Prevalence and risk factors of hepatic lipid changes in bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps).

Hepatic lipidosis is a common disease of captive bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps). Diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of this condition are challenging, as there is minimal information in the literature. Our study determined the prevalence and epidemiological risk factors associated with the grade and severity of hepatic lipid changes in bearded dragons submitted for necropsy in 2 North American institutions. A total of 571 postmortem cases were retrieved, and from each pathology report the demographic data (age, sex) and the list of final diagnoses were extracted. For each case diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis, the archived sections of liver were reviewed and the severity of lipid change was stratified using a standardized histologic grading system. Descriptive statistics were used to estimate the prevalence of each grade and severity class. Associations between grade and severity, as well as demographic data and concurrent diseases, were explored using ordinal logistic regression analysis. On multiple logistic models, the occurrence of infectious disease and neoplasia was associated with decreased grade and severity of hepatic lipid changes, while the female sex and adult age were associated with an increased grade and severity. None of the other variables were significantly associated with hepatic lipid changes. These results suggest that reproductively active females and adult bearded dragons are predisposed to increasing hepatic lipid changes, while those with an underlying disease process have reduced hepatic lipid accumulation and changes, possibly due to increased fat catabolism. Data in this study can serve to benchmark the prevalence of hepatic lipidosis in bearded dragons and allow further investigations.

Splenic lipidosis in intensively cultured perch, Perca fluviatilis L.

Macroscopically visible lipid deposition varying in size from pinpoint to 8-mm diameter was found in spleens of a population of intensively farmed perch, Perca fluviatilis L. over a 24-month rearing period. Large agglomerates of adipocytes distinguishable from surrounding normal tissue occurred in all individuals with spleen lipidosis. Several affected fish presented total dystrophy of large clusters of hepatocytes. Prevalence of lipidosis was 5.0% at 12 months and 16.6% at 24 months. There was no significant difference between fatty acid profiles of liver or perivisceral fat of perch with and without lipidosis except for linoleic, myristic, γ-linoleic, cis-eicosatrienic, palmitooleic acid. Body weight and hepatosomatic, perivisceral fat and splenosomatic indices were not associated with lipidosis. There was no significant effect of lipidosis on mortality or growth.

Lipidomics profiling and risk of cardiovascular disease in the prospective population-based Bruneck study.

BACKGROUND: The bulk of cardiovascular disease risk is not explained by traditional risk factors. Recent advances in mass spectrometry allow the identification and quantification of hundreds of lipid species. Molecular lipid profiling by mass spectrometry may improve cardiovascular risk prediction. METHODS AND RESULTS: Lipids were extracted from 685 plasma samples of the prospective population-based Bruneck Study (baseline evaluation in 2000). One hundred thirty-five lipid species from 8 different lipid classes were profiled by shotgun lipidomics with the use of a triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer. Levels of individual species of cholesterol esters (CEs), lysophosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylcholines, phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs), sphingomyelins, and triacylglycerols (TAGs) were associated with cardiovascular disease over a 10-year observation period (2000-2010, 90 incident events). Among the lipid species with the strongest predictive value were TAGs and CEs with a low carbon number and double-bond content, including TAG(54:2) and CE(16:1), as well as PE(36:5) (P=5.1 × 10⁻7, 2.2 × 10⁻4, and 2.5 × 10⁻³, respectively). Consideration of these 3 lipid species on top of traditional risk factors resulted in improved risk discrimination and classification for cardiovascular disease (cross-validated ΔC index, 0.0210 [95% confidence interval, 0.0010-0.0422]; integrated discrimination improvement, 0.0212 [95% confidence interval, 0.0031-0.0406]; and continuous net reclassification index, 0.398 [95% confidence interval, 0.175-0.619]). A similar shift in the plasma fatty acid composition was associated with cardiovascular disease in the UK Twin Registry (n=1453, 45 cases). CONCLUSIONS: This study applied mass spectrometry-based lipidomics profiling to population-based cohorts and identified molecular lipid signatures for cardiovascular disease. Molecular lipid species constitute promising new biomarkers that outperform the conventional biochemical measurements of lipid classes currently used in clinics.

The management of lipohypertrophy in diabetes care.

Lipohypertrophy has been a recognized complication of insulin therapy for many years, yet research shows that its prevalence in insulin-injecting patients with diabetes remains high. The problem for the patient is that the injection of insulin into a site of lipohypertrophy, although painless, may lead to erratic absorption of the insulin, with the potential for poor glycaemic control and unpredictable hypoglycaemia. Despite the important implications of this for diabetes control in insulin-injecting patients, there is a dearth of information and completed research into the condition. This article raises awareness of lipohypertrophy by reviewing the available literature on the prevention, identification and management of the condition from a nursing perspective. Recommendations for medical and nursing practice in diabetes care to improve prevention and management of lipohypertrophy are made.

