Post-COVID-19 tomographic abnormalities.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of persistent respiratory symptoms tends to be low in patients with a longer recovery time after COVID-19. However, some patients may present persistent pulmonary abnormalities.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of tomographic abnormalities 90 days after symptom onset in patients with COVID-19 and compare two chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) analysis techniques.METHODS: A multicentre study of patients hospitalised with COVID-19 having oxygen saturation <93% on room air at hospital admission were evaluated using pulmonary function and HRCT scans 90 days after symptom onset. The images were evaluated by two thoracic radiologists, and were assessed using software that automatically quantified the extent of pulmonary abnormalities.RESULTS: Of the 91 patients included, 81% had at least one pulmonary lobe with abnormalities 90 days after discharge (84% were identified using the automated algorithm). Ground-glass opacities (76%) and parenchymal bands (65%) were the predominant abnormalities. Both chest HRCT technical assessments presented high sensitivity (95.9%) and positive predictive value (92%), with a statistically significant correlation at baseline (R = 0.80) and after 90 days (R = 0.36).CONCLUSION: The prevalence of pulmonary abnormalities on chest HRCT 90 days after symptom onset due to COVID-19 was high; both technical assessments can be used to analyse the images.

Interplay between Inflammaging, Frailty and Nutrition in Covid-19: Preventive and Adjuvant Treatment Perspectives.

As humans age, their immune system undergoes modifications, including a low-grade inflammatory status called inflammaging. These changes are associated with a loss of physical and immune resilience, amplifying the risk of being malnourished and frail. Under the COVID-19 scenario, inflammaging increases the susceptibility to poor prognostics. We aimed to bring the current concepts of inflammaging and its relationship with frailty and COVID-19 prognostic; highlight the importance of evaluating the nutritional risk together with frailty aiming to monitor older adults in COVID-19 scenario; explore some compounds with potential to modulate inflammaging in perspective to manage the COVID-19 infection. Substances such as probiotics and senolytics can help reduce the high inflammatory status. Also, the periodic evaluation of nutrition risk and frailty will allow interventions, assuring the appropriate care.

Nutritional Status and Adverse Outcomes in Older Depressed Inpatients: A Prospective Study.

OBJECTIVES: Significant weight loss and/or loss of appetite is a criterion of a depressive episode. While malnutrition is associated with many adverse health outcomes, the impact of malnutrition in late-life depression has hardly been examined. The present study aims to (1) evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition in depressed older inpatients, and (2) whether and which indices of malnutrition predict adverse health outcomes in late-life depression. DESIGN: A prospective study at 6 months follow-up. SETTING: A University-based psychiatric hospital. PARTICIPANTS: 105 older adults (psychiatric inpatients suffering from unipolar MDD). MEASUREMENTS: Participants were evaluated according the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) and anthropometric measures to assess their nutritional status. Multiple regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between the MNA score as well as anthropometric measures with either falls or rehospitalization for any reason. RESULTS: Based on the MNA score, 78 (74.3%) patients were at risk of malnutrition and 13 (12.4%) actually presented malnutrition. Malnutrition was associated with a higher age, frailty, lower body mass index, and smaller calf circumference. During follow-up, 21 (20%) patients fell, 27 (25.7%) were rehospitalized, and 3 died (2.9%). The MNA score was associated with adverse health outcomes, but a low calf circumference predicted falling (OR 4.93 [95% CI: 1.42-17.2], p=.012) and a higher calf circumference rehospitalization (OR 1.17 [95% CI: 1.01-1.35], p=.032). CONCLUSION: Malnutrition is prevalent in older depressed inpatients. In contrast to subjective proxies for malnutrition, which are common in depression, only objective measures of malnutrition predict adverse health outcomes such as falls and rehospitalization.

