Effects of AIDiet intervention to improve diet quality, immuno-metabolic health in normal and overweight PCOS girls: a pilot study.

This study was conducted in two groups of girls with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) categorized as slim (group N) and overweight-to-obese (group Ov/Ob). The study's primary outcome was to assess the impact of a 12-week anti-inflammatory diet (AIDiet) intervention, without energy deficit, on daily diet quality improvement, evaluated according to the KIDMED index. The secondary outcome was improving inflammatory, redox, hormonal, and metabolic statuses. In the study, which was completed by 13 girls from the Ov/Ob group and 19 girls from the N group, a significant improvement in the mean KIDMED score was obtained. Moreover, the intervention significantly improves concentration of total antioxidant capacity (TAC), fasting insulin, and the homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index, in the Ov/Ob group, while both groups experienced a reduction in the concentration of interleukin (IL)-1 and IL-6, tumour necrosis factor (TNF-α), and androstenedione. The AIDiet intervention effectively improved the quality of the subjects' diets, which was associated with the improvement of hormonal and immuno-metabolic markers. However, these changes in normal-weight patients were observed regardless of body weight reduction. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT04738409.

Is It Feasible to Predict Cardiovascular Risk among Healthy Vegans, Lacto-/Ovo-Vegetarians, Pescatarians, and Omnivores under Forty?

Guidelines for cardiovascular (CV) risk assessment among young adults are uncertain. Researchers are still looking for new tools for earlier diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), the leading cause of mortality in the modern world. This study aimed to assess whether CV risk estimation is possible in groups of healthy individuals under the age of 40 on different dietary patterns (vegans-VEGAN (n = 48), lacto-/ovo-vegetarians-VEGE (n = 49), pescatarians-PESCA (n = 23), and omnivores-OMN (n = 35)) during the pandemic period. Four metrics containing selected risk classifiers were created, and participants were assessed using them. Groups including meat consumption showed increased CV risk predictions in the metrics assessment. The next analyzes showed statistically significant relationships between the results from the created metrics and selected non-basic biomarkers for ApoA1 (OMN group, p = 0.028), IL-6 (PESCA group, p = 0.048), HCY (VEGAN group, p = 0.05), and hsCRP (OMN + PESCA groups, p = 0.025). We found that predicting CV risk among healthy people under 40 adhering to different dietary patterns, taking into account basic and non-basic laboratory assessments and created metrics, is challenging but feasible. Furthermore, the OMN group appeared to be at the highest risk of increased CV risk in the future, while risk tended to be the lowest in the VEGAN group.

Salivary Morning Cortisol as a Potential Predictor for High Academic Stress Level in Dental Students: A Preliminary Study.

Students experience different levels of acute and chronic stress during the academic year. Selected salivary biochemical parameters change as a result of stress. Our preliminary study aimed to indicate possible links between alterations in the salivary biochemical parameters (such as cortisol and total antioxidant status) and different accompanying stress levels in dental students during the academic year. The study group consisted of 20 volunteer dental students at the Poznan University of Medical Sciences-both genders, aged 20-26 years. Students were asked to fill in the electronic version of the author's survey on experiencing and coping with stress. Samples of unstimulated saliva were collected in the morning and late evening at four-time points: in the middle of the academic year, during the examination period, at the beginning of the academic year, and in the middle of the following academic year, together with a determination of currently experienced stress on the Stress Numerical Rating Scale-11. According to the circadian rhythm of cortisol secretion, morning levels of the hormone in saliva were much higher than in the evening. In evening cortisol, significant differences were observed during the studied periods-the highest level was found at the beginning of the academic year. However, the morning cortisol concentrations correlated more strongly with the declared stress levels and showed better predictability for high-stress levels. Salivary morning cortisol could be a potential marker of academic stress levels. Further studies are needed on a larger group to confirm.

Relation between Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Macronutrient Intakes in Normal and Excessive Body Weight Adolescent Girls with Clinical Features of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