Knowledge about and attitudes toward genetic screening among high-school students: the Tay-Sachs experience.

High school students (ages 15 to 18 years; No. = 930) taking biology in their curriculum were surveyed (the first survey), in the classroom, for their knowledge and attitudes about Tay-Sachs disease and other "public" issues in genetics. High-school students now constitute 38.9% of those screened for the Tay-Sachs gene in the Montreal program and the participation rate is 75% among eligible Jewish students. Knowledge and attitudes about the screening experience were also surveyed (the second survey) in a sample (No. = 120) containing equal numbers of carriers and noncarriers matched for sex and age. The response rate was 75% in the second survey. The first survey revealed that the level of knowledge about Tay-Sachs disease is high among students, only 28% percent of whom were Jewish. Students have a very positive attitude toward genetic screening in general. These findings are associated with an effort to expand the human genetics content in the biology curriculum. The second survey revealed a favorable attitude toward the screening experience and the self-knowledge obtained among screened students. The screening clinic in the schools, and literature provided by the screening authority, was an effective source of knowledge about the significance of Tay-Sachs heterozygosity. Carriers experienced initial anxiety; later attitudes were similar in carrier and noncarriers. Self-image was unchanged in 90% and diminished in 10% of carriers and enhanced in 10% of noncarriers. Heterozygous students perceive information about their genetic status as useful to themselves and 95% want to know the gennotype of an intended spouse; 88.4% would marry a carrier and only 11.6% would "reconsider." These findings encourage us to emphasise high-school screening as the preferred program in our community and to offer it as an effective aid to the physician faced with increasing demands in medical genetics. It is also an effective model for teaching some genetics and human biology in the schools.

Follicular (mineral oil) lipidosis: I. Epidemiologic studies of involvement of the spleen.

A histologic study of spleens from autopsies performed in 74 centers in 41 countries showed the incidence of follicular (mineral oil) lipidosis to vary from 50 per cent (North America, Australia, New Zealand) to nil (Africa, Central and South America) in 1970 and 1971. Analysis of the factors responsible for the condition leads to the conclusion that the lipid is ingested from sources related to the packaging and display of foodstuffs.

Lipidoses detected in Poland through 1993.

It is estimated that 70-100 children suffering from a lysosomal storage disease are born in Poland every year. From 1975 to 1993, the activity of various lysosomal enzymes was determined in the leukocytes, cultured skin fibroblasts, or hair roots from 5,594 patients, mainly children, in whom the diagnosis of a lipidosis was suspected. In that material 162 cases of a lipidosis were diagnosed. Metachromatic leukodystrophy seems to be the most frequent of the lipidoses; GM1 gangliosidosis is more frequent than GM2 gangliosidosis and Gaucher and Niemann-Pick diseases appear to be almost as frequent as the former.

The lipidoses: morphologic changes in the nervous system in Gaucher's disease, GM2 gangliosidoses and Niemann-Pick disease.

The present paper presents, in tabular form, most of the inborn errors of lipid metabolism (exclusive of the hyperlipoproteinemias); some may, with further studies, be removed from this category. Three of the lipidoses and their subtypes which are associated with severe neurologic disorders are discussed, i.e., infantile Gaucher's disease, Niemann-Pick disease and the GM2 gangliosidoses. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of careful biochemical and enzymatic studies of either surgical or autopsy material of any patient suspected of having one of the lipidoses. Only by such studies can an exact diagnosis of virtually all of these inborn errors of lipid metabolism be established. Such a diagnosis is important, since in many instances an antenatal diagnosis is possible by demonstration of the enzymatic defect in cell grown in tissue culture from the amniotic fluid.

Acute pancreatitis in cats with hepatic lipidosis.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the incidence, clinical features, and prognosis of acute pancreatitis in cats with hepatic lipidosis. Of 13 cats histologically diagnosed with hepatic lipidosis between July 1988, and November 1989, 5(38%) were also histologically diagnosed with acute pancreatitis. In cats with hepatic lipidosis alone, the signalment, history, physical examination, and clinicopathologic findings were generally indistinguishable from those of cats with concurrent acute pancreatitis except that cats with acute pancreatitis were more likely to be cachectic and to have coagulation abnormalities. Hepatomegaly was seen on abdominal radiographs in both groups. Of the 5 cats with concurrent acute pancreatitis, abdominal ultrasonography detected 1 cat with a hypoechoic pancreas and 5 with peritoneal effusion; those abnormalities were not seen in cats without concurrent acute pancreatitis. Cats with concurrent acute pancreatitis had only a 20% recovery rate, compared with a 50% recovery rate in cats with hepatic lipidosis alone. We conclude that cats with hepatic lipidosis should be rigorously evaluated for concurrent acute pancreatitis because of 1) the rate of disease coincidence, 2) the inability of signalment, history, physical examination, and clinicopathologic findings to adequately distinguish between hepatic lipidosis and acute pancreatitis, 3) the worse prognosis associated with concurrent acute pancreatitis, and 4) the opposing nutritional strategies for hepatic lipidosis and acute pancreatitis.

