RESULTS: Both doses of the alcohol extract of S. polycystum and the 300 mg kg(-1) water extract, significantly reduced blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C ) levels. Serum total cholesterol, triglyceride levels and plasma atherogenic index were significantly decreased after 22 days treatment in all seaweed groups. Unlike metformin, S. polycystum did not significantly change plasma insulin in the rats, but increased the response to insulin.
CONCLUSION: The consumption of either ethanolic or water extracts of S. polycystum dose dependently reduced dyslipidaemia in type 2 diabetic rats. S. polycystum is a potential insulin sensitiser, for a comestible complementary therapy in the management of type 2 diabetes which can help reduce atherogenic risk.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six control and five DM Wistar rats were evaluated. DM was induced at 11 weeks of age using streptozotocin (STZ; 60 mg/kg, intraperitoneal). Animals were monitored up to 38 weeks of age, when plasma glucose, lipid profile, and markers specific for systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress were measured. The amount of fat within the aortic wall was assessed semiquantitatively using Oil Red O staining.
RESULTS: Diabetic rats presented significantly higher plasma glucose (p < 0.001), total cholesterol and triglycerides (both p = 0.02), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (p = 0.01), and vascular endothelial growth factor (p = 0.04) levels, and significantly lower interleukin-10 (p = 0.04), superoxide dismutase (p < 0.01), and glutathione peroxidase (p = 0.01) levels than the control rats. Mild (grade 1) atherosclerotic lesions were observed in the aortic wall of 80% of the diabetic rats and in none of the control rats.
CONCLUSIONS: This study presents a STZ-induced type 1 DM rat model with one of the longest follow-ups in the literature. In this model, long-term DM created a highly pro-atherogenic environment characterised by hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and oxidative stress that resulted in the development of early aortic atherosclerotic lesions.
METHODS: This was a nationwide cross-sectional study using two-stage stratified random sampling. In total, 3977 older adults aged ≥60 years were involved in this study. Socio-demography characteristics were obtained using self-administered questionnaire. AO was measured using waist circumference and classified according to the cut-off values of ≥90 cm for men and ≥80 cm for women based on the WHO recommendation. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression analysis using a complex sample design were performed for data analysis.
RESULTS: Our findings showed that 2371 (67.3%) older adults had AO. Older adults who were from urban areas (69.7%), of women (78.4%), married (66.7%), with tertiary education (73.6%) and unemployed (70.9%) had the highest prevalence of AO. Those from urban areas (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.29), women (aOR = 3.12), unemployed (aOR = 1.14), diagnosed with hypertension (aOR = 1.56) and diabetes mellitus (aOR = 2.08) were also significantly associated with a higher risk of AO.
CONCLUSIONS: This study identified several risk factors that are associated with AO among older adults in Malaysia. Such information is important and needed to improve the healthcare system systematically, enable nutrition screening and appropriate intervention to combat the growing AO in Malaysia. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2020; 20: 68-72.
METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN: A randomized controlled study was conducted on obese women with high breast adiposity (<0.1 Sm-1), aged 40-60 years in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Subjects were assigned to intervention (n=16) and control group (n=15). Intervention group received a home based health education package with close monitoring weekly, personal diet consultation and physical training in group. Assessment was ascertained at three time points; baseline, weeks 8 and 16. Outcome measures were the energy intake, physical activity, body composition, blood tests, blood biomarkers and electrical impedance tomography (EIT) quantitative values. Analyses were done using 2-way repeated measures ANOVA.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: All subjects completed the program without any drop-out. The HSI group had 100% compliance towards the intervention program; their energy intake was reduced for approximately 35% and their activity score was increased for approximately 11%. A significant interaction effect was found in body weight, body mass index (BMI), total cholesterol/HDL, vitamin C intake and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP-9) (p<0.05). Interestingly, their EIT extremum values were also significantly increased indicating a reduction of breast adiposity. The intervention program was successful in improving body composition, physical activities, MMP9 and breast adipose tissue composition.
Objective: To examine the long-term effects of lipid-lowering therapy on all-cause mortality, cardiovascular morbidity, CKD progression, and socioeconomic well-being in Australian, New Zealand, and Malaysian SHARP (Study of Heart and Renal Protection) trial participants-a randomized controlled trial of a combination of simvastatin and ezetimibe, compared with placebo, for the reduction of cardiovascular events in moderate to severe CKD.
Design: Protocol for an extended prospective observational follow-up.
Setting: Australian, New Zealand, and Malaysian participating centers in patients with advanced CKD.
Patients: All SHARP trial participants alive at the final study visit.
Measurements: Primary outcomes were measured by participant self-report and verified by hospital administrative data. In addition, secondary outcomes were measured using a validated study questionnaire of health-related quality of life, a 56-item economic survey.
Methods: Participants were followed up with alternating face-to-face visits and telephone calls on a 6-monthly basis until 5 years following their final SHARP Study visit. In addition, there were 6-monthly follow-up telephone calls in between these visits. Data linkage to health registries in Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia was also performed.
Results: The SHARP-Extended Review (SHARP-ER) cohort comprised 1136 SHARP participants with a median of 4.6 years of follow-up. Compared with all SHARP participants who originally participated in the Australian, New Zealand, and Malaysian regions, the SHARP-ER participants were younger (57.2 [48.3-66.4] vs 60.5 [50.3-70.7] years) with a lower proportion of men (61.5% vs 62.8%). There were a lower proportion of participants with hypertension (83.7% vs 85.0%) and diabetes (20.0% vs 23.5%).
Limitations: As a long-term follow-up study, the surviving cohort of SHARP-ER is a selected group of the original study participants, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.
Conclusion: The SHARP-ER study will contribute important evidence on the long-term outcomes of cholesterol-lowering therapy in patients with advanced CKD with a total of 10 years of follow-up. Novel analyses of the socioeconomic impact of CKD over time will guide resource allocation.
Trial Registration: The SHARP trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00125593 and ISRCTN 54137607.
METHODS: We surveyed 16 512 adults from July 2020 to August 2021 in 30 territories. Participants self-reported their medical histories and the perceived impact of COVID-19 on 18 lifestyle factors and 13 health outcomes. For each disease subgroup, we generated lifestyle, health outcome, and bridge networks. Variables with the highest centrality indices in each were identified central or bridge. We validated these networks using nonparametric and case-dropping subset bootstrapping and confirmed central and bridge variables' significantly higher indices through a centrality difference test.
FINDINGS: Among the 48 networks, 44 were validated (all correlation-stability coefficients >0.25). Six central lifestyle factors were identified: less consumption of snacks (for the chronic disease: anxiety), less sugary drinks (cancer, gastric ulcer, hypertension, insomnia, and pre-diabetes), less smoking tobacco (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), frequency of exercise (depression and fatty liver disease), duration of exercise (irritable bowel syndrome), and overall amount of exercise (autoimmune disease, diabetes, eczema, heart attack, and high cholesterol). Two central health outcomes emerged: less emotional distress (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, eczema, fatty liver disease, gastric ulcer, heart attack, high cholesterol, hypertension, insomnia, and pre-diabetes) and quality of life (anxiety, autoimmune disease, cancer, depression, diabetes, and irritable bowel syndrome). Four bridge lifestyles were identified: consumption of fruits and vegetables (diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, and insomnia), less duration of sitting (eczema, fatty liver disease, and heart attack), frequency of exercise (autoimmune disease, depression, and heart attack), and overall amount of exercise (anxiety, gastric ulcer, and insomnia). The centrality difference test showed the central and bridge variables had significantly higher centrality indices than others in their networks (P