Nutritional Risk by Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), but Not Anthropometric Measurements, Has a Good Discriminatory Power for Identifying Frailty in Elderly People: Data from Brazilian Secondary Care Clinic.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate, in elderly individuals registered at a secondary outpatient clinic, the prevalence of frailty and pre-frailty and to identify the discriminatory power of anthropometric measurements and nutritional risk in identifying these conditions. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study with data extracted from medical records. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Elderly patients (60+ years) from a geriatric outpatient clinic, located in the southeast area of São Paulo, Brazil. MEASUREMENTS: Frailty was assessed using five criteria proposed by Fried et al (2001), with some modifications. Nutritional risk was identified using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). Body weight and body height were measured and used to calculate the body mass index (BMI). The discriminatory power of these parameters for the identification of frailty was determined by Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves. RESULTS: The final sample was composed of 254 patients, from which 31.1% were identified as frail and 53.5% as prefrail. The MNA indicated that 3.1% were malnourished and 35.4% were at risk of malnutrition. The BMI values 39.4% as overweight/obese and 19.9% as undernourished. As just the MNA revealed differences for frailty classification, only this parameter was investigated by ROC curve. The discriminatory power of the MNA for frailty presented a best cut-off point of ≤23.0 and the AUC was 0.812 (sensitivity=55.7; specificity=94.9), with a youden index of 0.5057 (95%CI= 0.3146-0.5946). MNA did not present sufficient discriminatory power to detect pre-frailty. CONCLUSION: The MNA was capable of indicating frailty, but not pre-frailty in this sample. BMI did not display significant predictive power for frailty or pre-frailty.

International Clinical Practice Guidelines for Sarcopenia (ICFSR): Screening, Diagnosis and Management.

OBJECTIVES: Sarcopenia, defined as an age-associated loss of skeletal muscle function and muscle mass, occurs in approximately 6 - 22 % of older adults. This paper presents evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for screening, diagnosis and management of sarcopenia from the task force of the International Conference on Sarcopenia and Frailty Research (ICSFR). METHODS: To develop the guidelines, we drew upon the best available evidence from two systematic reviews paired with consensus statements by international working groups on sarcopenia. Eight topics were selected for the recommendations: (i) defining sarcopenia; (ii) screening and diagnosis; (iii) physical activity prescription; (iv) protein supplementation; (v) vitamin D supplementation; (vi) anabolic hormone prescription; (vii) medications under development; and (viii) research. The ICSFR task force evaluated the evidence behind each topic including the quality of evidence, the benefit-harm balance of treatment, patient preferences/values, and cost-effectiveness. Recommendations were graded as either strong or conditional (weak) as per the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach. Consensus was achieved via one face-to-face workshop and a modified Delphi process. RECOMMENDATIONS: We make a conditional recommendation for the use of an internationally accepted measurement tool for the diagnosis of sarcopenia including the EWGSOP and FNIH definitions, and advocate for rapid screening using gait speed or the SARC-F. To treat sarcopenia, we strongly recommend the prescription of resistance-based physical activity, and conditionally recommend protein supplementation/a protein-rich diet. No recommendation is given for Vitamin D supplementation or for anabolic hormone prescription. There is a lack of robust evidence to assess the strength of other treatment options.

Screening for Vitamin D Deficiency in Black Americans: Comparison of Total, Free, Bioavailable 25 Hydroxy Vitamin D Levels with Parathyroid Hormone Levels and Bone Mineral Density.

