Cytokine responses in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery after ischemic preconditioning

OBJECTIVE

The release of proinflammatory cytokines has been shown to be associated with the development of complications after coronary artery bypass grafting with cardiopulmonary bypass. The purpose of the present study was to establish whether ischemic preconditioning (IP) could limit inflammatory cytokines release in patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass surgery.

METHODS

Twenty-two patients with multiple-vessel coronary artery disease and stable angina admitted for first-time elective coronary artery bypass surgery were randomized into control or ischemic preconditioning groups. Patients in the IP group were exposed to two cycles of two-minute myocardial ischemia, followed by three minutes of reperfusion, at the beginning of the revascularization operation, before the cross-clamping and ischemic period used for coronary artery bypass graft anastomosis. Peripheral plasma levels of TNF-alpha, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 were measured perioperatively.

RESULTS

Significant elevation of IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 were observed in both groups after reperfusion. Ischemic preconditioning has no effect on cytokine release in the early stage after reperfusion. Arterial blood IL-6 levels in the preconditioning group were significantly lower than in controls at 20 h after declamping (52.93 +/- 9.79 vs 96.04 +/- 17.56 pg/ml, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that ischemic preconditioning results in no effect on systemic inflammatory cytokine release in the early stage but a delayed reduction in IL-6 levels at 20 h after reperfusion.

The association between physical activity, physical fitness, and type 2 diabetes mellitus

Recent studies have shown that cardiorespiratory fitness--an objective measurement of physical activity--is a strong predictor of type 2 diabetes. Self-reported physical activity is also associated with decreased risk of developing diabetes.

Presence of a no-observed effect level for enhancing effects of development of the alpha-isomer of benzene hexachloride (alpha-BHC) on diethylnitrosamine-initiated hepatic foci in rats

The dose dependence of the promoting effects of the alpha-isomer of benzene hexachloride (alpha-BHC) on hepatocarcinogenesis was investigated in a medium-term rat liver bioassay (Ito test). A total of 195 F344 male rats, 6 weeks old, were given a single intraperitoneal injection of diethylnitrosamine (DEN) at the start of the experiment and subjected to two-thirds partial hepatectomy at week 3. Two weeks after the administration of DEN, alpha-BHC were fed to rats at doses of 0, 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 7.5, 15, 30, 60, 125 and 500 ppm in diet for 6 weeks. All surviving animals were killed at week 8, and their livers were examined immunohistochemically for detection of glutathione S-transferase placental form (GST-P)-positive foci, surrogate preneoplastic lesions. Quantitative values for numbers and areas were dose-dependently increased in rats given alpha-BHC at 0.5-500 ppm. However, those for groups treated with 0.01 and 0.1 ppm were decreased, albeit not significantly in comparison to the controls. Cytochrome P450 3A2 (CYP3A2) protein levels and activities showed a good correlation to the number and area of GST-P-positive foci. These results support evidence of hormesis and indicate a no-observed effect level for alpha-BHC promoting potentials may exist regarding rat liver carcinogenesis, which correlates with expression of CYP3A2 in the liver.

