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Recent Evidence Shows (recent + evidence_shows)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Medical Sciences	60%

Selected Abstracts

Metformin use and diabetic pregnancy,has its time come?

DIABETIC MEDICINE, Issue 3 2006
G. Hawthorne
Abstract The prevalence of Type 2 diabetes in women of childbearing age continues to grow as the incidence of Type 2 diabetes increases. Recent evidence shows that treatment of gestational diabetes ensures the best possible outcome for pregnancy complicated by gestational diabetes. Metformin is a logical treatment in these circumstances but there has always been concern about its safety for the fetus, particularly as it crosses the placenta and it may increase the risk of teratogenesis. Although evidence is accumulating that metformin is useful and has a role in polycystic ovary syndrome, a condition of insulin resistance, it is not yet accepted as treatment for Type 2 diabetes in pregnancy and gestational diabetes. Observational data supports the use of metformin in Type 2 diabetes in pregnancy and its role in gestational diabetes is currently under investigation. Metformin may become an important treatment for women with either gestational or Type 2 diabetes in pregnancy and indeed may have additional important benefits for women, including reducing insulin resistance, body weight and long-term risk of diabetes. There is a need for a randomized controlled trial in women with Type 2 diabetes in pregnancy with long-term follow-up of both mothers and children. Until then the best advice remains that optimized glycaemic control prior to conception and during pregnancy is the most important intervention for best possible pregnancy outcome. [source]

Melatonin limits lung injury in bleomycin treated mice

JOURNAL OF PINEAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2005
Tiziana Genovese
Abstract:, Melatonin is the principal secretory product of the pineal gland and its role as an immuno-modulator is well established. Recent evidence shows that melatonin is a scavenger of oxyradicals and peroxynitrite and exerts protective effects in septic shock, hemorrhagic shock and inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of melatonin on the lung injury caused by bleomycin (BLM) administration. Mice subjected to intratracheal administration of BLM developed significant lung injury characterized by a marked neutrophil infiltration [assessed by myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity] and by tissue edema. In addition, an increase of immunoreactivity to nitrotyrosine, poly-ADP-ribose (PAR) was also observed in the lung of BLM-treated mice. Also, lung injury induced by BLM administration was correlated with a significant loss of body weight and with a significant mortality. Administration of melatonin (10 mg/kg i.p.) daily significantly reduced the (i) loss of body weight, (ii) mortality rate, (iii) infiltration of the lung with polymorphonuclear neutrophils (MPO activity), (iv) edema formation and (v) histological evidence of lung injury. Administration of melatonin also markedly reduced the nitrotyrosine and PAR formation. Taken together, our results demonstrate that treatment with melatonin significantly reduces lung injury induced by BLM in the mice. [source]

Melatonin prevents lipopolysaccharide-induced hyporeactivity in rat

JOURNAL OF PINEAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2004
Roberta D'Emmanuele Di Villa Bianca
Abstract:, Melatonin (MT) is the principal secretory product of the pineal gland and its role as an immumo-modulator is well established. Recent evidence shows that MT exerts protective effects in septic shock, hemorrhagic shock and inflammation. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), from Escherichia coli, administered to animals directly stimulates a number of cells and systems to produce various inflammatory mediators. LPS-induced septic shock is characterized by hypotension and vascular hyporeactivity to contracting agents. In particular, the reactive oxygen species such as superoxide and nitric oxide (NO) contribute to the pathophysiology of septic shock. In this study, we demonstrate that MT pretreatment prevents the hyporeactivity to phenylephrine in vivo and in aorta rings collected from rats treated with the endotoxin. The beneficial effect of MT seems related to its antioxidant properties and with inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) protein expression, reduction of NO production and nitrotyrosine formation, in aorta, preventing vascular, and endothelial injury. Additionally, we first demonstrate, that MT inhibited nuclear enzyme poly (ADP-ribose) synthetase activation in vascular tissue. The current study underlined the protective effect of MT on the vascular dysfunction associated with septic shock, data that could support the clinical use of MT in human endotoxemia. [source]

Frequency of Fish Consumption, Retinal Microvascular Signs and Vascular Mortality

MICROCIRCULATION, Issue 1 2008
Shweta Kaushik BMed (Hons)
ABSTRACT Objective: Fish consumption has established cardiovascular and cerebrovascular benefits, but its effects on microvascular structure have not been examined in population-based studies. We investigated this association, in relation to vascular mortality in an Australian cohort (1992,2004). Methods: Of 3654 participants aged 49+ years, 2683 (73%) with available data were included. Retinal arteriolar and venular diameters were measured, and signs of arterio-venous nicking and retinopathy were assessed from digital retinal images. Fish consumption was evaluated using a food frequency questionnaire. Results: Both wider mean arteriolar diameter (p = 0.002) and narrower venular diameter (p = 0.02) were associated with increasing frequency of consuming any or oily fish, after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors, diet, inflammatory factors and socioeconomic status. This association was mainly present in persons with hypertension. Greater frequency of fish consumption was associated with a reduced prevalence of arterio-venous nicking and a borderline significant trend for reduced retinopathy prevalence. Ten year stroke-related mortality was significantly lower in persons consuming fish at least once per week compared to less frequent consumption (hazard ratio 0.57, 95% CI: 0.35 to 0.93). Conclusions: Recent evidence shows that narrower arterioles and wider venules may predict vascular events. Our new findings suggest that the vascular protective effects of consuming fish could act, in part, by preventing pathological microvasculature change. [source]

Redefining epithelial progenitor potential in the developing thymus

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 9 2007
Simona
Abstract Cortical and medullary epithelium represent specialised cell types that play key roles in thymocyte development, including positive and negative selection of the T cell repertoire. While recent evidence shows that these epithelial lineages share a common embryonic origin, the phenotype and possible persistence of such progenitor cells in the thymus at later stages of development remain controversial. Through use of a panel of reagents including the putative progenitor marker Mts24, we set out to redefine the stages in the development of thymic epithelium. In the early embryonic day (E)12 thymus anlagen we find that almost all epithelial cells are uniformly positive for Mts24 expression. In addition, while the thymus at later stages of development was found to contain distinct Mts24+ and Mts24, epithelial subsets, thymus grafting experiments show that both Mts24+ and Mts24, epithelial subsets share the ability to form organised cortical and medullary thymic microenvironments that support T cell development, a function shown previously to be lost in the Mts24, cells by E15 when lower cell doses were used. Our data help to clarify stages in thymic epithelial development and provide important information in relation to currently used markers of epithelial progenitors. See accompanying commentary: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/eji.200737709 [source]