Jan Brox

Effects of dietary marine oils and olive oil on fatty acid composition, platelet membrane fluidity, platelet responses, and serum lipids in healthy humans

The influence of various dietary marine oils and olive oil on fatty acid composition of serum and platelets and effects on platelets and serum lipids were investigated as part of an extensive study of the effects of these oils on parameters associated with cardiovascular/thrombotic diseases. Healthy volunteers (266) consumed 15 mL/d of cod liver oil (CLO); whale blubber oil (refined or unrefined); mixtures of seal blubber oil and CLO; or olive oil/CLO for 12 wk. In the CLO, seal oil/CLO, and whale oil groups, serum levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) were increased. In platelets, EPA was increased in the CLO, seal/CLO, and olive oil/CLO groups. The localization of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in the triacylglycerols did not seem to influence their absorption. Intake of oleic acid is poorly reflected in serum and platelets. No significant differences in triacylglycerols (IG), total cholesterol, or high density lipoprotein cholesterol were observed, even though TG were reduced in the CLO, CLO/seal oil, and whale oil groups. Mean platelet volume increased significantly in both whale oil groups and the CLO/olive oil group. Platelet count was significantly reduced in the refined whale oil group only. Lipopolysaccharide-stimulated blood tended to generate less thromboxane B2 in CLO, CLO/seal, and CLO/olive groups. The whale oils tended to reduce in vivo release of β-thromboglobulin. In conclusion, intake of various marine oils causes changes in platelet membranes that are favorably antithrombotic. The combination of CLO and olive oil may produce better effects than these oils given separately. The changes in platelet function are directly associated with alterations of fatty acid composition in platelet membranes.

Enhanced Incorporation of n-3 Fatty Acids from Fish Compared with Fish Oils

This work was undertaken to study the impact of the source of n−3 FA on their incorporation in serum, on blood lipid composition, and on cellular activation. A clinical trial comprising 71 volunteers, divided into five groups, was performed. Three groups were given 400 g smoked salmon (n=14), cooked salmon (n=15), or cooked cod (n=13) per week for 8 wk. A fourth group was given 15 mL/d of cod liver oil (CLO) (n=15), and a fifth group served as control (n=14) without supplementation. The serum content of EPA and DHA before and after intervention revealed a higher rise in EPA and DHA in the cooked salmon group (129% rise in EPA and 45% rise in DHA) as compared with CLO (106 and 25%, respectively) despite an intake of EPA and DHA in the CLO group of 3.0 g/d compared with 1.2 g/d in the cooked salmon group. No significant changes were observed in blood lipids, fibrinogen, fibrinolysis, or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tissue factor (TF) activity, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), interleukin-8 (IL-8), leukotriene B4 (LTB4), and thromboxane B2 (TxB2) in whole blood. EPA and DHA were negatively correlated with LPS-induced TNFα, IL-8, LTB4, TxB2, and TF in whole blood. In conclusion, fish consumption is more effective in increasing serum EPA and DHA than supplementing the diet with fish oil. Since the n−3 FA are predominantly in TAG in fish as well as CLO, it is suggested that the larger uptake from fish than CLO is due to differences in physiochemical structure of the lipids.

Human articular chondrocytes express ChemR23 and chemerin; ChemR23 promotes inflammatory signalling upon binding the ligand chemerin21-157

IntroductionChemerin is a chemotactic peptide which directs leukocytes expressing the chemokine-like receptor ChemR23 towards sites of inflammation. ChemR23 is a G protein-coupled receptor which binds several different ligands, and it is also expressed by other cell types such as adipocytes. In addition to chemotaxis, recent reports suggest that ChemR23 is capable of mediating either inflammatory or anti-inflammatory effects, depending on the type of ligand it binds. In the present study, we aimed to clarify whether human chondrocytes express ChemR23 and chemerin, and whether chemerin/ChemR23 signalling could affect secretion of inflammatory mediators.MethodsTissue sections were taken from human knee joints and labelled with antibodies towards chemerin and ChemR23. Chondrocytes from cartilage tissue were isolated, cultured and assessed for chemerin and ChemR23 expression by PCR and immunolabelling. Receptor activation and intracellular signalling were studied by assessment of phosphorylated mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and phosphorylated Akt after stimulating cells with recombinant chemerin21-157. Biological effects of chemerin21-157 were investigated by measuring secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and metalloproteases in cell supernatants.ResultsBoth serially cultured human articular chondrocytes and resident cells in native cartilage expressed chemerin and ChemR23. Stimulating cells with chemerin21-157 resulted in phosphorylation of p44/p42 MAPKs (ERK 1/2) and Akt (Ser 473). Also, significantly enhanced levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and the matrix metalloproteases MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-8 and MMP-13 were detected.ConclusionsThese results demonstrate that human chondrocytes express both the receptor ChemR23 and the ligand chemerin. Chemerin21-157 stimulation engaged signal-transduction pathways that further promoted inflammatory signalling in chondrocytes, as judged by an enhanced secretion of cytokines and metalloproteases. Taken together, the previously reported chemotaxis and the present findings suggest that the receptor and its ligand may play pivotal roles in joint inflammation.

