Toxins in anti-nociception and anti-inflammation.

The use of toxins as novel molecular probes to study the structure-function relationship of ion-channels and receptors as well as potential therapeutics in the treatment of wide variety of diseases is well documented. The high specificity and selectivity of these toxins have attracted a great deal of interest as candidates for drug development. This review highlights the involvement of the proteins and peptide toxins as well as non-proteinaceous compounds derived from both venomous and non-venomous animals, in anti-nociception and anti-inflammation. The possible mechanisms of these potential therapeutic agents and possible clinical applications in the treatment of pain and inflammation are also summarized.     

Body mass index and factors related to overweight among women workers in electronic factories in Peninsular Malaysia

Factors related to overweight were examined in a cross-sectional survey that included 1612 women workers from 10 large electronics assembly factories in Peninsular Malaysia. Respondents were Malaysian citizens, direct production workers below the supervisory level, and had worked at least a year in the factory where they were presently employed. Heights and weights were taken to calculate the body mass index (BMI). Weights and BMI increased with increasing age. After adjusting for age, odds ratios for overweight were significantly raised for married women in relation to not married women (OR 1.5, 95% CI=1.15-2.02), lower secondary education in relation to higher than upper secondary education (OR 1.8, 95% CI=1.06-3.14), monthly income RM800-999 (OR 1.7, 95% CI=1.21-2.45) and >/=RM1,000 (OR 1.8, 95% CI=1.23-2.72) in relation to 相似文献   

Antioxidants: Promising neuroprotection against cardiotoxin-4b-induced cell death which triggers oxidative stress with early calpain activation

Cardiotoxin-4b (CTX-4b), isolated from Naja naja sputatrix venom, shows lethality in several cell types. Employing murine primary cortical neurons, this study was undertaken to investigate the molecular mechanisms of CTX-4b in the induction of neuronal death. CTX-4b induced a dose- and time-dependent neuronal death. Strong induction of calpains as early as 4 h post-CTX-4b 75 nM treatment was detected in neurons with negligible caspase 3 activation. For the first time in cultured murine primary cortical neurons, it was noted that CTX-4b-mediated cell death triggered oxidative stress with an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, and that application of antioxidants showed effective attenuation of cell death. Taken together, these results indicate that CTX-4b-mediated neuronal death is associated with (i) early calpain activation and (ii) oxidative stress. Most importantly, antioxidants have proved to be a promising therapeutic avenue against CTX-4b-induced neuronal death.     

Cerebral white matter hyperintensity in Parkinson's disease: A major risk factor for mild cognitive impairment

BackgroundMild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia contribute to a poor quality of life among patients with PD. The influence of cerebral ischemia as a risk factor for MCI in PD has not been adequately investigated. To address this issue, we examined the influence of the volume and distribution of white matter hyperintensity (WMH) as a risk factor for MCI in early PD.MethodsProspective study of patients with early idiopathic PD. All patients had baseline MRI-FLAIR, clinical assessment and detailed neuropsychological evaluation. Data on demographics, vascular risk factors, cognitive performance and WMH volumes were analyzed.Results91 patients; mean age 64.9 years, mean education of 10.5 years. 24 patients fulfilled the Movement Disorder Society criteria for MCI and were classified as PD-MCI while the rest were classified as PD with no cognitive impairment (PD-NCI). Patients with PD-MCI and PD-NCI did not differ in Hoehn & Yahr staging. PD-MCI patients had a higher prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and hyperlipidemia. PD-MCI patients had significantly greater volume of periventricular (6.04 ml vs. 2.66 ml, p = 0.001) and deep subcortical WMH (2.16 vs.1.44, p = 0.002). Regional WMH was significantly greater among PD-MCI in the frontal, parietal and occipital regions. Logistic regression analyses demonstrated WMH to be associated with PD-MCI independent of age, education, and vascular risk factors. Increasing WMH volume was associated with lower performance on executive function, memory and language.ConclusionsWMH is an important risk factor for PD-MCI independent of vascular risk factors. PD patients with WMH should be regularly screened for MCI.     

Nutrition Knowledge and Food Choices of Elementary School Children

This research investigated the effect of a three-week school based nutrition education program on the nutrition knowledge and healthy food choices of 187 fifth graders who were randomly divided into a control ( n =97) or an experimental ( n =90) group. The control group received no nutrition education while the experimental group received 45 minutes of nutrition education, 4 days a week for 3 weeks. Nutrition knowledge scores and 3-day food records were collected at the beginning of the study and after 3 weeks. Food records were used to evaluate healthy food choices ( i.e. Dietary Guideline's recommended intake for macronutrients and the recommendations of the Food Guide Pyramid for each food group). In the experimental group there was a significantly greater increase in nutrition knowledge score ( p =0.001) and significant change in compliance in meeting the Dietary Guidelines ( p =0.0001) and the Food Guide Pyramid's recommendations ( p =0.0001). This study showed the effectiveness of a nutrition education program on nutrition knowledge scores and healthy food choices of fifth grade children.     

Practice paper of the American dietetic association: nutrient density: meeting nutrient goals within calorie needs

Practice Papers are evaluative summaries of scientific and/or evidence-based topics. They are meant to provide key opportunities for critical reasoning on timely topics and quality improvement in dietetics practice and to include peer-reviewed perspectives from content practitioners and other experts.How does a practice topic become a Practice Paper? Proposals may be generated by any member of the American Dietetic Association via submission of a topic identification proposal, which may be obtained by contacting ADA headquarters at 800/899-4835 or ppapers@eatright.org. The Association Positions Committee oversees the development of Practice Papers and welcomes proposals from members.