OBJECTIVES: There is debate surrounding the adequacy of total and free 25 hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D] levels in black Americans who have inherently high bone mineral density [BMD] and low serum concentration of vitamin D binding proteins [VDBP]. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of serum samples and BMD analyses from the African American Health Study [AAHS] cohort. SETTING: The AAHS is a population-based longitudinal study initiated to examine issues of disability and frailty among urban-dwelling black Americans in the city of Saint Louis, Missouri. PARTICIPANTS: 122 men and 206 women, age 60.2 ± 4.3 years. INTERVENTION: Retrospective analysis. MEASUREMENTS: Total 25(OH)D, VDBP, PTH, and BMD of the lumbar spine and hip by dual energy x-ray photometry (DXA). Free and bioavailable vitamin D levels were calculated using serum concentrations and affinity constants for the VDBP (Gc1F and Gc1S) phenotypes. RESULTS: Serum total 25(OH)D levels were 14.6 ± 8.9 ng/mL (36 ± 22 nmol/L). Vitamin D insufficiency was estimated by compensatory elevations of PTH above the normal range (> 65 pg/mL). PTH levels were within the normal reference range in > 95% of the samples at total 25(OH)D levels ≥ 20 ng/mL (≥50 nmol/L). There was no difference in the correlation of the reciprocal relationship of vitamin D vs parathyroid hormone between the VDBP phenotypes. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses indicated that serum total 25(OH)D discriminated sufficiency from insufficiency at least as well as the calculated levels of the free and bioavailable vitamin D. Very low levels of total 25(OH)D (≤ 8 ng/mL, ≤20 nmol/L) were associated with decreased BMD (p=0.02), but higher levels of 25(OH)D did not show statistical differences in BMD. CONCLUSION: Total 25(OH)D levels of ≤ 8ng/mL (≤20 nmol/L) are associated with clinically significant changes in BMD, whereas total 25(OH)D levels ≥ 20 ng/mL (≥50 nmol/L) suppressed PTH and were not associated with deficiencies in BMD. Lower levels of 25(OH)D may be acceptable for bone health in black than in white Americans.

Comparison between direct and indirect methods to diagnose malnutrition and cardiometabolic risk in haemodialisys patients.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of patients undergoing haemodialysis (HD) by comparing nutritional risk scores with biochemical, anthropometric and body composition variables. METHODS: Eighty-five individuals [65.9% male, mean (SD) age 62 (14) years] participated in a cross-sectional study. Global Objective Assessment (GOA) and Modified Global Subjective Assessment (mGSA) scores, as well as biochemical, anthropometric and body composition data, were collected using standardised procedures. RESULTS: The prevalence of malnutrition ranged from 20.0% (% body fat by electrical bioimpedance) to 95.3% (by GOA), depending on the indicator or score used. According to the waist circumference, 61.2% of the individuals presented abdominal obesity and visceral adipose tissue was excessive in 20% of them. Malnutrition diagnosis by GOA showed the relationship between the anthropometric and body composition indicators, as assessed by the extent that the ratings of risk nutritional/mild malnutrition and mainly moderate malnutrition were accompanied by a significant decrease in nutritional status and body composition variables. However, with respect to categories of mGSA, no statistically significant differences were observed for nutritional status and body composition variables. In the receiver operator characteristic curve analyses, mGSA and GOA were good indicators for diagnosing malnutrition because both achieved an AUC > 0.5. CONCLUSIONS: mGSA and GOA were more sensitive with respect to identifying individuals at nutritional risk compared to the isolated anthropometric indicators, thus indicating their utility in diagnostic malnutrition. However, individuals at high nutritional risk also presented cardiometabolic risk, as diagnosed mainly by central fat indicators, suggesting the application of both malnutrition and cardiometabolic risk markers in HD patients.

Aging, low-grade systemic inflammation and vitamin D: a mini-review.

We conducted a mini-review of the literature, focusing on aging-related systemic inflammation and its association with vitamin D (VitD). As main findings, data indicate that inflammation in aging seems to have multiple origins, including immunosenescence, and from intestinal and adipose tissue, where VitD may modulate these three factors, through mechanisms not totally known. From the selected studies, three randomized clinical trials of VitD supplementation showed improvements in inflammatory status, whereas two studies did not. Ten epidemiological studies showed associations between VitD and inflammation, whereas two studies did not. One case study reinforced this association. As such, we can assume a reasonable association between VitD and inflammation in the elderly, and a promising role of supplementation in some situations. However, most studies did not take into account environmental and individual factors such as the season of the year, latitude, skin color or even the use of some medicines; in addition, the doses, time of intervention and the sample sizes differed between the studies. In conclusion, although more controlled VitD studies, both clinical and epidemiological, are necessary, it is important to remember the network of factors involved in systemic inflammation in the elderly; an understanding of the dietetic and non-dietetic factors is needed to offer a realistic approach.

An anti-infective synthetic peptide with dual antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities.