The sequence of the human genome

A 2.91-billion base pair (bp) consensus sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome was generated by the whole-genome shotgun sequencing method. The 14.8-billion bp DNA sequence was generated over 9 months from 27,271,853 high-quality sequence reads (5.11-fold coverage of the genome) from both ends of plasmid clones made from the DNA of five individuals. Two assembly strategies-a whole-genome assembly and a regional chromosome assembly-were used, each combining sequence data from Celera and the publicly funded genome effort. The public data were shredded into 550-bp segments to create a 2.9-fold coverage of those genome regions that had been sequenced, without including biases inherent in the cloning and assembly procedure used by the publicly funded group. This brought the effective coverage in the assemblies to eightfold, reducing the number and size of gaps in the final assembly over what would be obtained with 5.11-fold coverage. The two assembly strategies yielded very similar results that largely agree with independent mapping data. The assemblies effectively cover the euchromatic regions of the human chromosomes. More than 90% of the genome is in scaffold assemblies of 100,000 bp or more, and 25% of the genome is in scaffolds of 10 million bp or larger. Analysis of the genome sequence revealed 26,588 protein-encoding transcripts for which there was strong corroborating evidence and an additional approximately 12,000 computationally derived genes with mouse matches or other weak supporting evidence. Although gene-dense clusters are obvious, almost half the genes are dispersed in low G+C sequence separated by large tracts of apparently noncoding sequence. Only 1.1% of the genome is spanned by exons, whereas 24% is in introns, with 75% of the genome being intergenic DNA. Duplications of segmental blocks, ranging in size up to chromosomal lengths, are abundant throughout the genome and reveal a complex evolutionary history. Comparative genomic analysis indicates vertebrate expansions of genes associated with neuronal function, with tissue-specific developmental regulation, and with the hemostasis and immune systems. DNA sequence comparisons between the consensus sequence and publicly funded genome data provided locations of 2.1 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). A random pair of human haploid genomes differed at a rate of 1 bp per 1250 on average, but there was marked heterogeneity in the level of polymorphism across the genome. Less than 1% of all SNPs resulted in variation in proteins, but the task of determining which SNPs have functional consequences remains an open challenge.

Identification of domain-domain docking sites within Clostridium symbiosum pyruvate phosphate dikinase by amino acid replacement

Potential domain-domain docking residues, identified from the x-ray structure of the Clostridium symbiosum apoPPDK, were replaced by site-directed mutagenesis. The steady-state and transient kinetic properties of the mutant enzymes were determined as a way of evaluating docking efficiency. PPDK mutants, in which one of two stringently conserved docking residues located on the N-terminal domain (Arg(219) and Glu(271)) was substituted, displayed largely unimpeded catalysis of the phosphoenolpyruvate partial reaction at the C-terminal domain, but significantly impaired catalysis (>10(4)) of the ATP pyrophosphorylation of His(455) at the N-terminal domain. In contrast, alanine mutants of two potential docking residues located on the N-terminal domain (Ser(262) and Lys(149)), which are not conserved among the PPDKs, exhibited essentially normal catalytic turnover. Arg(219) and Glu(271) were thus proposed to play an important role in guiding the central domain and, hence, the catalytic His(455) into position for catalysis. Substitution of central domain residues Glu(434)/Glu(437) and Thr(453), the respective docking partners of Arg(219) and Glu(271), resulted in mutants impaired in catalysis at the ATP active site. The x-ray crystal structure of the apo-T453A PPDK mutant was determined to test for possible misalignment of residues at the N-terminal domain-central domain interface that might result from loss of the Thr(453)-Glu(271) binding interaction. With the exception of the mutation site, the structure of T453A PPDK was found to be identical to that of the wild-type enzyme. It is hypothesized that the two Glu(271) interfacial binding sites that remain in the T453A PPDK mutant, Thr(453) backbone NH and Met(452) backbone NH, are sufficient to stabilize the native conformation as observed in the crystalline state but may be less effective in populating the reactive conformation in solution.

Chemopreventive effects of S-methylcysteine on rat hepatocarcinogenesis induced by concurrent administration of sodium nitrite and morpholine

The aim of the present study was to examine the chemopreventive efficacy of S-methylcysteine (SMC) on rat hepatocarcinogenesis induced by concurrent administration of sodium nitrite (NaNO(2)) and morpholine (Mor) using a medium-term rat liver carcinogenesis bioassay (Ito test). Administration of SMC caused significant reduction in the areas of glutathione S-transferase placental form positive foci along with a significant decrease of hepatocyte 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling indices. These results demonstrated potent chemopreventive effects of SMC against hepatocarcinogenesis due to concurrent administration of Mor and NaNO(2). SMC could thus be an effective chemopreventive agent for decreasing the risk of carcinogenicity from environmental precursors of N-nitroso compounds.

