antihyperlipidaemic potential of chrysin against D-galactosamine (a single intraperitoneal injection 400 mg/kg BW) induced hepatotoxicity in male albino Wistar rats. D-GalN rats exhibited an increased hepato and ...

The concept that the consumption of a diet rich in flavonoids can be associated with a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease is becoming increasingly accepted. In the present study we investigated the effects of the following four diets on blood pressure and cholesterol ester levels in hypercholesterolemic Golden Syrian hamsters: ...

BACKGROUND: Regular exercise training (ET) slows the progression of atherosclerotic lesions, reduces oxidative stress, and increases nitric oxide bioavailability, all of which may be expected to improve degenerative aortic valve disease. METHODS AND RESULTS: Four-week-old low-density lipoprotein-receptor-deficient mice (n=94) were randomly divided into 4 groups: Group 1 (control group), normal ...

BACKGROUND: Isotretinoin is an effective treatment for acne vulgaris. However, it has numerous side-effects. It was previously reported that serum growth hormone (GH) levels decreased with isotretinoin treatment. OBJECTIVES: To analyse whether isotretinoin has any effects on insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP3) and GH levels. ...

The blood lipid-lowering effects of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) on hypertriglyceridemic subjects with different fatty acid-binding protein-2 (FABP2) genotypes have not, to our knowledge, been previously studied. Twenty-three FABP2 Ala54 and 23 Thr54 carriers with hypertriglyceridemia (triacylglycerol level >200mg/dL) were enrolled in this study. Participants took 2g of pure EPA daily ...

OBJECTIVE: To explore the association of anthropometric indices with lipoprotein profile and blood pressure as risk factors of cardiovascular disease, in African American (AA) children. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was carried out on children aged 9-13 years with BMI >85th percentile. Height, weight, waist and hip circumferences, % body fat ...

Associations between dietary glycemic load (GL) and cardiovascular disease risk factors, including plasma lipoprotein/lipid levels, blood pressure, and glucose metabolism factors, in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study were examined. A random sample of 878 Observational Study participants (postmenopausal women 50-79 y of age) with baseline blood measurements (647 white, ...

INTRODUCTION: Obesity increases triglyceride levels and decreases high-density lipoprotein concentrations in plasma. Artificial emulsions resembling lipidic plasma lipoprotein structures have been used to evaluate low-density lipoprotein metabolism. In grade III obesity, low density lipoprotein metabolism is poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the kinetics with which a cholesterol-rich emulsion (called a ...

The search for sickle cell disease (SCD) prognosis biomarkers is a challenge. These markers identification can help to establish further therapy, later severe clinical complications and with patients follow-up. We attempted to study a possible involvement of levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in steady-state children with SCD, once that ...

The association between modulation of detailed lipoprotein profiles and cholesterol ester transfer (CET) activity by peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-a agonists in patients with coronary artery disease remains unclear. We assessed lipid profiles, plasma CET activity, and in-stent intimal hyperplasia after fenofibrate treatment in patients who underwent elective coronary stenting. Forty-three ...

Insulin-induced gene 2 (INSIG2) plays an important role in the regulation of cholesterol and fatty acids synthesis. A polymorphism, rs7566605, located 10 kilobases upstream of the INSIG2 gene, was identified in a genomewide association study of obesity. We conducted an association study of 12 INSIG2 tag-single nucleotide polymorphisms with longitudinal ...

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting millions of people worldwide. Apart from age, the major risk factor identified so far for the sporadic form of AD is possession of the epsilon4 allele of apolipoprotein E (APOE), which is also a risk factor for coronary artery disease ...

This article reports data on the preventive effect of (-)epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) on lipid metabolism and lipoproteins in isoproterenol (ISO)-induced myocardial infarction (MI) in Wistar rats. The rats were induced MI by ISO (100 mg/kg) at an interval of 24 h for 2 days. EGCG (30 mg/kg) was given to ...

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether insulin sensitivity, inflammatory response, and plasma lipid profile are associated with circulating adiponectin levels in nondiabetic healthy women. The authors also assessed whether adiponectin has any effect on high-density lipoprotein cholesterol-linked paraoxonase 1 (PON-1) activity and on the susceptibility of low-density ...

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are compounds that do not occur in nature but have been widely used since World War II and persist indefinitely in the environment. They are present in the serum of Americans with median levels of 4 ng/mL and 21 ng/mL, respectively. PFOA has ...

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the hypolipidemic effect of the polysaccharide isolated from Pholiota nameko (PNPS-1). METHODS: Hyperlipidemic Wistar rats were treated with PNPS-1 (20, 40, and 60 mg/kg orally). RESULTS: Treatment of hyperlipidemic Wistar rats with PNPS-1 led not only to significant decreases in very low-density lipoprotein/low-density ...

Pegylated interferon and ribavirin combination therapy is the standard treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Some groups have reported a relation between lipid values and response while others have reported that microsomal triglyceride transfer protein, a key enzyme in the assembly and secretion of lipoproteins, was related to ...

OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have suggested that nuts have favorable effects beyond lipid lowering. We aimed to investigate effect of the Antep pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) on blood glucose, lipid parameters, endothelial function, inflammation, and oxidation in healthy young men living in a controlled environment. METHODS: A Mediterranean diet was administered ...