Antibiotic-resistant infections are predicted to kill 10 million people per year by 2050, costing the global economy $100 trillion. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop alternative technologies. We have engineered a synthetic peptide called clavanin-MO, derived from a marine tunicate antimicrobial peptide, which exhibits potent antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties both in vitro and in vivo. The peptide effectively killed a panel of representative bacterial strains, including multidrug-resistant hospital isolates. Antimicrobial activity of the peptide was demonstrated in animal models, reducing bacterial counts by six orders of magnitude, and contributing to infection clearance. In addition, clavanin-MO was capable of modulating innate immunity by stimulating leukocyte recruitment to the site of infection, and production of immune mediators GM-CSF, IFN-γ and MCP-1, while suppressing an excessive and potentially harmful inflammatory response by increasing synthesis of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10 and repressing the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-12 and TNF-α. Finally, treatment with the peptide protected mice against otherwise lethal infections caused by both Gram-negative and -positive drug-resistant strains. The peptide presented here directly kills bacteria and further helps resolve infections through its immune modulatory properties. Peptide anti-infective therapeutics with combined antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties represent a new approach to treat antibiotic-resistant infections.

Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Physical Activity as Predictors of Disability Risk Factors in African-American Middle-Aged Individuals.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) and different dimensions of physical activity (PA) as predictors of change in disabilities and other known precursors of progressive disability in a population-based sample of African Americans. DESIGN: Longitudinal investigation of the independent associations of reported FVI and PA with six-year changes in disabilities and other known precursors of progressive disability. SETTING: Longitudinal study of a population-representative cohort of late middle-aged African Americans. PARTICIPANTS: 432 cohort participants with complete information on all measures. Measurements and Analytic Approach: During wave 8 (2008), FVI was measured using 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System questions and PA dimensions using the Yale Physical Activity Survey (YPAS). Disability measures included basic activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental ADLs (IADLs); other precursors included measured gait speed, grip strength, and short physical performance battery (SPPB) and reported lower body functional limitations (LBFLs) and FRAIL scale; these were measured at wave 4 (2004) and wave 10 (2010). Residual-change score linear regression was used to identify FVI and PA factors that were independently associated with six-year changes in disability and other precursors. RESULTS: The study cohort was less active than the YPAS-development group. Longitudinally, leisurely walking was independently associated with better ADL, IADL, grip strength, SPPB, LBFL, and frailty outcomes; standing with better IADL and SPPB; intake of vegetables other than carrots, salads, or potatoes with better grip strength and frailty; and fruit juice intake with worse grip strength and frailty. CONCLUSIONS: In this relatively inactive cohort, leisurely walking was associated with multiple beneficial outcomes. Benefits were also seen with vegetables other than potato intake, and fruit juice intake was associated with detrimental effects. This study highlights the importance of finding strategies to help this population increase PA (especially leisurely walking) and intake of whole fruits and vegetables.

Eicosapentaenoic acid promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and beige-like features in subcutaneous adipocytes from overweight subjects.

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid, has been reported to have beneficial effects in obesity-associated metabolic disorders. The objective of the present study was to determine the effects of EPA on the regulation of genes involved in lipid metabolism, and the ability of EPA to induce mitochondrial biogenesis and beiging in subcutaneous adipocytes from overweight subjects. Fully differentiated human subcutaneous adipocytes from overweight females (BMI: 28.1-29.8kg/m2) were treated with EPA (100-200 µM) for 24 h. Changes in mRNA expression levels of genes involved in lipogenesis, fatty acid oxidation and mitochondrial biogenesis were determined by qRT-PCR. Mitochondrial content was evaluated using MitoTracker® Green stain. The effects on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, co-activator 1 alpha (PGC-1α) and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) were also characterized. EPA down-regulated lipogenic genes expression while up-regulated genes involved in fatty acid oxidation. Moreover, EPA-treated adipocytes showed increased mitochondrial content, accompanied by an up-regulation of nuclear respiratory factor-1, mitochondrial transcription factor A and cytochrome c oxidase IV mRNA expression. EPA also promoted the activation of master regulators of mitochondrial biogenesis such as sirtuin 1, PGC1-α and AMPK. In parallel, EPA induced the expression of genes that typify beige adipocytes such as fat determination factor PR domain containing 16, uncoupling protein 1 and cell death-inducing DFFA-like effector A, T-Box protein 1 and CD137. Our results suggest that EPA induces a remodeling of adipocyte metabolism preventing fat storage and promoting fatty acid oxidation, mitochondrial biogenesis and beige-like markers in human subcutaneous adipocytes from overweight subjects.