Glomerulosclerosis in adriamycin-induced nephrosis is accelerated by a lipid-rich diet

The present study was performed to determine quantitatively the effect of hypercholesterolemia induced by a lipid-rich diet on glomerulosclerosis in an animal model of nephrotic syndrome (NS) induced by Adriamycin (ADR). Twenty NS Wistar rats administered ADR with a single intravenous dose of 5 mg/kg body weight were divided into standard and lipid-rich chow groups. Another 20 weight-matched non-NS rats that received a vehicle alone were grouped as controls. Quantitative analyses of renal histological changes were performed with determination of blood and urine biochemical parameters. It was found that serum cholesterol was markedly higher in rats with lipid-rich chow in both NS and non-NS rats. Urinary protein was significantly higher in rats on the lipid-rich diet in the NS group. The mesangial matrix and cell indices were significantly increased in rats with the lipid-rich diet and the most obvious changes were found in the NS group. Lipid deposits and foam cells were observed in mesangial areas, and some glomeruli had progressed to form focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis in the NS group. Findings indicated that diet-induced hyperlipidemia can lead to proliferation of mesangial cells and accumulation of mesangial matrices, and further aggravate glomerulosclerosis in Adriamycin-induced nephrosis.

[Wind-damage effects on quality of heartwood of Lignum Santali Albi]

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the wind-damage effects on quality of heartwood of Lignum Santali Albi.

METHOD

GC-MS, TLC and pharmacodynamic test.

RESULTS

The content of volatile oil from heartwood of Wind-damaged Lignum Santali Albi is 1.42%; the content of various components in the oil and the chromatography of different extracts are similar to those of reference drug and 25 years old trees.

CONCLUSION

Wind-damage should accelerate the formation of heartwood of Lignum Santali Albi without influence on its quality.

Open-loop and closed-loop optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) in myasthenia gravis and nonmyasthenic subjects

Optokinetic nystagmus (OKN) eye movements of myasthenia gravis (MG) and nonmyasthenic ocular palsies, and normal subjects were examined under closed-loop and open-loop conditions. The open-loop OKN condition was achieved by adding the signal of eye-movement velocity of OKN to the computer-generated signal controlling the stimulus grating moving. The OKN was recorded by means of electromagnetic search scleral coil technique. In MG patients, the open-loop gains of OKN increased significantly after the intramuscular injection of an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, neostigmine, while the closed-loop OKN gains were not significantly changed. Both the closed-loop and open-loop OKN gains of normal subjects and nonmyasthenic patients were not increased for the administration of neostigmine. The experimental results indicated that the open-loop OKN gain could be sensitive to reflect the changes of the function of neuromuscular junction in MG patients.

[Effect of high-lipid diet on glomerular mesangial matrix in adriamycin-induced nephrotic rats]

OBJECTIVE

To determined the effect of hypercholesterolemia induced by high-lipid diet on glomerulosclerosis.

METHODS

Urinary protein excretion and serum cholesterol were assayed, Image analysis and techniques of pathology, immunohistochemistry, molecular biology were used to determine morphological changes in glomeruli and the production of glomerular mesangial matrixes in adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome (NS) and non-NS rats fed with standard chow and high-lipid chow.

RESULTS

The serum total cholesterol level was significantly higher in rats with high-lipid chow in both non-NS[(2.2 +/- 0.3) g/L vs (0.9 +/- 0.1) g/L, P < 0.01] and NS[(9.5 +/- 0.2) g/L vs (2.3 +/- 0.3) g/L, P < 0.01]. The urinary protein excretion was significantly higher in the high-lipid diet rats than that in standard chow rats [(76.2 +/- 24.2) mg/24 h vs (44.8 +/- 13.6) mg/24 h, P < 0.05] in NS rats. Significant increases in the mesangial matrix and mesangial cells were observed in rats with high-lipid diet in both NS and non-NS group. Especially, more obvious pathological changes were found in NS group, such as lipid deposits and foam cell formation in mesangial areas, and progressing to focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis in some glomeruli. The immunohistochemical assay showed that the production of fibronectin was increased in the rats with high-lipid diet in non-NS group, whereas, the production of three major components (collagen IV, fibronectin, and laminin) was increased in NS group, especially in the rats with high-lipid chow. The increased expression of laminin mRNA was also detected with slot blotting in both NS and non-NS rats with high-lipid chow, and it was more obvious in the rats with NS.

