Advances in medical sciences
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Classical rather than genetic risk factors account for high cardiovascular disease prevalence in Lithuania: A cross-sectional population study.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality accounts for 54% of all deaths in Lithuania, making it the highest among all of the European Union countries. We evaluated the prevalence of several CVD risk factors, including lifestyle, blood biochemistry and genetic predisposition to determine the reasons behind significantly increased CVD prevalence in Lithuania. ⋯ High BMI and poor population plasma lipid profile are the major contributing factors to high CVD mortality and morbidity in Lithuania. Smoking, alcohol consumption and preliminary genetic predisposition results do not explain the difference in CVD mortality between the Lithuanian and wider European populations. CVD prevention programmes in Lithuania should primarily focus on weight loss and improving blood lipid control.
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Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID), characterized by abdominal pain and a change in stool form that cannot be explained by structural abnormalities. Its prevalence ranges from 9 to 23% of the worldwide population. The pathophysiology of IBS is diverse and not well understood. ⋯ IBS is diagnosed on the basis of Rome Diagnostic Criteria. Recently, their newest version (Rome IV) has been presented. The aim of this review is to summarize the past decade progress in IBS diagnosis, main pathophysiological aspects and therapeutic management strategy.
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The aim of this work was to assess the effect(s) of de novo ceramide synthesis inhibition on lipid metabolism in skeletal muscle tissue of type 1 diabetic rats. The latter seems to be of vital importance, since previous works have shown its positive influence on lipid metabolism and glucose homeostasis in the case of its counterpart - type 2 diabetes. ⋯ In the light of the results ensuing from this study, it seems conceivable that the reduction of intramuscular ceramide production and accumulation could bestow an insulin-sensitizing effect. If so, then SPT inhibition could find potential future applications as a therapeutic intervention aimed to mitigate the effects of insulin resistance.