Association between subjective evaluation and physical parameters for radiographic images optimization.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop a methodology to optimize computed radiographic techniques to image the skull, chest, and pelvis of a standard patient. METHODS: Optimization was performed by varying exposure levels with different tube voltages to generate images of an anthropomorphic phantom. Image quality was evaluated using visual grading analysis and measuring objective parameters such as the effective detective quantum efficiency and the contrast-to-noise ratio. Objective and subjective evaluations were compared to obtain an optimized technique for each anatomic region. RESULTS: Gold standard techniques provided a significant reduction in X-ray doses compared to the techniques used in our radiology service, without compromising diagnostic accuracy. They were chosen as follows 102 kVp/1.6 mAs for skull; 81 kVp/4.5 mAs for pelvis and 90 kVp/3.2 mAs for chest. CONCLUSION: There is a range of acceptable techniques that produce adequate images for diagnosis in computed radiography systems. This aspect allows the optimization process to be focused on the patient dose without compromising diagnostic capabilities. This process should be performed through association of quantitative and qualitative parameters, such as effective detective quantum efficiency, contrast-to-noise ratio, and visual grading analysis.

Antifouling activity of twelve demosponges from Brazil.

Benthic marine organisms are constantly exposed to fouling, which is harmful to most host species. Thus, the production of secondary metabolites containing antifouling properties is an important ecological advantage for sessile organisms and may also provide leading compounds for the development of antifouling paints. High antifouling potential of sponges has been demonstrated in the Indian and Pacific oceans and in the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas. Brazilian sponges remain understudied concerning antifouling activities. Only two scientific articles reported this activity in sponges of Brazil. The objective of this study was to test crude extracts of twelve species of sponges from Brazil against the attachment of the mussel Perna perna through laboratorial assays, and highlight promising species for future studies. The species Petromica citrina, Amphimedon viridis, Desmapsamma anchorata, Chondrosia sp., Polymastia janeirensis, Tedania ignis, Aplysina fulva, Mycale angulosa, Hymeniacidon heliophila, Dysidea etheria, Tethya rubra, and Tethya maza were frozen and freeze-dried before extraction with acetone or dichloromethane. The crude extract of four species significantly inhibited the attachment of byssus: Tethya rubra (p = 0.0009), Tethya maza (p = 0.0039), Petromica citrina (p = 0.0277), and Hymeniacidon heliophila (p = 0.00003). These species, specially, should be the target of future studies to detail the substances involved in the ability antifouling well as to define its amplitude of action.

Produtos naturais ativadores de PPAR e marcadores associados ao processo inflamatório na Síndrome Metabólica / The inflammatory process in the metabolic syndrome: PPAR activators of natural products and markers associated with metabolic disorders

O processo inflamatório é o elo entre a síndrome metabólica e as doenças cardiovasculares. Para verificar a presença e o grau da inflamação, vários biomarcadores têm sido propostos e investigados. Este trabalho tem como objetivo revisar as recentes pesquisas que associam alguns marcadores expressos no tecido adiposo, enfatizando, dentre eles, a adiponectina, a resistina, a leptina e o transportador de glicose GLUT-4 na síndrome metabólica, a relação da inflamação decorrente desse conjunto de desordens metabólicas sob os receptores proliferadores peroxissomais (PPARs), bem como o efeito de diferentes extratos vegetais e produtos naturais bioativos na ativação desses receptores.

The inflammatory process is the link between metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. To verify the presence and degree of inflammation, several biomarkers have been proposed and different receptors have been investigated. This study aims to review recent researches involving some markers expressed in the adipose tissue, emphasizing, among them, adiponectin, resistin, leptin and glucose transporter GLUT-4 in the metabolic syndrome, the relationship of inflammation arising from this set of metabolic disorders on the peroxisome proliferator receptors (PPARs) and the effect of different bioactive compounds in the activation of these receptors.