CONCLUSION

Our findings indicated that diet-induced hyperlipidemia can lead to over-production of mesangial matrix components, and further aggravate glomerulosclerosis in adriamycin-induced nephrosis.

Sedentary habits, health, and function in older women and men

PURPOSE

To evaluate the relation of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness to morbidity, mortality, and functional limitations in older persons.

DATA SOURCES

We reviewed published reports related to the review's purpose. Sources were identified from recent major reports and position statements from scientific and public health organizations, our files, and reference lists of published papers.

STUDY INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION CRITERIA

We included prospective epidemiological studies and clinical trials published in the peer-reviewed literature that included data from age groups of people 60 years and older. We evaluated study methods and included studies that used valid measures of exposures, clearly specified outcomes, and controlled for confounders.

DATA EXTRACTION METHODS

We extracted by detailed review data on sample characteristics, outcomes, and rates and relative risks.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Extracted data were included in tables, figures, or the text and were synthesized by nonquantitative methods.

MAJOR CONCLUSIONS

Active and fit individuals were at much lower risk for morbidity, mortality, and loss of function when compared with sedentary and unfit persons. Data from the studies generally conformed to a steep inverse dose-response gradient across activity or fitness categories. Results were consistent, temporally appropriate, strong, and graded, and therefore support a causal hypothesis that a fit and active way of life improves health and function in older individuals.

[Study on treatment of hyperandrogenism and hyperinsulinism in polycystic ovary syndrome with Chinese herbal formula "tiangui fang"]

OBJECTIVE

To observe the efficacy of Chinese herbal formula "Tiangui Fang" (TGF) in hyperandrogenism and hyperinsulinism patients of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and compare with western medicine metformin.

METHODS

Twenty-two anti-clomiphen citrite patients were divided into two treatment groups: "Tiangui Fang" (n = 10) and metformin (n = 12) for three months. Insulin response during oral glucose tolerance test and serum level of LH, FSH, testosterone (T), estradiol (E2) and waist to hip ratio (WHR), body mass index (BMI) were measured before and after treatment.

RESULTS

After treatment for three months with metformin or TGF, fasting and the integrated insulin response to the glucose load decreased. Treated by metformin 4 out of 8 patients had restoration of menstrual cyclicity and 2 of them had double phase bases body temperature (BBT). This was accompanied by lowering in serum logT/E2 but had no significant difference, the BMI, WHR and serum E2, LH:FSH ratio were not changed. Treated by TGF for three months, 6 out of 8 patients had restoration of menstrual cyclicity and double phase BBT. This was accompanied by significant lowering in serum T, logT/E2 and BMI (P < 0.05), serum LH:FSH ratio were not changed.

CONCLUSION

Both metformin and TGF can reduce the high concentration of insulin in PCOS patients and induce ovulation, the herbal formula has a better efficacy.

Inhibition by ginseng of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine induction of aberrant crypt foci in the rat colon

The modifying effects of dietary administration of ginseng on the induction and development of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced aberrant crypt foci (ACF) were investigated in Fischer 344 (F-344) rats. In Experiment 1, starting at six weeks of age, 65 rats were injected with DMH or saline alone once a week for four weeks. Rats in Groups 1 and 2 were fed diets containing 1% ginseng for five weeks, starting one week before the first dose of DMH. Animals in Groups 3 and 4 received ginseng for eight weeks after DMH treatment; Group 5 served as a carcinogen control group. In Experiment 2, 60 rats were injected with DMH or saline alone four times at one-week intervals. They were also fed diets containing 1% ginseng or the control diet throughout the 30 days of the experiment. In Experiment 1, numbers of foci with at least four crypts were significantly reduced in Group 2 treated with red ginseng during the initiation phase (p < 0.005). In Experiment 2, treatment with red ginseng also resulted in a decrease in the total number of DMH-induced ACF accompanied by a reduction in 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine labeling indexes in colonic crypts comprising ACF (p < 0.005 and p < 0.05, respectively). These findings suggest that dietary administration of red ginseng in combination with DMH suppresses colon carcinogenesis of rats, and the inhibition may be associated, in part, with suppression of cell proliferation in the colonic mucosa.

