[Changes of lipid profile in elderly people in light of longitudinal studies]. / Zmiany profilu lipidowego u ludzi w podeszlym wieku na podstawie dlugofalowych badan.

The purpose of the study was a retrospective assessment of the health state, dietary habits and nutritional status of elderly men and women. Particular attention was paid to changes in lipid profile of the elderly over 5 years of life in a big urban agglomeration. The first study was carried out in 1992 in a population sample of 154 people aged 70 years (73 men and 84 women). After five years the study was repeated in the same sample. In 1997 for the studies 103 persons came (43 men, 60 women). In the 5-year period 13 persons died. The study showed that over that time period the total cholesterol level, HDL and LDL cholesterol decreased. In the same time period there was a decrease in the consumption of fats and cholesterol in the diet. The fall of HDL cholesterol level caused an increase of the atherogenicity index in these people increasing thus the likelihood of ischaemic heart disease development in this group.

[The influence of vitamin C and e or beta-carotene on peroxidative processes in persons with myocardial ischemia]. / Wplyw witamin C i E oraz beta-karotenu na procesy peroksydacyjne u osób z niedorkrwienna choroba serca.

An increasing body of evidence suggests that beside hypercholesterolemia peroxidative processes and natural antioxidant defence system play important role in the development of atherosclerosis. Our earlier investigation showed the increased intensity of the peroxidative processes in the course of the acute myocardial infarction and unsatisfactory tocopherol, ascorbic acid and retinol status. The purpose of the present study was the evaluation of the effect of antioxidant vitamins supplementation by the period of 21 days on the peroxidative processes in patients after heart attack or after "bypass" admitted to the cardiological rehabilitation centre. Daily oral supplementation with vitamin C, E and beta-carotene decreased significantly plasma lipid peroxide concentration (TBARS). The highest drop in TBARS activity was found in the group after bypass. No significant effect of vitamin supplementation was observed on antioxidant enzymes activity.

Supplementation with vitamins C and E suppresses leukocyte oxygen free radical production in patients with myocardial infarction.

Clinical studies suggest that neutrophil activation during acute myocardial infarction (MI) aggravates tissue injury. Activated neutrophils are an important source of oxygen free radicals (OFR), the injurious effects of which are counteracted by endogenous antioxidants. We have previously shown in healthy subjects that supplementation with antioxidant vitamins C and E suppresses OFR production by isolated neutrophils assayed by chemiluminescence (CL). The present study, performed in patients with acute MI aimed (1) to investigate the effect of vitamin C and E supplementation upon neutrophil OFR production and serum lipid peroxides, (2) to evaluate serum levels of vitamins C and E in the course of MI. Forty-five patients with acute MI were randomized to receive either conventional treatment only (control, n=22). All measurements were performed on the 1st and 14th day. Neutrophil OFR production assayed by CL decreased significantly in VIT patients (Wilcoxon test for paired data P<0.01, Chi square test P<0.01). In the control group, changes in OFR production were not significant. Serum lipid peroxides (measured as TBARS) increased in controls (P<0.05), but remained stable in VIT patients. Mean (+/-SE) serum ascorbic acid and tocopherol on the 1st day were 0.43 +/- 0.18% and 3.25 +/- 1.32 microM.M(-1) cholesterol, respectively, in all patients. On the 14th day in non-supplemented patients mean tocopherol was unchanged, whereas ascorbic acid increased significantly (0.63 +/- 0.24 mg%, P<0.01) suggesting that a low basal level was associated at least in part with the acute phase of the disease. An expected increase in serum vitamin levels occurred in VIT patients. In conclusion, supplementation with vitamins C and E suppresses neutrophil OFR production and lowers the marker of lipid peroxidation in patients with MI.

Inhibitory effect of vitamins C and E on the oxygen free radical production in human polymorphonuclear leucocytes.