Water homeostasis, frailty and cognitive function in the nursing home.

OBJECTIVE: - To develop and test a practical clinical method to assess frailty in nursing homes; - To investigate the relationship between cognitive status of the elderly and the balance between water compartments of their body composition. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS: Cross-sectional study, conducted at two nursing homes in Boston-MA. METHODS: Body mass and height (Ht) were evaluated to calculate BMI (body mass index, in Kg/m²). The cognitive decline was evaluated based on the scores obtained from the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE); The extracellular to total body water ratio (ECW/TBW) was calculated after the analysis of TBW from deuterium and tritium dilution and ECW from bromide dilution. Single-frequency BIA analysis data were investigated for resistance (R) and reactance (Xc), plotted in an R/Ht Xc/Ht graph (vectorial analysis-BIVA). The BIVA results of nursing home residents were compared against the data obtained from the NHANES III study. TBW and ECW values were compared with a group of free-living elderly volunteers. RESULTS: The ECW/TBW was significantly higher in nursing home residents than in the free-living individuals. BIVA analysis showed significantly higher Xc/Ht values in the reference subjects. The MMSE did not present a significant correlation with ECW/TBW for either gender. CONCLUSION: We proposed the ECW/TBW ratio and BIVA as surrogate methods for the clinical assessment of frailty. We tested successfully both approaches with nursing home patients and free-living volunteers and compared them to a national data base. The advent of new, portable instruments will enable field tests to further validate our proposed "Frailty Factor" in future studies. We found no correlation between frailty and cognitive decline in the nursing home.

Anthropometric midarm measurements can detect systemic fat-free mass depletion in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Our objective was to determine whether anthropometric measurements of the midarm (MA) could identify subjects with whole body fat-free mass (FFM) depletion. Fifty-five patients (31% females; age: 64.6 ± 9.3 years) with mild/very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 18 smokers without COPD (39% females; age: 49.0 ± 7.3 years) and 23 never smoked controls (57% females; age: 48.2 ± 9.6 years) were evaluated. Spirometry, muscle strength and MA circumference were measured. MA muscle area was estimated by anthropometry and MA cross-sectional area by computerized tomography (CT) scan. Bioelectrical impedance was used as the reference method for FFM. MA circumference and MA muscle area correlated with FFM and biceps and triceps strength. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that MA circumference and MA muscle area cut-off points presented sensitivity and specificity >82% to discriminate FFM-depleted subjects. CT scan measurements did not provide improved sensitivity or specificity. For all groups, there was no significant statistical difference between MA muscle area [35.2 (29.3-45.0) cm²] and MA cross-sectional area values [36.4 (28.5-43.3) cm²] and the linear correlation coefficient between tests was r = 0.77 (P < 0.001). However, Bland-Altman plots revealed wide 95% limits of agreement (-14.7 to 15.0 cm²) between anthropometric and CT scan measurements. Anthropometric MA measurements may provide useful information for identifying subjects with whole body FFM depletion. This is a low-cost technique and can be used in a wider patient population to identify those likely to benefit from a complete body composition evaluation.

Anthropometric midarm measurements can detect systemic fat-free mass depletion in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Our objective was to determine whether anthropometric measurements of the midarm (MA) could identify subjects with whole body fat-free mass (FFM) depletion. Fifty-five patients (31 percent females; age: 64.6 ± 9.3 years) with mild/very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), 18 smokers without COPD (39 percent females; age: 49.0 ± 7.3 years) and 23 never smoked controls (57 percent females; age: 48.2 ± 9.6 years) were evaluated. Spirometry, muscle strength and MA circumference were measured. MA muscle area was estimated by anthropometry and MA cross-sectional area by computerized tomography (CT) scan. Bioelectrical impedance was used as the reference method for FFM. MA circumference and MA muscle area correlated with FFM and biceps and triceps strength. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that MA circumference and MA muscle area cut-off points presented sensitivity and specificity >82 percent to discriminate FFM-depleted subjects. CT scan measurements did not provide improved sensitivity or specificity. For all groups, there was no significant statistical difference between MA muscle area [35.2 (29.3-45.0) cm²] and MA cross-sectional area values [36.4 (28.5-43.3) cm²] and the linear correlation coefficient between tests was r = 0.77 (P < 0.001). However, Bland-Altman plots revealed wide 95 percent limits of agreement (-14.7 to 15.0 cm²) between anthropometric and CT scan measurements. Anthropometric MA measurements may provide useful information for identifying subjects with whole body FFM depletion. This is a low-cost technique and can be used in a wider patient population to identify those likely to benefit from a complete body composition evaluation.