Maximal exercise test as a predictor of risk for mortality from coronary heart disease in asymptomatic men

Exercise testing in asymptomatic persons has been criticized for failing to accurately predict those at risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). Previous studies on asymptomatic subjects, however, may not have been large enough or long enough to provide reliable outcome measures. This study examines the ability of a maximal exercise test to predict death from CHD and death from any cause in a population of asymptomatic men. This is a prospective longitudinal study performed between 1970 and 1989, with an average follow-up of 8.4 years. The subjects are 25,927 healthy men, 20 to 82 years of age at baseline (mean 42.9 years) who were free of cardiovascular disease and who were evaluated in a preventive medicine clinic. The main outcome measures are CHD mortality and all-cause mortality. During follow-up there were 612 deaths from all causes and 158 deaths from CHD. The sensitivity of an abnormal exercise test to predict coronary death was 61%. The age-adjusted relative risk of an abnormal exercise test for CHD death was 21 (6.9 to 63.3) in those with no risk factors, 27 (10.7 to 68.8) in those with 1 risk factor, 54 (21.5 to 133.7) in those with 2 risk factors, and 80 (30.0 to 212. 5) in those with >/=3 factors. A maximal exercise test performed in asymptomatic men free of cardiovascular disease does appear to be a worthwhile tool in predicting future risk of CHD death. An abnormal exercise test is a more powerful predictor of risk in those with than without conventional risk factors.

Low fasting plasma glucose level as a predictor of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality

BACKGROUND

Although medical textbooks usually classify fasting plasma glucose <70 or 80 mg/dL (<3.89 or 4.44 mmol/L) as abnormal, the prognosis for patients with low fasting plasma glucose is unclear.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We conducted prospective cohort studies among 40 069 men and women to investigate the association between fasting plasma glucose levels and cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. We documented a U-shaped relation between fasting plasma glucose and mortality. In addition to diabetes and impaired fasting glucose levels, low fasting plasma glucose levels were also associated with high mortality. After multivariate adjustment for age, sex, study population, ethnicity, current smoking status, high blood pressure, total cholesterol, body mass index, triglycerides, history of cardiovascular disease and cancer, and a family history of cardiovascular disease, patients with fasting plasma glucose <70 mg/dL (<3.89 mmol/L) had a 3.3-fold increased risk of cardiovascular disease mortality, and patients with fasting plasma glucose 70 to 79 mg/dL (3.89 to 4.43 mmol/L) had a 2.4-fold increased risk compared with the risk in patients with fasting plasma glucose 80 to 109 mg/dL (4.44 to 6.05 mmol/L) (tests for trend P<0.0001). Participants with low fasting plasma glucose levels also had increased risk of all-cause mortality (test for trend P<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

Participants with low fasting plasma glucose levels had a high risk of cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality.

Low cardiorespiratory fitness and physical inactivity as predictors of mortality in men with type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND

Although physical activity is recommended as a basic treatment for patients with diabetes, its long-term association with mortality in these patients is unknown.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association of low cardiorespiratory fitness and physical inactivity with mortality in men with type 2 diabetes.

DESIGN

Prospective cohort study.

SETTING

Preventive medicine clinic.

PATIENTS

1263 men (50+/-10 years of age) with type 2 diabetes who received a thorough medical examination between 1970 and 1993 and were followed for mortality up to 31 December 1994.

MEASUREMENTS

Cardiorespiratory fitness measured by a maximal exercise test, self-reported physical inactivity at baseline, and subsequent death determined by using the National Death Index.

RESULTS

During an average follow-up of 12 years, 180 patients died. After adjustment for age, baseline cardiovascular disease, fasting plasma glucose level, high cholesterol level, overweight, current smoking, high blood pressure, and parental history of cardiovascular disease, men in the low-fitness group had an adjusted risk for all-cause mortality of 2.1 (95% CI, 1.5 to 2.9) compared with fit men. Men who reported being physically inactive had an adjusted risk for mortality that was 1.7-fold (CI, 1.2-fold to 2.3-fold) higher than that in men who reported being physically active.

