Pub Date : 2011-04-29DOI: 10.2174/1876399501103010001
S. Mukherjee, T. Bernard, K. Kharbanda, A. J. Barak, M. Sorrell, D. Tuma
Introduction: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an important cause of cirrhosis and over the past decade has accounted for an increasing proportion of liver transplants in the United States. Unfortunately there is no treatment for NASH except for risk factor modification. The aims of our study were to assess the impact of betaine on liver function tests, homocysteine levels and hepatic fibrosis in a prospective cohort of NASH patients Materials and Methodology: Between July 2003 and June 2006, consecutive patients with NASH were screened to deter- mine treatment eligibility. Eligibility criteria included elevated aminotransferases and a liver biopsy within twelve months of study entry satisfying the Brunt criteria for NASH. Patients were treated with betaine anhydrous 10 grams twice a day for one year. Liver function tests, homocysteine levels and liver biopsy were performed prior to and at the end of treat- ment. Outcomes were calculated using intention to treat analysis. Results: 35 patients were eligible. 23 patients completed treatment, seven were intolerant and five dropped out and were lost to follow up. Improvement or normalization in aminotransferases occurred in 62.9% of patients (p 0.05). Resolution or improvement in steatosis occurred in 57.1% (p<0.05), improvement or sta- bilization of inflammation in 60% (p<0.05) and fibrosis in 62.9% (p<0.05). Conclusion: Betaine appears to improve hepatic function tests, homocysteine levels and histology in this cohort of NASH patients. Large randomized studies with long-term follow up are required to assess the effect of betaine for this growing epidemic.
{"title":"Impact of Betaine on Hepatic Fibrosis and Homocysteine in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis - A Prospective, Cohort Study","authors":"S. Mukherjee, T. Bernard, K. Kharbanda, A. J. Barak, M. Sorrell, D. Tuma","doi":"10.2174/1876399501103010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1876399501103010001","url":null,"abstract":"Introduction: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an important cause of cirrhosis and over the past decade has accounted for an increasing proportion of liver transplants in the United States. Unfortunately there is no treatment for NASH except for risk factor modification. The aims of our study were to assess the impact of betaine on liver function tests, homocysteine levels and hepatic fibrosis in a prospective cohort of NASH patients Materials and Methodology: Between July 2003 and June 2006, consecutive patients with NASH were screened to deter- mine treatment eligibility. Eligibility criteria included elevated aminotransferases and a liver biopsy within twelve months of study entry satisfying the Brunt criteria for NASH. Patients were treated with betaine anhydrous 10 grams twice a day for one year. Liver function tests, homocysteine levels and liver biopsy were performed prior to and at the end of treat- ment. Outcomes were calculated using intention to treat analysis. Results: 35 patients were eligible. 23 patients completed treatment, seven were intolerant and five dropped out and were lost to follow up. Improvement or normalization in aminotransferases occurred in 62.9% of patients (p 0.05). Resolution or improvement in steatosis occurred in 57.1% (p<0.05), improvement or sta- bilization of inflammation in 60% (p<0.05) and fibrosis in 62.9% (p<0.05). Conclusion: Betaine appears to improve hepatic function tests, homocysteine levels and histology in this cohort of NASH patients. Large randomized studies with long-term follow up are required to assess the effect of betaine for this growing epidemic.","PeriodicalId":89038,"journal":{"name":"The open translational medicine journal","volume":"3 1","pages":"1-4"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2011-04-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68134155","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2010-03-30DOI: 10.2174/1876399501002010001
E. Bravo, M. Napolitano, K. Botham
Postprandial lipemia is the transient increase in blood lipids which occurs after a meal containing fat and is caused by raised levels of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs) in the blood. Delayed clearance of TRLs leads to post- prandial hyperlipidemia, and there is now a great deal of evidence to support the idea that this condition is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Western lifestyle habits including: diets low in fresh fruit and vegetables and high in fat and processed food, alcohol consumption, smoking, and lack of exercise tend to promote postprandial hyperlip- idemia, and it is a characteristic feature of increasingly common metabolic diseases such as obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes which are also linked to modern lifestyle behaviour and which carry an increased risk of CVD develop- ment. Modification of lifestyle factors such as changing to a healthier diet, weight loss, reducing alcohol consumption and increasing exercise can cause significant reductions in postprandial hyperlipidemia and thus help to reduce this risk. De- spite the growing recognition that the extent of postprandial lipemia is a good predictor of CVD, no standardized method- ology for its measurement is currently available. Determination of blood TG levels after consumption of a standard test meal is likely to be the most convenient approach for a routine clinical test, and we propose a standard test meal which is easily adaptable for the variations in dietary habits in different countries. Greater use of postprandial lipid determination will aid in the translation of our extensive knowledge on the role of nutrition in health into national and international pol- icy.