In situ electrochemical and AFM study of thalidomide-DNA interaction.

The interaction of thalidomide (TD) with double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) was studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM) at highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at glassy carbon electrodes (GCE), UV-Vis and electrophoresis. After incubation of dsDNA with different concentrations of TD, the AFM images show the formation of thin and incomplete TD-DNA network films with a number of embedded molecular aggregates and regions of uncovered HOPG. Both the TD-dsDNA aggregates and network thickness directly depended on the TD concentration and incubation time. The voltammetric data also showed that the modifications caused by TD to the DNA double helical structure are time-dependent. In agreement with AFM, DPV, UV-Vis and electrophoresis results, a model is proposed for the TD-DNA interaction, considering that TD intercalates into the dsDNA, causing defects in the dsDNA secondary structure and DNA double helix unwinding. Moreover, both AFM and DPV show that condensation is caused to DNA by TD and occurs until 24 h of incubation, as well as DNA oxidative damage, detected electrochemically by the appearance of the 8-oxoGua and/or 2,8 oxoAde oxidation peak.

Swimming training down-regulates plasma leptin levels, but not adipose tissue ob mRNA expression.

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of endurance training on leptin levels and adipose tissue gene expression and their association with insulin, body composition and energy intake. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: trained (N = 18) and sedentary controls (N = 20). The trained group underwent swimming training for 9 weeks. Leptin and insulin levels, adiposity and leptin gene expression in epididymal and inguinal adipose tissue were determined after training. There were no differences in energy intake between groups. Trained rats had a decreased final body weight (-10%), relative and total body fat (-36 and -55%, respectively) and insulin levels (-55%) compared with controls (P < 0.05). Although trained animals showed 56% lower leptin levels (2.58 +/- 1.05 vs 5.89 +/- 2.89 ng/mL in control; P < 0.05), no difference in leptin gene expression in either fat depot was demonstrable between groups. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that lower leptin levels in trained rats were due primarily to their lower body fat mass. After adjustment for total body fat, leptin levels were still 20% (P < 0.05) lower in exercised rats. In conclusion, nine weeks of swimming training did not affect leptin gene expression, but did lead to a decrease in leptin levels that was independent of changes in body fat.

Swimming training down-regulates plasma leptin levels, but not adipose tissue ob mRNA expression

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of endurance training on leptin levels and adipose tissue gene expression and their association with insulin, body composition and energy intake. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: trained (N = 18) and sedentary controls (N = 20). The trained group underwent swimming training for 9 weeks. Leptin and insulin levels, adiposity and leptin gene expression in epididymal and inguinal adipose tissue were determined after training. There were no differences in energy intake between groups. Trained rats had a decreased final body weight (-10 percent), relative and total body fat (-36 and -55 percent, respectively) and insulin levels (-55 percent) compared with controls (P < 0.05). Although trained animals showed 56 percent lower leptin levels (2.58 ± 1.05 vs 5.89 ± 2.89 ng/mL in control; P < 0.05), no difference in leptin gene expression in either fat depot was demonstrable between groups. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that lower leptin levels in trained rats were due primarily to their lower body fat mass. After adjustment for total body fat, leptin levels were still 20 percent (P < 0.05) lower in exercised rats. In conclusion, nine weeks of swimming training did not affect leptin gene expression, but did lead to a decrease in leptin levels that was independent of changes in body fat.