The New England journal of medicine
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Lipoprotein lipase is an important regulator of lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. It also contributes to the lipid and energy metabolism of different tissues in varying ways. ⋯ The actual molecular events that determine this tissue specificity are not yet understood. In the future, however, it may be possible to stimulate or inhibit the activity of lipoprotein lipase in specific tissues and to alter metabolic processes so as to improve the quality and length of life in patients with metabolic diseases such as hypertriglyceridemia, HDL2 deficiency, and obesity.
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Blood-group antigens are found on the surface of urothelial cells and may affect bacterial adherence and thereby the susceptibility to urinary tract infection. We determined the ABO, P, and Lewis blood-group phenotypes in 49 white women with histories of recurrent urinary tract infections and compared them with those found in 49 healthy control women without recurrent urinary tract infections. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the distribution of the ABO or P phenotypes. ⋯ The following distribution was noted among the women with recurrent urinary tract infections: secretor phenotype, 45 percent; nonsecretor phenotype, 29 percent; and recessive phenotype, 26 percent (P = 0.002). When the women with nonsecretor and recessive phenotypes were combined and considered collectively, the odds ratio (an estimate of relative risk of recurrent urinary tract infection) for those without the secretor phenotype was 3.4 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.5 to 7.9). We conclude that there is an increased frequency of the Lewis blood-group nonsecretor (Le(a+b-] and recessive (Le(a-b-] phenotypes among women with recurrent urinary tract infections.