Beneficial effects of dietary supplementation with antioxidant vitamins are attributed mainly to the influence upon lipid metabolism, endothelial and vascular functions. Their effect upon leucocyte oxygen free radical producing capacity has not been investigated. In 13 healthy volunteers we examined the influence of oral supplementation with vitamins C and E (aa 600 mg per day for 14 days) upon leucocyte oxygen free radical production estimated by lucigenin-amplified chemiluminescence in isolated leucocytes stimulated with arachidonic acid. After supplementation with vitamins, significant increase in serum content of ascorbic acid and tocopherol was concomitant with significant (P < 0.001) decrease of leucocyte chemiluminescent response (mean 63.2 + 23.0 SD, % of initial values) and lowering of serum lipid peroxides (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that suppression of leucocyte capacity to produce oxygen free radicals as shown in this study, may contribute to vasoprotective action of vitamins C and E.

Effects of saturated and polyunsaturated fat enriched diet on the skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in young rats.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of diets enriched with fat containing different amounts (30% or 60% total energy) of either saturated (SF) or polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) on glucose tolerance in vivo and insulin sensitivity of glucose utilisation by the soleus muscle in vitro. Young rats were maintained for 28 days after weanling on diets containing either sunflower oil (PUFA), animal fat (butter+lard - SF) or the standard laboratory chow (controls). The sunflower oil added to a diet in moderate quantities (30% total energy) improved the total glucose tolerance, while the diets containing high percentage of PUFA (60%) and moderate or high contents of SF caused impairment of glucose tolerance. The diet with 30% of total energy derived from sunflower oil increased the in vitro sensitivity of glucose utilisation to insulin by the soleus muscle, while in contrast, higher proportions of energy given in a form of PUFA as well as the diets enriched with animal fat impaired the sensitivity of this process to insulin. It is also important to note that the synthesis of glycogen in muscles taken from the rats fed high percentage of saturated fatty acid was found unresponsible to insulin. It is concluded that composition of dietary fat has a profound effect on carbohydrate tolerance and the response of muscle glucose metabolism to insulin. It seems likely that this effect may be at least partly mediated by changes in locally produced prostaglandins.

Ascorbic acid and tocopherol levels in the organs and serum of guinea pigs with experimentally induced atherosclerosis.

A 7-month experiment was carried out on guinea pigs to elucidate the effect of height-cholesterol diet containing various fats on the levels of ascorbic acid and to tocopherol in the organism. In the guinea pigs with experimentally induced atherosclerosis the retention of ascorbic acid and tocopherol was found to be greater than that in the control animals.

The effect of long-term selenium and vitamin E-enriched diet on the content of lipid peroxides and cholesterol in rats.

The effect of long-term diets enriched with natural antioxidants was studied on Wistar rats with average initial body weight 150 g. After enrichment of the diet with selenium (0.1 ppm of sodium selenite per 100 g of diet), with vitamin E (6 mg of alpha-tocopherol per 100 g of diet) and selenium and vitamin E together the following results were obtained: diets enriched with selenium or vitamin E given for 12 months reduced the production of lipid peroxides in the liver and serum of the rats. On the other hand, addition of both antioxidants to the diet had no effect on lipid peroxide levels in the animals. Diet enrichment for 12 and 18 months with selenium or vitamin E had no effect on the levels of total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. The obtained results suggest that selenium and alpha-tocopherol exert an inhibitory action on the processes of ageing in the experimental animal model.

The effect of long-term enrichment of diet with selenium, vitamin E and B15 on the activity of certain enzymes in rat brain.