CONCLUSIONS

Low cardiorespiratory fitness and physical inactivity are independent predictors of all-cause mortality in men with type 2 diabetes. Physicians should encourage patients with type 2 diabetes to participate in regular physical activity and improve cardiorespiratory fitness.

[The influence of external stimulation on content and quality of volatile oil in Lignun Santali albi]

The authors analyzed the quality of Ligmum Santali Albi formed by the external stimulation of hormone and windburn by GC-MS-DS. The results showed that the content of volatile oil is 2.34% in the heart wood formed in 10 years tree age of Santalum album (SA) after 2 years stimulation continuously with a definite concentration of hormone, which is near to the 25 years tree age of SA in the same place. The GC-MS analysis showed that the content of santalol and other chemical components in volatile oil are similar to the 25 years tree age of SA. It is indicated that a definite concentration of hormone stimulated the SA may shorten the formation of the heart wood. The heart wood can be also formed by the broken branches after 2 years windburn, but its content of volatile oil is only 1/2 of the heart wood formed by hormone stimulation.

[Effect of inflammatory factor and yishen huoxue xiezhuo decoction on growth of glomerular mesangial cells in rats]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the part of inflammatory factors (cytokines) and Yishen Huoxue Xiezhuo (YSHXXZ) Decoction on the proliferation of extracorporeal cultured mesangial cells (MCs) in rats.

METHODS

The effects of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) as stimulating factors, its action on the proliferation of rat MCs were investigated by using the technique of 3H-TdR incorporation. Meanwhile, adopting serum pharmacology assay, the medicated serum of rat, containing YSHXXZ decoction was extracted and its effects on the growth of MCs were also studied.

RESULTS

LPS and IL-6, in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner, could markedly stimulate the MCS proliferation, while this stimulatory effects could be strongly antagonized by the serum containing YSHXXZ decoction.

CONCLUSION

Mesangial cell is the main target cell of the action of YSHXXZ decoction, and the inhibition on MCs might be one of the mechanisms of the YSHXXZ decoction in preventing the progression of chronic glomerulonephritis.

Exposure to 60-Hz magnetic fields and proliferation of human astrocytoma cells in vitro

Epidemiological studies have suggested that exposure to electric and magnetic fields (EMF) may be associated with an increased incidence of brain tumors, most notably astrocytomas. However, potential cellular or molecular mechanisms involved in these effects of EMF are not known. In this study we investigated whether exposure to 60-Hz sinusoidal magnetic fields (0.3-1.2 G for 3-72 h) would cause proliferation of human astrocytoma cells. Sixty-Hertz magnetic fields (MF) caused a time- and dose-dependent increase in proliferation of astrocytoma cells, measured by (3)H-thymidine incorporation and by flow cytometry, and strongly potentiated the effect of two agonists (the muscarinic agonist carbachol and the phorbol ester PMA). However, MF had no effect on DNA synthesis of rat cortical astrocytes, i.e., of similar, nontransformed cells. To determine the amount of heating induced by MF, temperatures were also recorded in the medium. Both 1.2 G MF and a sham exposure caused a 0.7 degrees C temperature increase in the medium; however, (3)H-thymidine incorporation induced by sham exposure was significantly less than that caused by MF. GF 109203X, a rather specific protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, and down-regulation of PKC inhibited the effect of MF on basal and on agonist-stimulated (3)H-thymidine incorporation. These data indicate that MF can increase the proliferation of human astrocytoma cells and strongly potentiate the effects of two agonists. These findings may provide a biological basis for the observed epidemiological associations between MF exposure and brain tumors.

Alcohol intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes in men

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the relation between alcohol intake and incidence of type 2 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

This prospective study included 8,663 men with fasting plasma glucose measurements from at least two medical examinations. Alcohol intake was classified into five groups: nondrinkers and four quartiles (Qs) of drinkers according to the amount of alcohol intake. Type 2 diabetes was diagnosed by 1997 American Diabetes Association criteria.