The impact of diet on inflammation and oxidative stress (OS) in girls with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is unknown. Therefore, our study aimed to investigate, in PCOS girls, whether certain macronutrient intakes can be associated with these disturbances. For this purpose, 59 PCOS participants (aged 14-18 years) were recruited to this study and divided into two subgroups: overweight/obese-Ov/Ob group (n = 22) and normal weight-N group (n = 37). Nutrition was assessed using a 3-day food record. The studied markers were total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), and interleukins 1 and 6 (IL-1 and IL-6). We found plant protein intake inversely correlated with IL-6 (p = 0.007; r = -0.557), TNF-α (p = 0.006; r = -0.564), MDA (p = 0.01; r = -0.539) in the Ov/Ob group and with TAC (p = 0.021; r = -0.38) in the N group. Inverse correlations in the Ov/Ob group were observed between protein intake and IL-6 (p = 0.031; r = -0.461), TNF- α (p = 0.043; r = -0.435); carbohydrates and IL-6 (p = 0.037; r = -0.448), MDA (p = 0.045; r = -0.431); fiber and IL-6 (p = 0.025; r = -0.475). A positive relationship between cholesterol intake and CRP concentration (p = 0.038; r = 0.342) was also found in the N group. These findings revealed that inflammation and OS are increased in Ov/Ob girls with decreased plant protein intake and low carbohydrates in the diet. Moreover, inflammation may be increased by cholesterol intake in slim PCOS girls. On the other hand, decreased intake of fiber and total protein intake increased inflammation. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04738409.

ABG Assistant-Towards an Understanding of Complex Acid-Base Disorders.

The ability to diagnose acid-base imbalances correctly is essential for physicians and other healthcare workers. Despite its importance, it is often considered too complex and confusing. Although most people dealing with arterial blood gases (ABGs) do not usually have problems with acid-base disorder assessment, such an analysis is also carried out by other healthcare workers for whom this can be a challenging task. Many aspects may be problematic, partly due to multiple data analysis methods and no definitive statement on which one is better. According to our survey, the correctness of arterial blood gas analysis is unsatisfactory, especially in mixed disorders, which do not always manifest an obvious set of symptoms. Therefore, ABG parameters can be used as an established biomarker panel, which is considered to be a powerful tool for personalized medicine. Moreover, using different approaches to analyze acid-base disorders can lead to varying diagnoses in some cases. Because of these problems, we developed a mobile application that can spot diagnostic differences by taking into account physiological and chemical approaches, including their variants, with a corrected anion gap. The proposed application is characterized by a high percentage of correct analyses and can be an essential aid for diagnosing acid-base disturbances.

Are insulin-resistance and oxidative stress cause or consequence of aging.

IMPACT STATEMENT: Insulin resistance is associated with oxidative stress leading to cardiovascular diseases. However, little research has been performed examining elderly individuals with or without insulin-resistance. We demonstrate that antioxidant defense systems alone is not able to abrogate insulin action in elderly individuals at high risk for atherosclerosis, whereas the combined oxidant-antioxidant markers (thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances (TBARS), Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD-1), and total antioxidant status (TAS)) might be more efficient and perhaps produce better clinical outcome. In fact, a decrease in oxidative stress and strong interaction between antioxidant defense can be seen only among insulin-resistant elderly individuals. This is, in our opinion, valuable information for clinicians, since insulin-resistance is considered strong cardiovascular risk factor.

[The impact of tobacco smoking on the selected risk factors for cardiovascular disease in students of Poznan University of Medical Sciences]. / Wplyw palenia tytoniu na wybrane czynniki ryzyka chorób sercowo-naczyniowych u studentów Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Poznaniu.

UNLABELLED: The aim of this study was to assess the impact of tobacco smoking on the selected risk factors for cardiovascular disease in young adults. MATERIAL AND METHODS: we analyzed the results of cardiovascular screening management on medical students aged 20-24. The study was conducted on 438 persons, 350 non-smokers (N) and 88 smokers (S) declared as healthy individuals: 274 females (F), 230 non-smokers (FN) and 44 smokers (FS), and 164 males (M), 120 non-smokers (MN) and 44 smokers (MS). The subjects were measured waist, body mass index (BMI), systolic (SBP) and diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, They were assessed fasting capillary blood tests: glucose, total cholesterol (T-C), triacylglycerols (TAG), HDL cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), nonHDL-C, T-C/HDL-C ratio, using analyzer Reflotron Plus (Roche Diagnostics, USA). The results collected in groups of females (F), males (M), non-smokers (N) and smokers (S) were calculated using Statistica 10 version. RESULTS: Females and males did not differ with their age, BMI, TAG, LDL-C and nonHDL-C, but males presented physiological higher waist and T-C/HDL-C ratio, decreased HDL-C, and higher SBP and DBP, although within references. N and S females did not differ with waist, BMI, SBP and DBP, similar to N and S males. Smokers (S) presented increased TAG, decreased HDL-C and higher waist, comparing with non-smokers (N) - without relation of TAG and HDL-C to either waist or BMI. FS group were found increased TAG and correlation TAG&BMI (R=0,45), as compared with FN group. MS group had higher TAG and lower HDL-C than MN group, and negative correlation TAG&HDL-C (R=-0,39). CONCLUSION: Tobacco smoking, an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease, can modify plasma lipid profile in young adults to increase the risk more, especially in males.