{"title":"Postprandial Lipid Metabolism: The Missing Link Between Life-Style Habits and the Increasing Incidence of Metabolic Diseases in Western Countries?","authors":"E. Bravo, M. Napolitano, K. Botham","doi":"10.2174/1876399501002010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1876399501002010001","url":null,"abstract":"Postprandial lipemia is the transient increase in blood lipids which occurs after a meal containing fat and is caused by raised levels of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs) in the blood. Delayed clearance of TRLs leads to post- prandial hyperlipidemia, and there is now a great deal of evidence to support the idea that this condition is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Western lifestyle habits including: diets low in fresh fruit and vegetables and high in fat and processed food, alcohol consumption, smoking, and lack of exercise tend to promote postprandial hyperlip- idemia, and it is a characteristic feature of increasingly common metabolic diseases such as obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes which are also linked to modern lifestyle behaviour and which carry an increased risk of CVD develop- ment. Modification of lifestyle factors such as changing to a healthier diet, weight loss, reducing alcohol consumption and increasing exercise can cause significant reductions in postprandial hyperlipidemia and thus help to reduce this risk. De- spite the growing recognition that the extent of postprandial lipemia is a good predictor of CVD, no standardized method- ology for its measurement is currently available. Determination of blood TG levels after consumption of a standard test meal is likely to be the most convenient approach for a routine clinical test, and we propose a standard test meal which is easily adaptable for the variations in dietary habits in different countries. Greater use of postprandial lipid determination will aid in the translation of our extensive knowledge on the role of nutrition in health into national and international pol- icy.","PeriodicalId":89038,"journal":{"name":"The open translational medicine journal","volume":"2 1","pages":"1-13"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2010-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68134528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2009-11-05DOI: 10.2174/1876399500901010009
E. Kwon, Seunghee Lee, Kyubo Kim, Hong-Gyun Wu, Sang‐wook Lee
Objective: To evaluate the effects of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) on proliferation and radiation survival of normal fibroblast and cancer cell lines both in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Using normal fibroblast and cancer cell lines, we evaluated the expression of EGFR, and determined their pro- liferation and survival with rhEGF alone or in combination with radiation. For the combination treatments, we applied 10 nM rhEGF and delivered single radiation doses of 0, 2, 5, and 10 Gy. In the animal study, we introduced EMT-6 cells into BALB/c mice to assay for tumor growth delay. We applied single radiation dose of 10 or 20 Gy, with or without 1.0 mg/Kg of rhEGF, three times a day, for 7 days. Results: In a dose-dependent manner, rhEGF stimulated proliferation of the normal fibroblast, but not the cancer cell lines with low or intermediate expression of EGFR. rhEGF inhibited proliferation of the cancer cell line with the highest EGFR expression. Administration of rhEGF in combination with radiation attenuated the cell killing effect of radiation in normal fibroblast, but it had no effect or even augmented the radiation effect in cancer cell lines. In the animal study, we observed no difference in tumor growth rates when rhEGF was combined with radiation compared to radiation alone. Conclusions: Our results suggested that rhEGF might be useful in preventing and/or treating radiation-induced injury without stimulating tumor growth. Mini-Abstract: rhEGF effectively stimulated proliferation and radiation recovery in normal fibroblasts without promoting the growth of tumor cells. Therefore, it might be useful in preventing and/or treating radiation-induced tissue injury.
