The effects of intermittent fasting during the month of Ramadan in chronic haemodialysis patients in a tropical climate country.

BACKGROUND: Chronic kidney disease is an emerging problem in the majority Muslim countries. Despite the uncertainties of the risks involved, some Muslim patients undergoing chronic haemodialysis choose to observe intermittent fasting during the month of Ramadan. This study aims to investigate the effect of Ramadan fasting in haemodialysis patients residing in a tropical climate country. METHODS: This prospective cross sectional study recruited Muslim patients on regular haemodialysis from three haemodialysis centres in Kuala Lumpur from 15th July 2011 to 29th August 2011. Patients who fasted for any number of days were included (n = 35, 54% female, age 54±11 years). 89% of patients fasted for more than 15 days and 49% were diabetics. Dialysis parameters and blood samples were obtained one week prior to Ramadan and during the last week of Ramadan. The differences in dialysis parameters and biochemical values pre- and end-Ramadan were examined using paired t-test. RESULTS: Both pre- and post-dialysis weight were significantly decreased during Ramadan fasting compared to the month prior (p = <0.001). There was a significant decrease in the amount of ultrafiltration (p = 0.002). There were no significant differences in dry weight, inter-dialytic weight gain, mean urea reduction ratio or blood pressure measurements comparing pre- and end of Ramadan fasting. There was a significant increase in serum albumin level (p = 0.006) and decrease in serum phosphate level (p = 0.02) at the end of Ramadan. CONCLUSION: Ramadan fasting is associated with reduced weight, improved serum albumin and phosphate level in our population of haemodialysis patients. A larger multi-centre study will allow us to understand more about the effects of fasting in this population.

Effects of vibration in forced posture on biochemical bone metabolism indices, and morphometric and mechanical properties of the lumbar vertebra.

Epidemiological studies have shown a relatively strong association between occupational lower back pain (LBP) and long-term exposure to vibration. However, there is limited knowledge of the impact of vibration and sedentariness on bone metabolism of the lumbar vertebra and the mechanism of bone-derived LBP. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of vibration in forced posture (a seated posture) on biochemical bone metabolism indices, and morphometric and mechanical properties of the lumbar vertebra, and provide a scientific theoretical basis for the mechanism of bone-derived LBP, serum levels of Ca(2+), (HPO4)(2-), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP), and bone gla protein (BGP),the pathological changes and biomechanics of lumbar vertebra of New Zealand white rabbits were studied. The results demonstrate that both forced posture and vibration can cause pathological changes to the lumbar vertebra, which can result in bone-derived LBP, and vibration combined with a seated posture could cause further damage to bone metabolism. Serological changes can be used as early markers for clinical diagnosis of bone-derived LBP.

Polyphosphoric acid capping radioactive/upconverting NaLuF4:Yb,Tm,153Sm nanoparticles for blood pool imaging in vivo.

Nanoparticles that circulate in the bloodstream for a prolonged period of time have important biomedicine applications. However, no example of lanthanide-based nanoparticles having a long-term circulation bloodstream has been reported to date. Herein, we report on difunctional radioactive and upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) coated with polyphosphoric acid ligand, that is ethylenediamine tetramethylenephosphonic acid (EDTMP), for an application in single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) blood pool imaging. The structure, size and zeta-potential of the EDTMP-coated nanoparticles (EDTMP-UCNP) are verified using transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. Injection of radioisotope samarium-153-labeled EDTMP-UCNP (EDTMP-UCNP:(153)Sm) into mice reveal superior circulation time compared to control nanoparticles coated with citric acid (cit-UCNP:(153)Sm) and (153)Sm complex of EDTMP (EDTMP-(153)Sm). The mechanism for the extended circulation time may be attributed to the adhesion of EDTMP-UCNP on the membrane of red blood cells (RBCs). In vivo toxicity results show no toxicity of EDTMP-UCNP at the dose of 100 mg/kg, validating its safety as an agent for blood pool imaging. Our results provide a new strategy of nanoprobe for a long-term circulation bloodstream by introducing polyphosphoric acid as surface ligand.

Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.

Pesticides associated to genetically modified foods (PAGMF), are engineered to tolerate herbicides such as glyphosate (GLYP) and gluphosinate (GLUF) or insecticides such as the bacterial toxin bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between maternal and fetal exposure, and to determine exposure levels of GLYP and its metabolite aminomethyl phosphoric acid (AMPA), GLUF and its metabolite 3-methylphosphinicopropionic acid (3-MPPA) and Cry1Ab protein (a Bt toxin) in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada. Blood of thirty pregnant women (PW) and thirty-nine nonpregnant women (NPW) were studied. Serum GLYP and GLUF were detected in NPW and not detected in PW. Serum 3-MPPA and CryAb1 toxin were detected in PW, their fetuses and NPW. This is the first study to reveal the presence of circulating PAGMF in women with and without pregnancy, paving the way for a new field in reproductive toxicology including nutrition and utero-placental toxicities.

Ascorbate and dehydroascorbic acid as reliable biomarkers of oxidative stress: analytical reproducibility and long-term stability of plasma samples subjected to acidic deproteinization.

Lack of post-sampling stability of ascorbate and dehydroascorbic acid and failure to block their in vivo equilibrium have lowered their value as biomarkers of oxidative stress and limited the ability to further investigate their possible role in disease prevention. In the present article, analytic reproducibility was tested by repeated analysis of plasma aliquots from one individual over 4 years. The plasma was subjected to acidic deproteinization with an equal volume of 10% meta-phosphoric acid containing 2 mmol/L of EDTA and analyzed for ascorbate and dehydroascorbic acid by high-performance liquid chromatography with coulometric detection. In a parallel experiment, the stability of human plasma samples treated as above and stored at -80 degrees C for 5 years was tested in a cohort of 131 individuals. No degradation or shift in the equilibrium between ascorbate and dehydroascorbic acid was observed in either of the experiments. In conclusion, ascorbate and dehydroascorbic acid could be adequately preserved in plasma stored at -80 degrees C following acidic deproteinization with meta-phosphoric acid containing 2 mmol/L of EDTA.

LC/MS determination of the intracellular concentration of two novel aryl phosphoramidate prodrugs of PMPA and their metabolites in dog PBMC.

LC/MS assays were developed to determine the plasma and intracellular concentrations of two aryl phosphoramidate prodrugs of the nucleotide analog 9-[2-R-(phosphonomethoxy)propyl]adenine. LC/MS was used to demonstrate the presence of high concentrations of PMPA in peripheral blood mononucleocytes following oral administration of prodrugs in dogs. High concentrations of PMPA and active metabolite were detected in MT-2 cells incubated with prodrug using an ion-pairing LC/MS assay.

Effects of drug-protein binding on trace enrichment of drugs in blood plasma on short precolumns.

A reversed-phase liquid chromatographic precolumn venting plug technique was used for the determination of drugs by direct injection of large volume (500 microliters) blood plasma samples. Enrichment of the drugs from large plasma samples, as well as clean-up from less retained plasma components, such as proteins, was obtained on a short precolumn. Strong drug-protein binding resulted in losses of the drug during the enrichment step. The recovery was found to be inversely proportional to the degree of drug-protein binding in the sample solution. Techniques to increase the recovery were studied. These include methods to decrease the degree of drug-protein binding in the sample solution by dilution and changes of the pH, as well as methods to increase the residence time of the drug on the precolumn by increasing the precolumn length and precolumn hydrophobicity.