Hyperlipidemia, hyperlipemia, and hepatic lipidosis in American miniature horses: 23 cases (1990-1994).

The medical records of 23 American Miniature Horses with hyperlipidemia, hyperlipemia, or hepatic lipidosis were reviewed. The most common clinical signs were anorexia and lethargy. The mean duration of clinical signs was 2.4 days. A primary disease was identified in 19 cases. Enterocolitis was the most common primary disease (n = 10). Intentional feed restriction, as part of treatment for colic, resulted in hyperlipemia in 2 horses and hyperlipidemia in 1. Four horses had primary hyperlipemia, 3 of which had signs of hepatoencephalopathy secondary to hepatic lipidosis. Dextrose, heparin, and insulin were the most common treatments. The overall survival was 61% (14/23). All horses with peak serum triglyceride concentrations > 1,200 mg/dl died or were euthanatized, whereas all but 1 with peak serum triglyceride concentrations < 1,200 mg/dl survived. These findings suggest that when American Miniature Horses, like other ponies and donkeys, are in a negative energy balance, they can rapidly develop hyperlipidemia or hyperlipemia. Early detection and treatment may improve survival.

Perfil lipídico en embarazadas durante el tercer trimestre según índice de masa corporal y consumo de grasas / Lipid profile in pregnant women during the third quarter according to body mass index and fat intake

Introducción: el embarazo es una condición que implica una adaptación metabólica para suplir los requerimientos del feto en desarrollo. Durante la gestación ocurre un aumento de los lípidos circulantes, lo que conlleva a un incremento en la peroxidación lipídica. En condiciones normales, este fenómeno se ve compensado por una elevación en los sistemas antioxidantes. Objetivo: comparar el perfil lipídico en mujeres embarazadas según el índice de masa corporal y la frecuencia de consumo de grasa. Métodos: se estudiaron 100 mujeres en el tercer trimestre de embarazo en el Hospital San Vicente de Paul de la ciudad de Ibarra en la provincia de Imbabura-Ecuador. Se realizó la medición de peso y talla para el cálculo del índice de masa corporal. Se les aplicó una encuesta de consumo de alimentos y tomó una muestra de sangre para medir los niveles de lípidos circulantes mediante métodos enzimáticos colorimétricos. Resultados: se observó un incremento de los lípidos sanguíneos los cuales se relacionan con la frecuencia de consumo de grasas. Hubo una relación entre el HDL-colesterol y el LDL-colesterol con el consumo de grasas según el índice de masa corporal. Conclusiones: durante los controles obstétricos se debe evaluar la dieta de la embarazada y reforzar la necesidad de disminuir el consumo de grasas e incrementar el consumo de verduras, legumbres y cereales. La cuantificación periódica del perfil lipídico de las gestantes constituye una buena herramienta para el control de los lipídicos cuando estos superen los niveles fisiológicos, contribuyendo en un adecuado control prenatal(AU)

Introduction: Pregnancy is a condition that involves a metabolic adaptation to meet the requirements of the developing fetus. During gestation circulating lipids increase, leading to agrowth in lipid peroxidation. Under normal conditions, this phenomenon is offset by an increase in antioxidant systems. Objective: Compare the lipid profile in pregnant women according to body mass index and frequency of fat intake. Methods: A hundred women were studied in their third trimester of pregnancy. Weight and height were measuredto calculate body mass index. A survey on food consumption was appliedand blood samples were taken to measure levels of circulating lipids by enzymatic colorimetric methods. Results: An increase in blood lipids is observedrelated to the frequency of fat consumption. A ratio of HDL-cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol fat intake was found by the body mass index. Conclusions: During controls, obstetricians should evaluate the pregnant diet and reinforce the need to reduce fat intake and increase consumption of vegetables, legumes and cereals. The periodic quantification of the lipid profile of pregnant women is good tool to control lipid when they exceed physiological levels, contributing to an adequate prenatal control(AU)