Social and lifestyle determinants of depression, anxiety, sleeping disorders and self-evaluated quality of life in Russia A population-based study in Arkhangelsk

BackgroundThe paper investigates social and lifestyle determinants of depression, anxiety, sleeping disorders and self-evaluated low quality of life in a population sample from the northwest of Russia.MethodsAltogether 1968 men and 1737 women aged 18–90 years participated in a population-based study in Arkhangelsk, Russia, in the period 1999–2000. Depression, anxiety, and sleeping disorders were evaluated by a questionnaire with the formulations that have been previously used in population studies in Northern Norway. Alcohol dependence was diagnosed by the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Quality of life was evaluated by a 10-score Cantril Ladder. A score lower than five was defined as low quality of life. Relations between depression, anxiety, and sleeping disorders and socioeconomic/lifestyle factors were tested by logistic regression analyses.ResultsWomen reported significantly higher prevalence of depression, anxiety and/or sleeping disorders than men: 68.7% and 32.3%, respectively. Depression, anxiety, sleeping disorders and low quality of life were positively associated with self-evaluation of nutrition as “poor”, low consumption of food, and with low-paid professional status. Depression and sleeping disorders were associated with smoking, hazardous level of alcohol drinking and alcohol dependence. Anxiety and low quality of life were associated with alcohol dependence. Depression, anxiety, sleeping disorders and low quality of life had a strong positive association with circulatory diseases and gastrointestinal diseases, the association remained significant after adjustment for smoking and alcohol variables.ConclusionsA considerable part of the examined Russian population experienced depression, anxiety, and sleeping disorders that were strongly positively associated with poor nutrition, low socioeconomic status and adverse health behaviors (alcohol use disorders, smoking).

Serum osteoprotegerin is a predictor for incident cardiovascular disease and mortality in a general population: the Tromsø Study

Summary.  Background: Osteoprotegerin (OPG) concentration in serum is associated with the presence and severity of atherosclerosis. Objective: To investigate the association between serum osteoprotegerin and the risk of a future myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke and mortality in a general population. Patients/methods: OPG was measured in serum collected from 6265 subjects recruited from a general population without a prior myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke (the Tromsø Study). Incident myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke and mortality were registered during follow‐up. Cox regression models were used to estimate crude and adjusted hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (HR; 95% CI). Results: There were 575 myocardial infarctions, 284 ischemic strokes and 824 deaths (146 deaths as a result of ischemic heart disease, 78 deaths because of stroke and 600 deaths due to other causes) in the cohort during a median of 10.6 years of follow‐up. Serum OPG (per SD [1.13 ng mL−1] increase in OPG) was associated with an increased risk of a myocardial infarction (1.20; 1.11–1.31), ischemic stroke (1.32; 1.18–1.47), total mortality (1.34; 1.26–1.42), death because of ischemic heart disease, (1.35; 1.18–1.54), stroke (1.44; 1.19–1.75) and non‐vascular causes (1.31; 1.22–1.41) after adjustment for age, gender, current smoking, systolic blood pressure, body mass index, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, creatinine, high sensitivity C‐reactive protein (CRP) and diabetes mellitus or HbA1c > 6.1%. No association was detected between OPG and incident hemorrhagic stroke (1.02; 0.73–1.43). Conclusions: Serum OPG was associated with future risk of myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, total mortality, mortality of ischemic heart disease, stroke and of non‐vascular causes independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors.

Laboratory Tests for Pneumonia in General Practice: The Diagnostic Values Depend on the Duration of Illness

The usefulness in the diagnosis of pneumonia of temperature and the laboratory tests: erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), leucocyte count, and C-reactive protein (CRP) was evaluated against a radiographic reference standard in 402 adult patients with respiratory tract infection in general practice. Radiographic pneumonia was diagnosed in 20 patients. CRP and ESR were the most useful tests. CRP greater than 50 mg/l had lower sensitivity and likelihood ratio (LR), 0.50 and 4.8, respectively, compared with previous studies of selected patient populations. Among patients whose duration of illness exceeded six days the corresponding LR was 11.3, due to a higher specificity in this subgroup of patients. ESR and oral temperature were also more useful in this subgroup than in patients with a shorter duration of illness. A highly significant diagnostic contribution of adding ESR and CRP to history and physical examination, particularly when the illness had lasted one week or more, was demonstrated by logistic regression.

Seafood diets: hypolipidemic and antiatherogenic effects of taurine and n-3 fatty acids.