RESULTS

There were 149 incident cases of type 2 diabetes during 52,588 person-years of follow-up. There was a U-shaped association between alcohol intake and diabetes, with the lowest incidence of diabetes at Q2 (61.9-122.7 g/week). As compared with Q2, men in Q3 and Q4 had a 2.2- (95% CI 1.2-3.9, P = 0.01) and 2.4-fold (1.4-4.4, P<0.01) risk of developing diabetes, while nondrinkers and men in Q1 had 1.8- (1.0-3.3, P<0.05) and 1.4-fold (0.7-2.6, P = 0.34) higher risk of diabetes, respectively. These associations persisted after adjustment for age, fasting plasma glucose, smoking, BMI, blood pressure, serum triglyceride concentration, cardiorespiratory fitness, HDL cholesterol, waist circumference, and parental diabetes.

CONCLUSIONS

We observed an elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes in nondrinkers and men with high alcohol intakes, when compared with men who reported moderate alcohol intake. Men with a high alcohol intake may be able to reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes if they drink less.

Do Mexican Americans really have low rates of cardiovascular disease?

In this article we challenge the conclusion made from vital statistics that Hispanic Americans have lower all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality than non-Hispanic whites. There is reason to believe that vital statistics underascertain minority, and in particular Hispanic, deaths. Cohort studies minimize many of these limitations. In the San Antonio Heart Study risk factor distributions predicted higher all-cause and CVD mortality among Mexican Americans than among non-Hispanic whites. Follow-up of the cohort confirmed a mortality ratio of 1.38 for all-cause and 1.30 for CVD mortality for Mexican Americans vs non-Hispanic whites. This excess risk was confined to U.S.-born Mexican Americans, since immigrants from Mexico had very low mortality despite low socioeconomic status. We attribute this latter finding to a "healthy migrant effect."

[Establishment of the animal models of mandibular distraction osteogenesis]

OBJECTIVE

To establish the animal models of mandibular distraction osteogenesis in rabbits and study its osteogenetic mechanism.

METHODS

The right mandibles just anterior to the first molars of 12 rabbits were performed osteotomies, and the mandibles were positioned with distractors. The left mandibles were control group without operation. After 1 week, the distractors were stretched 0.9 mm every day for 10 days progressively. One day, 2, 4, 8 weeks after distraction, the mandibles were studied with gross measurement, X-ray, and histological examination.

RESULTS

The right mandible were lengthened 8.3 mm on average without bone nonunion and deformity healing. It was observed that the gaps between the distracted bone edges were first occupied by fibrous tissue. Two weeks after distraction, it was found that the gaps were bridged by callus in X-ray, the new bone and the normal bone could not be differentiated clearly after 8 weeks. In histological sections, there were collagen bundles in early distraction, then those collagen bundles were calcificated and become trabeculaes. No Cartilage was found during distraction.

CONCLUSION

It suggests that the rabbit mandible can be lengthened by distraction osteogenesis, and the new bone is formed by intramembranous ossification.

Concentration dependent promoting effects of sodium L-ascorbate with the same total dose in a rat two-stage urinary bladder carcinogenesis

Sodium L-ascorbate (Na-AsA) has been demonstrated to be a strong promoter of rat urinary bladder tumor development initiated by N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN). In the present study, we investigated variation in its promoting activity when the same total dose was given with different concentrations and exposure times. After 4 weeks administration of 0.05% BBN, group 1 served as a control without any post-initiation treatment. The rats in groups 2-4 received 1.25% Na-AsA diet for 36 weeks, 2.5% Na-AsA for 18 weeks and 5% Na-AsA for 8 weeks, respectively. Tumor number (papillomas and carcinomas) was greatest in group 3, and area in group 4 (P < 0.05). However, no enhancement was noted in group 2, although preneoplastic lesions were significantly increased. These results suggest that with the same total administration dose, high concentration of Na-AsA has the strongest promoting effects on tumor development in urinary bladder carcinogenesis.