Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, Insulin Resistance, and Atherosclerosis: Is Inflammation the Connecting Link?

Association of fatty acids and lipids metabolism in placenta with early spontaneous pregnancy loss in Chinese women

Abnormal fatty acids and lipids metabolism in the placenta is associated with early spontaneous pregnancy loss.

GC-MS with ethyl chloroformate derivatization for comprehensive analysis of metabolites in serum and its application to human uremia

An optimized method based on GC-MS with ethyl chloroformate derivatization has been developed for the comprehensive analysis of endogenous metabolites in serum. Twenty-two reference standards and serum samples were used to validate the proposed method. The correlation coefficient was higher than 0.9900 for each of the standards, and the LOD varied from 125 to 300 pg on-column. The analytical equipment exhibited good repeatability (RSD<10%) for all of the standards. Both the repeatability and the within-48-h stability of the analytical method were satisfactory (RSD<10%) for the 18 metabolites identified in the serum samples. Mean recovery was acceptable for the 18 metabolites, ranging from 70% to 120% with RSDs of less than 10%. Using the optimized protocol and a subsequent multivariate statistical technique, complete differentiation was achieved between the metabolic profile of uremic patients and that of age- and sex-matched normal subjects. Significantly decreased levels of valine, leucine, and isoleucine and increased levels of myristic acid and linoleic acid were observed in the patient group. This work demonstrated that this method is suitable for serum-based metabolic profiling studies.

Omega-6 fatty acids and coronary artery disease: the pros and cons

Polyunsaturated fatty acids have long been recommended as a beneficial substitute for atherogenic saturated fat. The connection between dietary lipids and blood cholesterol is still under debate, as is the connection between dietary fat and coronary artery disease. Thus, the lipid hypothesis is still a hypothesis. The major dietary polyunsaturated fatty acid, linoleic acid of the omega-6 family, has several properties that render it hyperinsulinemic and atherogenic. The potential benefits of linoleic acid intake regarding coronary artery disease, and its possible harms, are discussed.