BACKGROUND Health aspects of seafood have primarily been linked to n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Although animal studies have suggested beneficial contributions from taurine, highly abundant in seafood, its effect in humans is obscure. This study evaluates the combined effects of n-3 PUFA and taurine. METHODS Healthy volunteers (n=80) were recruited to a 7-week double-blind and parallel intervention trial. One group (n=39) received fish pâté (36g/day) enriched in n-3 (1.1gEPA+DHA/day) and the second (n=41) an identical pâté enriched both in n-3 and taurine (425mg/day). RESULTS Total cholesterol (TC) (-5%, P<0.001), low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (-8%, P<0.001) and Apo B (-4%, P<0.001) decreased more in the n-3+taurine compared to the n-3 group. A significant within-group enhancement of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol was demonstrated in the n-3+taurine group (6%, P<0.0001). Reductions in triacylglycerol (TG) (-16%, P<0.05 in n-3; -14%, P<0.05 in n-3+taurine), thromboxane B(2) (TxB(2)) (-21%, P<0.001 in n-3; -15%, P<0.05 in n-3+taurine), tumor necrosis factor (TNFalpha) (-24%, P<0.001 in n-3; -12%, P<0.05 in n-3+taurine) and monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP-1) (-12%, P<0.05 in n-3; -6%, P<0.0001 in n-3+taurine) were evident in both groups. Reductions in interleukin (IL)-6 (-16%, P<0.05) and LTB(4) (-18%, P<0.05) were only significant in the n-3 group. CONCLUSIONS The effects, particularly on blood lipids, of combining n-3 PUFAs and taurine proved superior to those of n-3 alone.

Relation between serum osteoprotegerin and carotid intima media thickness in a general population - the Tromsø Study

Summary.  Background: Previous studies have reported conflicting results on the relation between serum osteoprotegerin (OPG) concentration and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT). Patients/methods: The present study was conducted to investigate the relations between OPG, risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) in a large cross‐sectional study including 6516 subjects aged 25–85 years who participated in a population‐based health survey. Results: CIMT increased significantly across tertiles of OPG after adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as age, gender, smoking, total cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, C‐reactive protein (CRP), body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure, CVD and diabetes mellitus (P < 0.0001). There was a significant interaction between age and OPG (P = 0.026). The risk of being in the uppermost quartile of CIMT was reduced (OR 0.52, 95% CI 0.30–0.88) with each standard deviation (SD) higher level of OPG in subjects < 45 years (n = 444), whereas subjects ≥ 55 years of age (n = 4884) had an increased risk of being in the uppermost quartile of CIMT (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.10–1.29) after adjustment for traditional CVD risk factors. Conclusions: Age has a differential impact on the association between OPG and CIMT in a general population. The present findings may suggest that increased serum OPG does not promote early atherosclerosis in younger subjects.

High cardiovascular mortality in Russia cannot be explained by the classical risk factors. The Arkhangelsk study 2000

Since the beginning of the 1990s the public health situation in Russia has been characterized by an extremely high mortality and a significant reduction in life expectancy. Cardiovascular diseases remained the major cause of death. Only a few large population studies were conducted in Russia during this period. A total of 1968 men and 1737 women aged 18–75 years participated in a health survey in Arkhangelsk, Russia, over the period 1999–2000. Investigation included assessment of classic cardiovascular risk factors (family history, smoking, blood pressure, and blood lipids) along with general health variables. The paper presents sex specific data on risk factors for coronary heart disease. Though the cardiovascular mortality is high in Russia, the calculated risk for coronary heart disease (the Framingham risk score and the Norwegian risk score) was lower in all age groups of men and women in Arkhangelsk compared with studies from the Western Europe and USA. Our data suggest that high cardiovascular mortality in Russia may be driven not only by the classic risk factors for coronary heart disease.

EFFECT OF MARINE OILS SUPPLEMENTATION ON COAGULATION AND CELLULAR ACTIVATION IN WHOLE BLOOD

A study was performed to explore the effects of supplemental intake of various marine oils known to be part of the Eskimo diet. Healthy men and women (134) were randomly selected to consume 15 mL/d of oil from blubber of seal, cod liver, seal/cod liver, blubber of Minke whale, or no oil for ten weeks. Total cholesterol was unchanged in the oil groups, whereas high density lipoprotein cholesterol increased 7% in the seal/cod liver oil (CLO) group (P<0.05) and 11% in the whale oil group (P<0.005). Triacylglycerol was significantly reduced in the CLO group only. The concentration of prothrombin fragment 1+2 was reduced 25% (P<0.05) after whale oil supplementation. No change in fibrinogen or factor VIIc was detected. Tumor necrosis factor generation in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated blood was 30% reduced after whale oil (P<0.05), but was unaffected by intake of seal or CLO. The LPS-induced tissue factor activity in monocytes was reduced to a significant degree only in the seal/CLO group (34%) and whale oil group (35%) (P<0.05). The most dramatic change in thromboxane B2 in LPS-stimulated blood was seen after whale oil intake with 44% reduction (P<0.01). Supplementation of a regular diet with a combination of seal oil and CLO and especially with whale oil seems to have beneficial effects on several products thought to be associated with cardiovascular and thrombotic diseases.