{"title":"Differential Effects of Recombinant Human EGF on Proliferation and Radiation Survival of Normal Fibroblast and Cancer Cell Lines","authors":"E. Kwon, Seunghee Lee, Kyubo Kim, Hong-Gyun Wu, Sang‐wook Lee","doi":"10.2174/1876399500901010009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1876399500901010009","url":null,"abstract":"Objective: To evaluate the effects of recombinant human epidermal growth factor (rhEGF) on proliferation and radiation survival of normal fibroblast and cancer cell lines both in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Using normal fibroblast and cancer cell lines, we evaluated the expression of EGFR, and determined their pro- liferation and survival with rhEGF alone or in combination with radiation. For the combination treatments, we applied 10 nM rhEGF and delivered single radiation doses of 0, 2, 5, and 10 Gy. In the animal study, we introduced EMT-6 cells into BALB/c mice to assay for tumor growth delay. We applied single radiation dose of 10 or 20 Gy, with or without 1.0 mg/Kg of rhEGF, three times a day, for 7 days. Results: In a dose-dependent manner, rhEGF stimulated proliferation of the normal fibroblast, but not the cancer cell lines with low or intermediate expression of EGFR. rhEGF inhibited proliferation of the cancer cell line with the highest EGFR expression. Administration of rhEGF in combination with radiation attenuated the cell killing effect of radiation in normal fibroblast, but it had no effect or even augmented the radiation effect in cancer cell lines. In the animal study, we observed no difference in tumor growth rates when rhEGF was combined with radiation compared to radiation alone. Conclusions: Our results suggested that rhEGF might be useful in preventing and/or treating radiation-induced injury without stimulating tumor growth. Mini-Abstract: rhEGF effectively stimulated proliferation and radiation recovery in normal fibroblasts without promoting the growth of tumor cells. Therefore, it might be useful in preventing and/or treating radiation-induced tissue injury.","PeriodicalId":89038,"journal":{"name":"The open translational medicine journal","volume":"1 1","pages":"9-15"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68134517","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2009-03-06DOI: 10.2174/1876399500901010001
E. Lin, P. Chen
The investigation of personality genetics had received much attention since the three seminal reports showing an association between genes and personality traits in the general population. Accumulating evidences suggested that per- sonality traits have significant genetic components. Although currently available data are not enough for proof, more and more genetic variants associated with personality traits are being discovered. In this paper, we review related studies of gene polymorphisms and human personality traits for psychiatric, behavioral, and substance-related disorders. First, we briefly describe the commonly-used self-reported temperament measures that define personality dimensions. Then, we summarize the characteristics of the candidate genes for personality traits, and investigate gene variants which have been suggested to be linked with personality traits for individuals with psychiatric, behavioral, and substance-related disorders.
{"title":"Molecular Genetics of Human Personality Traits for Psychiatric, Behavioral, and Substance-Related Disorders","authors":"E. Lin, P. Chen","doi":"10.2174/1876399500901010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1876399500901010001","url":null,"abstract":"The investigation of personality genetics had received much attention since the three seminal reports showing an association between genes and personality traits in the general population. Accumulating evidences suggested that per- sonality traits have significant genetic components. Although currently available data are not enough for proof, more and more genetic variants associated with personality traits are being discovered. In this paper, we review related studies of gene polymorphisms and human personality traits for psychiatric, behavioral, and substance-related disorders. First, we briefly describe the commonly-used self-reported temperament measures that define personality dimensions. Then, we summarize the characteristics of the candidate genes for personality traits, and investigate gene variants which have been suggested to be linked with personality traits for individuals with psychiatric, behavioral, and substance-related disorders.","PeriodicalId":89038,"journal":{"name":"The open translational medicine journal","volume":"1 1","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"68134507","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2009-01-01DOI: 10.2174/1876399500901010016
Farrokh Alemi, Harold Erdman, Igor Griva, Charles H Evans
Common methods of statistical analysis, e.g. Analysis of Variance and Discriminant Analysis, are not necessarily optimal in selecting therapy for an individual patient. These methods rely on group differences to identify markers for disease or successful interventions and ignore sub-group differences when the number of sub-groups is large. In these circumstances, they provide the same advice to an individual as the average patient. Personalized medicine needs new statistical methods that allow treatment efficacy to be tailored to a specific patient, based on a large number of patient characteristics. One such approach is the sequential k-nearest neighbor analysis (patients-like-me algorithm). In this approach, the k most similar patients are examined sequentially until a statistically significant conclusion about the efficacy of treatment for the patient-at-hand can be arrived at. For some patients, the algorithm stops before the entire set of data is examined and provides beneficial advice that may contradict recommendations made to the average patient. Many problems remain in creating statistical tools that can help individual patients but this is an important area in which progress in statistical thinking is helpful.
{"title":"Improved Statistical Methods are Needed to Advance Personalized Medicine.","authors":"Farrokh Alemi, Harold Erdman, Igor Griva, Charles H Evans","doi":"10.2174/1876399500901010016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2174/1876399500901010016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Common methods of statistical analysis, e.g. Analysis of Variance and Discriminant Analysis, are not necessarily optimal in selecting therapy for an individual patient. These methods rely on group differences to identify markers for disease or successful interventions and ignore sub-group differences when the number of sub-groups is large. In these circumstances, they provide the same advice to an individual as the average patient. Personalized medicine needs new statistical methods that allow treatment efficacy to be tailored to a specific patient, based on a large number of patient characteristics. One such approach is the sequential k-nearest neighbor analysis (patients-like-me algorithm). In this approach, the k most similar patients are examined sequentially until a statistically significant conclusion about the efficacy of treatment for the patient-at-hand can be arrived at. For some patients, the algorithm stops before the entire set of data is examined and provides beneficial advice that may contradict recommendations made to the average patient. Many problems remain in creating statistical tools that can help individual patients but this is an important area in which progress in statistical thinking is helpful.</p>","PeriodicalId":89038,"journal":{"name":"The open translational medicine journal","volume":"1 ","pages":"16-20"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.2174/1876399500901010016","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"29162650","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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