The aim of this study was tracing of changes in the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx), glutathione transferase (GSH S-Tr), aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) and alanine aminotransferase (A1AT) in the brain as a result of diet enrichment with antioxidants: selenium (Se), vitamin E and vitamin B15 (pangamic acid). The experiment was carried out on Wistar rats with initial body weight 150 g. Following prolonged enrichment of diet with Se (0.1 ppm of sodium selenite), vitamin E (6 mg/100 g of diet) and vitamin B15 (2.5 mg/100 g of diet) the following results were obtained. The activity of GSHPx in brain microsomes was not changed after one year of vitamin E administration when it was measured against hydrogen hydroxide and against cumene hydrochloride; vitamin E administration increased the activity of GSH S-Tr in the cytoplasmic fraction of brain cells. Diet enrichment with selenium increased after 12 and 18 months the activity of GSHPx measured against both substrates, and GSH S-Tr activity increased considerably. Presence of vitamin B15 in diet reduced GSHPx activity after one-year or longer administration, after 18 months the activity of GSH S-Tr was reduced also. No changes were noted in the activity of AspAT and A1AT.

Effect of dietary fats on experimental hypertension.

In an experiment on 95 Wistar rats weighing 330 g the effect was studied of partially hydrogenated marine oil and cod-liver oil as well as sunflowerseed oil and animal fat on arterial hypertension induced with administration of 1.5% NaCl in drinking water. During 5 weeks the animals received diets containing 37.8 kcal% derived from the studied fats. After the first week of 1.5% NaCl solution administration a significant rise of the systolic blood pressure and heart rate was observed in all animals without regard to the fat received by them with the diet. The rise of the blood pressure was greatest in the group of rats kept on the diet with animal fat, while in the groups of rats receiving diets with sunflowerseed oil or marine oils this rise was significantly smaller, especially with cod-liver oil. The hypotensive effect of marine oils, particularly cod-liver oil, was more pronounced than that of sunflowerseed oil. The hypotensive effect of partially hydrogenated fish oil was less pronounced than that of cod-liver oil. Our experiments demonstrated a significant effect of the amount of dietary fat on the development of experimental hypertension. Greater intake of salt and animal fats in human diet may be one of the causes of essential hypertension.

Effect of long-term diet enrichment with selenium, vitamin E and vitamin B15 on the degree of fatty infiltration of the liver.

In a two-year experiment on 190 Wistar rats the effects were studied of the aging process and diet enrichment with selenium, vitamin E and vitamin B15 (pangamic acid) on the degree of fatty infiltration of the liver determined histochemically with Oil Red O. The degree of fatty infiltration of the liver was assessed by the method of quantitative analysis using a computer image analyser Quantimet 720. System 30 (Cambridge Instruments). The process of aging of the animals was associated with increasing fatty infiltration of the liver. Selenium had a two-phase effect on the degree of fatty infiltration: in the first 12 months of selenium administration (0.1 ppm of sodium selenite per 100 g of the diet) fatty infiltration of the liver was decreasing, and after 18 months of the experiment this effect disappeared and the degree of fatty infiltration was not different from that in the control group. Contrary to this, vitamin E administration 6 mg/100 g of the diet increased the degree of fatty infiltration during the first 12 months. After 18 months a reverse effect appeared with inhibition of the progression of fatty infiltration. Thus the two-phase effect of vitamin E was a reverse of selenium effect. Addition of vitamin B15 to the diet (2.5 mg/100 g of diet) increased the degree of fatty infiltration of the liver which was maintained at a stable level throughout the whole experiment, i.e. 12-18 months.

The effect of alpha-tocopherol and ascorbic acid on the serum lipid peroxide level in elderly people.

The aim of this work was to study the relationship between the state of saturation of the organism with vitamin E and vitamin C and the serum level of lipid peroxides in elderly people. The determinations were carried out in 100 subjects, mainly women, aged 60-100 years living in old people's homes, who were given daily vitamin E, 200 mg, or vitamin C, 400 mg, or both vitamins during 1 year. A correlation was found between the degree of saturation of the organism with vitamin E and the level of lipid peroxides. The daily intake of vitamin E for 4 months decreased the serum peroxide level by a mean value of 14%; a similar intake of vitamin C decreased it by 8%, and both vitamins decreased it by 20% compared with the initial level. After 1 year, these levels were decreased by 26% (vitamin E), 13% (vitamin C) and 25% (both vitamins).