Medicina
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Background andObjectives: Diet is closely linked to mental health. The aim of this study was to explore the link between diet and mental health in community dwelling Japanese women. Materials and Methods: A total of 89 community dwelling Japanese women, aged 66.8 ± 7.6 years, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. ⋯ Among the food groups, fish and shellfish were negatively correlated with the GHQ scores. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that the n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio was the determinant factor for the GHQ score, even after adjusting for confounding factors. Conclusions: These results suggest that a proper diet to reduce the n-6/n-3 fatty acid ratio may improve mental health in community dwelling Japanese women.
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Background andObjectives: Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in persons with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, lupus). Atherosclerosis, which involves interplay between cholesterol metabolism and cellular inflammatory pathways, is primarily treated with statins since statins have lipid-lowering and anti-inflammatory properties. The Lupus Atherosclerosis Prevention Study (LAPS) was designed to investigate the efficacy of statins against CVD in SLE patients. ⋯ Conclusions: Statins do not normalize pro-atherogenic changes induced by lupus and these changes continue to worsen over time. This study provides mechanistic insight into LAPS findings by demonstrating that statins are overall ineffective in altering the balance of cholesterol transport gene expression in human macrophages. Furthermore, our study suggests that statins as a CVD treatment may not be useful in attenuating lipid overload in the SLE environment.
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Background and Objectives: A deficiency exists in the criterion-referenced cut-points for field-based cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in Latin American youths. The aims of the present study were two-fold: (1) To identify the ability of CRF estimated by the 20-m shuttle-run test (20mSRT) to differentiate between "healthy" and "unhealthy" phenotypes (by adiposity) in adolescents; (2) to assess the association between obesity and relative peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) in a large and diverse sample of Latin American youths. In total, 72,505 adolescents aged between 13 and 15 years were recruited from Chile and Colombia (47.5% girls). ⋯ The sensitivity of VO2peak was medium (>63%) for all age- and sex-specific cut-points, with optimal cut-points in 13- to 15-year olds for obesity identified as 43.77 mL·kg-1·min-1 and 38.53 mL·kg-1·min-1 in boys and girls, respectively. Conclusions: According to these cut-points, adolescents with low CRF were more likely to be obese either by WC or WHtR. The CRF cut-points can be used as quantitative markers for a healthier body in Latin American adolescents.
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Background and objectives: Pollens of weeds are relevant elicitors of type I allergies. While many Artemisia species occur worldwide, allergy research so far has only focused on Artemisia vulgaris. We aimed to characterize other prevalent Artemisia species regarding their allergen profiles. ⋯ The Artemisia extracts contained additional IgE cross-reactive molecules from the nonspecific lipid transfer protein, pectate lyase, profilin, and polcalcin family. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that DPLPs in various Artemisia species have high allergenic potential. Therefore, related Artemisia species need to be considered to be allergen elicitors, especially due to the consideration of potential geographic expansion due to climatic changes.
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Observational Study
Early Diagnosis and Prognostic Value of Acute Kidney Injury in Critically Ill Patients.
Background and objectives: In hospitalized children, acute kidney injury (AKI) remains to be a frequent and serious condition, associated with increased patient mortality and morbidity. Identifying early biomarkers of AKI and patient groups at the risk of developing AKI is of crucial importance in current clinical practice. Specific human protein urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) and interleukin 18 (uIL-18) levels have been reported to peak specifically at the early stages of AKI before a rise in serum creatinine (sCr). ⋯ Conclusions: Significant risk factors for AKI were age of <20 months, PIM2 score of >2.5% on admission to the PICU, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome with dysfunction of 3 and more organ systems, PICU length of stay of more than three days, and length of mechanical ventilation of > five days. uNGAL was identified as a good prognostic marker of AKI. On admission to PICU, uNGAL should be measured within the first three days in patients at the risk of developing AKI. The uIL-18 level on the first day was found to be as a biomarker predicting the progression of AKI.